AAC Voices Online
AAC Voices offers virtual classes and groups over Zoom as well as a special supportive programming with a variety of services for families who are home schooling their children who use AAC, called Ahern Academy Cooperative. These classes and groups have been extremely successful, with students making a variety of gains in their communication and social skills, as well as some academic gains. Caregivers have also reported benefits to partipating in the classes and groups. The families who join in have formed a community on FaceBook and support each other as well. We welcome you to join us if you think this may benefit your child. We accept children ages 5 and up who have a robust communication system, even if they do not know how to use it yet. Children must be accompanied and assisted by a learning coach. Our students use a broad range of AAC systems including Avaz, CoughDrop, LAMP Words for Life, PODD, Proloquo, Proloquo2Go, SuperCore, TouchChat with WordPower, and Unity. Our students also have a variety of disabilities such as Angelman Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, and others. They have a broad array of support needs, but even more strengths, talents and gifts.
We do NOT accept students using Facilitated Communication, Spelling2Communicate, Rapid Prompting Method (or any other physical manipulation of the body of an AAC user with invalidates or may invalidate what the AAC user may actually wish to communicate). These and other disproven interventions which are condemned by multiple respected organizations such as ISAAC and ASHA are not permitted in our classes and group. We will be happy to work with families to move away from using these practice towards autonomous and authentic AAC use.
We do NOT accept students using Facilitated Communication, Spelling2Communicate, Rapid Prompting Method (or any other physical manipulation of the body of an AAC user with invalidates or may invalidate what the AAC user may actually wish to communicate). These and other disproven interventions which are condemned by multiple respected organizations such as ISAAC and ASHA are not permitted in our classes and group. We will be happy to work with families to move away from using these practice towards autonomous and authentic AAC use.