An SLP Offers AAC Intervention at 30,000 Feet

When I boarded an 8-hour international flight home from a language neurobiology conference a this past August, I anticipated getting some major work done. If I was lucky, I could also catch a nap. But my plans quickly changed when assigned seating fates intervened. Thanks to a technical snafu, I got the last remaining seat on the plane. As I walked down the aisle, a flight attendant stopped me. She warned that my seatmate—a young boy with nonverbal autism prone to disruptive behaviors—might make the flight difficult, but that there were no more available seats. When I sat down, the boy’s father preemptively apologized. I told him not to worry, because, as a speech-language pathologist, I understood. Before the plane left the ground, the boy started screaming, grabbing my things, and self-stimming in potentially dangerous ways in such a small space. His behavior clearly seemed reactionary to anxiety and frustration. I asked the father if and how his son communicated, recognizing that English was likely not the father’s first language. I thought if I could in some way introduce myself and seem less of a stranger, it might provide some relief for the son. The father seemed confused by my question, repeating, “He doesn’t talk.” I asked if anyone tried pictures, but the father said no. Now I knew what I had to do, and our language barrier became irrelevant. But how to introduce augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) on a plane? I used my laptop to pull up s...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: autism News Slider Speech-Language Pathology Augmentative Alternative Communication Autism Spectrum Disorder Source Type: blogs