03/22/2022
I didn’t know what scanning was until I was a couple of years out of graduate school. When it came to AAC, I was taught about direct selection methods such as touching a display with a finger or using one’s eyes to “point.” I, sadly, didn’t know how to help children access language who did not have use of their hands or eyes. And maybe at the time I (very shamefully) believed in society’s narrative that a child with severe/multiple disabilities did not possess the cognitive skills to communicate and that “choice making” and “answering yes/no questions” were adequate means of self-expression. As an SLP who now works exclusively in this realm, this is a terrifying admission to make. Unfortunately, I think it’s something all professionals tell themselves when a child is not progressing- that a lack of progress is somehow the child’s fault, not the professionals. Well, fast forward a decade or so and here I am to tell you 1. I was really, really wrong- ALL children have SO MUCH TO SAY if language is made accessible to them. 2. Scanning is my favorite and most under-taught, under-appreciated access method…why, you ask? Because it allows all of the children who would otherwise be locked inside uncooperative bodies to show society that non-speaking does NOT mean non-thinking.
I did a webinar for the families with whom I work who are using one of my favorite little gems of a PODD book set, the PODD One Per Page & Companion Book, accessed via auditory + visual scanning and currently in development by Gayle Porter and Linda Burkhart. During the webinar, I showcased Miles who is showing off his scanning skills (he says “all good” for yes/accept and “uhhh” for no/reject) and demonstrating how, with a simple accept/reject response, he can communicate so much. Well done, Miles!
*Shared with permission from both Miles and his family.
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