Form for Observing Communication in AAC Users and Speaking Peer(s)

Resource Toolkit Assignment:  Resource Summary Sheet

1.     Name of the tool, or a brief description: Observing Communication in AAC Users and a Speaking Peer. This form is designed to allow a speech-language pathologist (or other professional) to take relevant notes during an observation of the AAC user in one of his or her common, familiar environments in order to determine how the user currently communicates effectively (or not).

2.     What type of patient(s) would you use this tool/technique with?  (Describe by characteristics or by etiology.) Although you could use this form with any individual being evaluated for/using AAC, this is especially great for capturing communication behaviors of children with their peers (in the classroom, on the playground, during extracurricular activities, at home with family, etc.)

3.     How/why would you use this tool?  In what way will it be helpful? This tool would be great during the AAC assessment process as well as a tool to be used every few months to assess the effectiveness of a chosen AAC method.

4.     What are the advantages of this tool/technique? This form can be used for the same AAC user in multiple communication environments to determine how his/her communication techniques are similar or change in various settings and with various partners. You could use this form over time to track how effective a chosen AAC method is for the user. The form allows for descriptive, qualitative data, which can be far more helpful than percentages and numbers.

5.     Are there any disadvantages to this tool/technique? Since the form uses subjective reporting, it is most beneficial is the same professional completes the observations each time (if you are using it for longitudinal purposes), and this can be challenging if the user moves or ends up seeing various professionals. Additionally, it is not complete in gathering all possible relevant data about communication techniques used, especially since it captures behaviors in a single setting at a time.

The next several questions relate to how you obtained this resource:

6.     If you used an existing tool, answer these two questions:

a)     Source/citation for this tool:   (whether published, or from a course, or SPHSC materials): http://depts.washington.edu/augcomm/01_vocab/forms_vocab/blank_observation_peers.htm

b)    Did you modify this tool?  If so, in what way? I mildly modified it, but only to include the type of AAC being used by the client during the time of the observation. Otherwise, I kept everything the same.

c)     Anything you still don’t like about it and may change in the future? I may consider adding additional sections for notes if I determine them to be highly relevant to my clinical decision-making. If I were to use this form to track improvements in communication over time with a particular client, I would likely create some type of objective data tracking element to make for simpler comparisons between forms.

  

Observing Communication in AAC Users and a Speaking Peer
from UW AugComm

Name of AAC user & age: Type of AAC being used: Activity: Seating/positioning:

Speaking peer & age: Seating: Expectations of peers:

Communication methods available in this activity: 

Describe what peer does (on or off task)	List what peer says and to whom	Describe what AAC user does or what is done for him/her	List what AAC user communicates and how	Obstacles or problems experienced by the AAC user