Roles and responsibilities of special education teachers serving on teams delivering AAC services

The purpose of the study was to gather information about the background, roles, and responsibilities of special education teachers who serve on teams that deliver augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services across the United States. A sample of 204 teachers was identified by school administrators whose addresses were obtained from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The results were analyzed using descriptive and correlational measures. The results indicated that typical respondents served on teams that delivered AAC for 2 to 3 years, had Master's degrees, and had some education in the AAC area. In most cases, AAC services were provided through general purpose diagnostic/educational planning teams that met monthly and served 6 to 10 AAC students per week. The majority of such teams served students diagnosed with a variety of handicapping conditions. Several other descriptors of the teachers and their teams are also reported in the study. The primary AAC roles and responsibilities identified by 80% or more of the educators involved a variety of areas, including adapting the curriculum, identifying needed vocabulary, preparing and maintaining documentation of student progress, writing goals and objectives for AAC users, and assessing cognitive abilities. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for preservice, inservice, and post-secondary AAC educational opportunities.