This week, a Twitter friend (Melissa Defayette / @inclusion_life) made a fascinating request.

I need stats on how many students in US public schools use an [Augmentative and Alternative Communication] device in inclusive settings. Any nudges in the right direction will be much appreciated.

So we asked Communication First, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of the more than 5 million children and adults in the United States who, due to disability or other conditions, cannot rely on speech alone to be heard and understood.

You don’t want to miss their response:

Communication First @Communica1st

@TheRealTimVegas Funny. There aren’t even reliable stats in the US on the number of people who need and/or use AAC period, a massive issue we just received grant funding from @AbilityCentral to begin to work to rectify.

January 14th 2022

2 Likes

Communication First @Communica1st

@TheRealTimVegas @AbilityCentral But a reasonable estimate of the number of students in US PK-12 settings who need and/or use AAC is 1%. Bc 1% is roughly the number of students in fully segregated settings.

January 14th 2022

1 Like

Communication First @Communica1st

@TheRealTimVegas @AbilityCentral And that’s a good proxy bc it’s nearly unheard of for a full-time AAC user to be educated in a fully inclusive setting. Most of our members who have experienced full inclusion say they are the only/first students ever in their district to have been included.

January 14th 2022

1 Like

Communication First @Communica1st

@TheRealTimVegas @AbilityCentral And don’t forget that despite the advent of affordable AAC in the last decade, most students who need robust, language based AAC still are denied such access. And forget inclusion if you can’t speak AND don’t have AAC. That never happens.

January 14th 2022

1 Like

Tell us what you think! Do you know of any students who use AAC who are included full-time in general education?