Aac assessment Introduction

For Molly this was an extremely useful profile to share and to indicate next steps in development of her communication skills. Feedback from her parents and key worker in her inclusive nursery included: “the profile reflected an accurate picture of what Molly could do and gave us some good ideas of what to do next”.

Harry is 3. He has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and cannot walk or talk. Harvey attends a mainstream nursery school and is very communicative. He can understand what is said to him and uses different strategies to communicate his needs. He can make a few signs (they tend to be one handed), can point at photographs and some symbols and is practicing using different light tech devices for joining in with activities with the rest of the class. The Communication Matrix was completed jointly with Harry’s mum, teacher and speech and language therapist. His profile was generated indicating that he had surpassed levels 1 and 2 and had mastered most of the skills within level 3 (unconventional communication). At levels 4, 5 and 6 (conventional communication, concrete symbols and abstract symbols) he scored a combination of mastered, emerging and not used within the different subsections.

The Communication Matrix is an assessment tool that can be easily repeated and can show progress over time. It is best used for pupils at early stages of communication, including those at early stages of AAC. It would not be the most suitable assessment tool for a child who was competent within the field of AAC and successfully communicated to a range of people using low and/or high tech strategies.