AAC and Pragmatics: Strategies for Teaching Social Language Skills
When a child gets a communication device, we focus on teaching expressive and receptive language—they learn to request, protest, and build toward sentence structure. What many communication partners forget is that we need to teach pragmatics.
The Purpose of Pragmatics🔗
Pragmatics is the study of the contexts of language and how they influence meaning, focusing on the rules and skills that help us use language in real-life interactions. For example, therapists and caregivers teach children greetings, requesting preferred activities, using manners, and answering questions. These are great functional skills, but there’s another important piece to pragmatics.
Pragmatics skills help develop communication by building relationships with others. By participating in conversations, understanding social cues, and communicating needs effectively, children become part of the world around them.
When QuickTalker Freestyle users start exploring the device, you might experience babbling—repeating words, pushing random buttons, or continuously talking on the device. This is a good sign! This is the first time they’ve had a voice, and they are excited to converse!
Sometimes this excitement, however, becomes disruptive. Whatever you do, do not take away the device. Taking away the device can cause increased frustration/behaviors and decrease rapport.
Instead, consider how you would respond to a speaking child behaving the same way. Pragmatics skills can help AAC users understand when it is appropriate to use the QuickTalker Freestyle.
Techniques for Teaching Pragmatics🔗
So, what skills do I teach when a child is exploring the device during structured learning time?
Teach Turn-Taking🔗
Turn-taking is a natural part of conversational exchanges, but a child with a new QuickTalker Freestyle may just be learning conversational turn-taking skills. Here are some techniques to help them learn how:
Respond to Interruptions🔗
When a child using an ACC interrupts, use the following phrases:
- “You can have a turn soon, let’s listen first.”
- “We are using our listening ears.”
- “It’s the teacher’s turn to talk; we are listening.”
This way, we discourage using the QuickTalker Freestyle while someone else is speaking, without silencing them. Be sure to invite them into the conversation when it’s their turn as a way to encourage pragmatics skills.
Phrases to Gain Attention🔗
After they learn turn-taking, teach children how to let others know they want to share. Add the following words and phrases to their speech app and model how to use them:
- “I have something to say.”
- “Wait.”
- “Excuse me.”
This helps teach proper initiation and will be useful when they have questions or need clarification.
Using a Quiet Voice🔗
If you have a child who is interested in exploring their device, prompt them to use an indoor voice or a quiet voice. Here are a few ways:
- Show them how to lower the volume on their QuickTalker Freestyle so they can explore quietly.
- Say: “It’s time to use our Quiet Voice, now” as a signal.
This allows them to build a connection to the QuickTalker Freestyle without disrupting the rest of the class. Remember, we never want to take away the device; that would be like taking away their voice!
Redirecting AAC Users🔗
Redirection is a skill educators use all the time with students. We can redirect AAC users the same way we’d redirect speaking students. Using the pragmatics strategies below will help them feel heard while drawing their attention back to the current activity.
Helpful Redirection Phrases🔗
- “We can talk about ____ during recess.”
- Use a First/Then approach: “First we need to listen to the story, then we can talk about ____.”
- “I hear you talking about ____ , but right now we are listening to a story.”
Redirection Strategies🔗
- Topic page redirection: Help the AAC user get to a page that is related to the topic. For example, if the teacher is reading a story, you can use one of the phrases above and then say, “Let’s open your reading page.”
- Parking Lot Strategy: Create a spot on the board titled “Parking Lot.” During a lesson, if someone strays off topic, write the thought in the parking lot for discussion after the lesson is over.
Building Positive Pragmatics Practices🔗
Allowing exploration during transition or leisure time is important. This allows the child to build an understanding of the QuickTalker Freestyle where there are no communicative demands and helps them identify where applicable buttons are. Here are some strategies for building exploration into the day:
- Regular timing: every day at the same time, designate time for the child to explore. This could be during free play or other transitions between subjects.
- Verbal signals: come up with a word or phrase that indicates the child can explore freely. Make sure both you and the AAC user know the word or phrase.
- Visual Signals: Add a symbol or image to a Core Board Poster that you can point to when it’s exploration time. This could double as a custom button on the speech app as a way for the student to ask if they can explore freely.
Social Context Matters!🔗
AAC intervention should extend beyond vocabulary and grammar to include the social use of language. Exploration of the device is a meaningful part of learning, not a behavior to stop. By redirecting, modeling, and teaching pragmatic skills like turn-taking and appropriate participation, we can support QuickTalker Freestyle users in communicating effectively while keeping them engaged and empowered.
Written by Kelsey Introna M.S. CCC-SLP
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