The Grove Education Centre has been working on being an Communication Accessible School since 2014. In this time, they have consistently supported the use of AAC for all students with complex communication needs.
The Grove Education Centre is a small special school in suburban Adelaide. They have 70 students attending the school, with approximately 90% with complex communication needs.
The following excerpt from the first page of their 2018 Annual Report, demonstrates the importance that AAC has for the school community. “The Grove recognises that every individual has the right to communicate. Staff at the school receive extensive training in best practice in AAC and in being good communication partners. We believe that a comprehensive AAC system (e.g. Proloquo2Go or PODD) supports individuals to develop communicative competence. We understand that all communication is multi-modal and that all forms of communication are as valid as each other – this includes facial expression, natural gesture, signing and high and low tech aided AAC”.
The Grove Education Centre’s 2018 Site Improvement Plan focused on all students becoming effective communicators. The key tasks to achieve this were:
- AAC will be used or modelled by all staff every day
- All staff will use aided language stimulation to support the development of communication skills for all.
- Modelling and task design for Word of the Week
- “Modelling Blitz” facilitated by Communication Professional Learning Community
- All staff will wear, carry or have immediate access to low or high tech AAC all day.
- Teachers will assess students using the Communication Matrix.
- Comparison data will be analysed during collaborative moderation sessions
- All teachers will meet with Communication and Literacy Coach to analyse Communication and Literacy Assessment data and use it to inform the development of One Plan goals, planning and practice
As a result of the consistent focus on AAC over a number of years, the majority of students at The Grove are now progressing steadily towards a higher level of communicative competence. The Communication Matrix data collected annually demonstrates the success of their commitment. Additionally, the staff at the Grove now connect with early intervention providers and post-school options around AAC implementation, and are working collaboratively with a range of service providers to provide best practice and outcomes for all students.