AAC Learning: Shifting Attention Between Devices, Activities and Partners

This adorable little girl is Ariella, a nonverbal 3 year old who is just beginning to explore the use of AAC to help her develop communication and language while she's working on her speech. I love this video because Ariella does a fantastic job showing us how she shifts her attention carefully between her device and YouTube on the computer. She takes her time to peruse her choices, selects and then waits expectantly for her video to start. There's no question she understands what she's doing. Shifting attention between an AAC device, the task at hand and your communication device is one of the challenges of AAC use. It's important as we evaluate our children's language and communication skills to remember that AAC users have increased demands on their focus and direction of attention than verbal communicators.