When a child goes to school, they step into a world filled with interactions with many different professionals. However, one type of professional, school support staff, has the unique role of working with students across all of these interactions.

For students who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), collaboration across team members is vital. Here are some practical ways for school support staff to collaborate and capitalize on their expertise!  

Make Time to Connect 🔗

Strong collaboration starts with consistent communication. In busy school settings, finding time to meet can feel impossible, so teams often need to think creatively. Support staff can be top contributors of information as they move from team member to team member throughout the day.  

What to do 🔗

Increase communication between team members by trying some of the following:

• Quick check-ins before/after a session or during  a transition in the hallway  
• Shared Google Docs 
• Communication notebooks 
• Short voice memos  

These small moments of communication add up and help ensure AAC strategies are carried throughout the day—not just during therapy sessions. 

Find Common Ground Across Goals 🔗

School support staff are often asked to help support student’s goals across all domains. It can be overwhelming to juggle each skill. But many goals naturally overlap and AAC can connect them. 

What to do🔗

Get in the habit of asking, “How can communication be incorporated into this activity?” 

• Calling for the ball during a game in Gym Class.
• Encouraging the user to ask one question during Art Class.
• Modeling how to make comments during station activities.

AAC works best when communication opportunities are embedded into everyday routines. Even simple opportunities to model language can make a huge difference. 

Learn AAC Terminology 🔗

Every profession comes with its own terminology and teaching methods. Take time to get familiar with AAC-related terminology, teaching strategies, and expectations.  

What to do  🔗

Ask your SLP about various terms and strategies like:

• What aided language stimulation/modeling looks like.  
• Which vocabulary should be emphasized.  
• How support will be scaffolded.
• How to encourage communication .
• What is multimodal communication?
• Resources to get familiar with different communication apps.  
• Asking for a one-page AAC support guide for staff that includes important information like troubleshooting, passcodes, and ideas to model.  

Define Roles Early 🔗

In collaborative teams, overlap is inevitable, but role clarity helps prevent confusion. Support staff play a critical role in AAC implementation because they often spend the most time with the student. School support staff can help prevent AAC devices from being forgotten, unused, or inconsistently supported. If roles haven’t been defined yet, it’s never too late to have that conversation.  

What to do 🔗

Talk with your SLP about who will be responsible for:  

• Charging and transporting the device  
• Updating vocabulary  
• Modeling language  
• Collecting communication data  
• Troubleshooting technical issues  

Share Data Consistently 🔗

Good collaboration relies on shared information. If only one team member tracks communication progress, important patterns may be missed. Data does not need to be complicated—it can include quick notes, tallies, or observations from different parts of the day. 

What to do🔗

Talk with your team to see what data would be the most helpful, it could include: 

• Tallying independent AAC use.
• Tracking the number of modeled interactions. 
• Noting types of communication functions used (requesting, commenting, protesting, asking questions).
• Recording examples of vocabulary needed across the day  

Observe When Possible  🔗

Some of the best collaboration happens when professionals work side-by-side. Observing and even being a part of the session can help you practice strategies and ask questions! If leaving the classroom to join a session does not work with your schedule, you can also ask your therapists to push into the classroom during specific times of day.  

What to do🔗

• Ask to join a therapy session to observe strategies in action  
• Give your SLP ideas on the best times of day to push into the classroom 

Compromise When Necessary 🔗

Successful teams understand that not every goal can always be addressed at once. Collaboration requires flexibility, problem-solving, and compromise.  

What to do🔗

• Instead of focusing on “whose goal” is being addressed, focus on creating meaningful communication opportunities  
• Communicate shifts in priority with the team 

Final Thoughts 🔗

AAC success is never the responsibility of just one person. It takes a connected, collaborative team that values communication across all environments and interactions.  

When teams work together consistently, AAC becomes woven into the student’s everyday experiences as a meaningful way for the student to connect, learn, and be heard.