Tuesday, October 20, 2026
8:00 am - 3:30 pm
Workshop Summary:
Training communication partners, i.e., school staff, families, and outside providers, to gain comfort and confidence is essential for AAC implementation success. Practical and engaging learning opportunities provide the best outcomes. This workshop will cover everything there is to know about providing professional development and coaching on AAC implementation. Participants will leave the workshop with creative ways to fit in PD and coaching, content to include in AAC trainings, fun activities to provide during trainings, additional supports for families of AAC users, and so much more! Attendees will leave with a tailored action plan ready to implement the following week.
Professional Development Credits:
IACET CEUs: 0.65
ACVREP CEs: 6.5
Learning Outcomes:
As a result of this activity, participants will be able to identify at least 15 creative ways to fit in professional development.
As a result of this session, participants will leave with at least 20 resources to support the design and delivery of effective AAC professional development.
As a result of this activity, participants will be able to apply at least 20 activities during their professional development sessions to help communication partners gain comfort, confidence, and new skills.
Presenter(s)
Registration Options:
| Description | Workshop Fee | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Day Conference Registration: (Workshop included at no additional cost with 3-day conference registration) | $0 | |
| Tuesday-Only Workshop Registration | $375 | Workshop Only Registration |
Learn more About this Workshop
Presenter-provided Abstract:
Training communication partners, school staff, peers, families and outside providers to gain comfort and confidence is essential for AAC implementation success. Active, responsive, practical, and engaging learning opportunities provide the best outcomes. This session will cover everything there is to know about providing professional development on AAC implementation, whether in person or virtual.
The day will begin with an activity participants can use in their PD called musical pairs. This gets participants collaborating from the start.
The morning will start with discussing the content AAC training may include. A ton of resources with links to sites that participants can use right away in their PD sessions will be shared.
The next portion will cover creative ways to fit in professional development for school staff. These include; round robin sessions with small groups, providing PD to staff while in the classroom, walking the walk, provide tips on the spot while leading activities with students, presenting at new educator orientation, providing videos, having a monthly newsletter, holding various contests, training the entire school during institute and staff meeting time, lunch and learns, push in coaching sessions, using social media, and so much more!
There will be a section on providing PD to families, including virtual coaching sessions, hosting AAC Family Fun nights, providing parent networking opportunities, Videos, resources, and activities to share with parents.
Getting peers involved is also essential for AAC implementation success. I will share tips and opportunities to engage the AAC users' peers in learning about AAC and how they can support their peers who use AAC.
The afternoon will be filled with interactive activities that participants can use during their PD sessions. Participants will engage in many of these activities and experiences themselves throughout the day. I will start by sharing creative ways to group people during sessions to encourage interaction and collaboration. I will then share a variety of activities and resources that participants can use during their AAC training sessions. Some of the activities include: interactive games to play, silent AAC trainings & topics, singing songs with core boards and devices, battle of the songs, practice while watching videos of students, having AAC users lead the PD, AAC buddies, and so much more. These activities will be available in the participant's folder to use.
Participants will have the opportunity to collaborate and share their own ideas and strategies throughout the day. Participants can earn tickets for prizes throughout the day. The more they share, the more chances they get to receive prizes! They will also leave with their own plan for providing PD for the school year.
Whether participants are providing a 5 min or 5 hour training, they will leave with presentation materials, activities, surveys, visuals, and so much more ready to use next week.