When it comes to supporting students with complex communication needs, the journey toward successful AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) use is not just about providing the right device or implementing the perfect strategy. It’s also about recognizing and addressing the barriers that can hinder progress. Today, we’re focusing on attitude barriers—one of the most pervasive challenges to AAC implementation.
Barriers to AAC Use: An Introduction
The Participation Model, developed by David Beukelman and Pat Mirenda, provides a helpful framework for understanding the obstacles AAC users face. It identifies several categories of barriers, including:
- Access barriers: Limitations related to the student’s physical, gym cognitive, or sensory abilities.
- Opportunity barriers: External obstacles such as inadequate training or insufficient resources.
Within opportunity barriers lies a crucial subset: attitude barriers. These are often the unseen yet impactful beliefs, assumptions, and biases that affect how AAC is introduced, supported, and sustained.
What Are Attitude Barriers?
Attitude barriers occur when the beliefs of educators, parents, peers, or even the AAC user themselves prevent effective AAC use. These barriers might not be obvious, but their impact can be profound. Here are some common examples:
- Low expectations: Believing that a student cannot use AAC effectively or that their abilities are too limited.
- Fear of dependence: Worrying that AAC will replace verbal speech or hinder its development.
- Stigma: Viewing AAC as something that sets a child apart negatively, rather than as a tool that fosters inclusion and independence.
- Misunderstanding AAC: Assuming that AAC is a last resort rather than a valuable tool that can support communication at any level.
How Do Attitude Barriers Impact AAC Users?
When attitude barriers exist, students are less likely to receive the consistent modeling, support, and encouragement they need to succeed. These barriers can lead to:
- Missed opportunities for communication: If caregivers or educators don’t believe a student can communicate effectively, they may not provide access to AAC or include the student in meaningful interactions.
- Limited growth in social and emotional skills: As we’ve explored in a previous post, AAC users need opportunities to build social and emotional competencies—such as expressing feelings, engaging with peers, and participating in group activities. When attitude barriers are present, these opportunities are often withheld.
- Frustration and withdrawal: Students who sense low expectations or negativity about their use of AAC may lose confidence in their ability to communicate, resulting in less engagement with their device and the people around them.
Shifting Attitudes: Creating a Supportive AAC Environment
Breaking down attitude barriers starts with awareness and education. Here are a few ways we can shift the narrative:
- Set high expectations: Believe that every student has the potential to communicate and grow through AAC. Celebrate even the smallest milestones, and remember that progress often takes time.
- Emphasize AAC as a bridge, not a replacement: AAC supports verbal speech when possible and provides a reliable alternative when speech isn’t an option. It enhances communication—it doesn’t replace it.
- Educate and empower: Provide training and resources for educators and families to understand how AAC works and how it can transform a student’s life. Beukelman and Mirenda’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs offers valuable insights into evidence-based strategies and tools.
- Model acceptance and inclusion: Normalize AAC use by integrating it into daily routines, classroom activities, and social interactions. Show students that their device is an important and valued part of their communication toolbox.
- Encourage peer support: Teach classmates and siblings how to interact with AAC users. When peers are accepting, AAC users often feel more confident and engaged.
A Shared Responsibility
Addressing attitude barriers is not just the responsibility of educators or families—it’s a shared commitment to creating environments where AAC users feel valued, supported, and capable. By fostering a culture of high expectations and acceptance, we can unlock the true potential of AAC and the students who use it.
