Supporting AAC in the Classroom: Building Professionals Skills and Knowledge

Webinar overview

This member webinar will highlight recent research on supporting alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) in the classroom for school-aged children. 

1) The 'AAC in Classrooms' project, a strategy for increasing classroom supports for school-aged children who use AAC.

2) Two related honours projects investigating allied health professional and primary school teacher perspectives on visual supports for students with disabilities.

'AAC in Classrooms' project:

Speech and language pathologists (SLPs) in the Tasmanian state education system provide valuable supports to school children and staff. However, there are limited resources to meet the need. 

The ‘AAC in Classrooms’ project was implemented in order to build the capacity of school staff to learn and utilise AAC in a sustainable way through online learning modules and a community of practice. A multidisciplinary working group involving SLPs and inclusion support staff was formed. The group implemented actions based on survey data gathered from school staff across the state regarding AAC skills, knowledge, and learning needs.

The project is entering a monitoring and evaluation phase with early outcome data indicating that the project activities are meeting the ongoing AAC learning needs of school staff in Tasmanian state schools.

Investigating allied health and teacher perspectives on using visual supports in the classroom: 

Two related honours projects will be presented. In the first, the experiences of mainstream primary school teachers in using visual supports in their classrooms were explored. In the second, perspectives and experiences of speech pathologists and occupational therapists working with primary school students with disabilities were explored. Findings of these qualitative studies will be discussed in relation to previous research and practice implications.

Join us to learn how fostering a shared understanding between teachers and allied health professionals can improve inclusive education and better support students with disabilities. 

Target audience

Speech pathologists, occupational therapists, teachers, education assistants, families of AAC users. 

Workshop details 

• This is a LIVE webinar, delivered via zoom

• 45 minutes are allocated for the presentation and 15 minutes for Q & A

• This webinar is free for AGOSCI members to access 

• A recording will be available to AGOSCI members following the event 

Session date

Monday 31 March 2025, 7pm AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) 

Timezone start times

NSW/VIC/TAS/ACT: 7pm

QLD: 6pm

SA: 6.30pm

NT: 5.30pm

WA: 4pm

Presenters

Tracey Hanigan graduated as a Speech Pathologist from Flinders University of South Australia in 1995. Tracey has had over 25 years’ experience working with children and adults with communication support needs. She is passionate about improving the communication access, opportunities, and skills of children with communication challenges and their communication partners. She enjoys working with families, health, and educational teams to improve the processes and practices within schools and health settings regarding AAC. Tracey currently works at Southern Support School, a Support School in Hobart, Tasmania and in the Tasmanian Paediatric Rehabilitation Team at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Harmony Turnbull is a speech pathologist with longstanding experience in the field of lifelong disability, communication support needs, and dysphagia. She is now working for the Department for Education, Children and Young People in Tasmania and pursuing higher degree research at the University of Technology Sydney, exploring the accessibility and health literacy demands of written health information for people with lifelong communication support needs. 

Felicity Lovatt has worked as a Speech Pathologist in Communication Disability/AAC for more than 25 years across multiple settings. Most of this practice has been in Tasmania. Felicity is passionate about helping to build affirming and inclusive communities that enable all communicators to learn and thrive in warm relationships with others. Felicity has been part of a team to develop and implement a statewide AAC in Schools policy and associated capacity building projects as part of her role within the Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Young People. Felicity was the AGOSCI Tasmania representative for 8 years and conference organising committee member for the Hobart 2022 AGOSCI conference.

Teresa Iacono conducted clinical, academic and research work in the areas of severe communication impairment and the use of AAC for over four decades. Teresa is a previous editor of the journal Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Professor of Rural and Regional Allied Health in the La Trobe Rural Health School. Teresa celebrated her retirement in early 2025.

Tessa Jones is a new-graduate speech pathologist who completed an Honours thesis in 2024 at La Trobe University, Bendigo, titled "Teacher Perspectives: The Use of Visual Supports in the Classroom for Students with Disabilities." Tessa splits their time between Bendigo and Geelong and is particularly passionate about developing innovative approaches to improve rural community health and strengthen the future health workforce. Tessa has actively contributed to the profession by volunteering as an Education Officer for La Trobe University’s Speech Pathology Student Association, where they coordinated professional development sessions to inspire students and introduce them to unique and exciting areas of speech pathology. This passion aligns with Tessa's advocacy for ensuring that all individuals have accessible and fulfilling ways to express their wants, needs, and experiences.

Dana Elgar is a recent graduate speech pathologist from La Trobe University, where she completed an Honours thesis in 2024 titled “Professional Understanding of the Role of Visual Supports in Supporting Participation and Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Primary School”. Dana is passionate about applying evidence-based practices across various areas of speech pathology, with a focus on improving health outcomes in both paediatric and adult populations. She is eager to contribute to future research and advance the development of speech pathology practices.

Disclosure

AGOSCI is grateful to Tracey, Harmony, Felicity, Teresa, Tessa and Dana for generously offering to present this webinar free to our members.

The information presented in this webinar represents the views and expertise of the presenters and may not always align with AGOSCI philosophies.

AGOSCI is an independent body and does not endorse individual products or brands.

AGOSCI acknowledges the presence and contributions of all suppliers and resources available in the Australian AAC marketplace.

Registration and cancellation policy 

Registration is only confirmed upon full payment of fee. Please note total ticket price will include an additional $0.69 + 0.7% per-transaction service fee. To access the discounted rate for members you must be logged into your AGOSCI member account prior to registration. 

• 100% refund minus the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction) until 60 days before event

• 50% refund minus the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction) between 8-59 days before event

• No refunds within 0-7 days before event start date

Applications for registrations are subject to final approval by AGOSCI to ensure fair and equal access to events across organisations. Waitlist registrations will be taken upon all positions being filled.