Inclusion Strategies for the General Education Classroom
You will discover that many strategies used to practice inclusion for students who use AAC are methods that can be beneficial to the whole class, especially for students with learning disabilities. The teacher will need to use their discretion to evaluate which techniques are most appropriate depending on the nature of the activity and environment, based on a student’s strengths, preferences, and needs. Our goal is to increase social interaction and classroom participation, and decrease frustration and exclusion. Teachers can carry out best practices for inclusion in a general education class seamlessly with these 5 simple and effective strategies, which include aided and unaided AAC techniques.
1. Response modes
Diversify lessons by utilizing creative techniques for students to respond. These strategies elicit total physical response, whole class participation, formative assessment, and immediate feedback for the teacher and students. The following response modes are also great because they do not disrupt the lesson or take away instructional time.
2. Core words for each month
A student’s electronic device, symbol board, communication book, PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System), or other means of AAC, needs to be updated constantly. Make sure the student is aware of the location of new vocabulary, questions, phrases, and other new information. New vocabulary can be pre-taught before whole class instruction. Pre-teaching can occur within a small group as well if you have students with learning disabilities that would benefit from a preview of new information. When exposing students to new vocabulary, be sure to model the words for aided language stimulation to demonstrate what the words look and sound like when used in authentic ways of communicating.
3. Grouping
Group your students appropriately to ensure meaningful and positive interactions with supportive peers. Students who are paired or grouped with a student with communicative disorders should be taught with modeling how to support their peer, and how to navigate their communication device if need be. These supportive peers should practice and understand the need for wait time, which should be practiced for all students!
4. Question Cue
Another strategy to help ensure successful experiences within the classroom is to provide students with question cues. Letting a student know that you are about to ask him or her a question can stimulate motivation, engagement, and reduce stress for students who get anxious giving an answer on the spot. This is also a good strategy to use for students who need wait time. A student who uses an aided technique for AAC may also need the notice from a question cue to think about how they will respond using their device.
5. Validate and Praise
Continue your best practice of positive reinforcement with support and praise to encourage students when they succeed as well as when they are trying. Affirm word approximations and model as needed.
1. Response modes
Diversify lessons by utilizing creative techniques for students to respond. These strategies elicit total physical response, whole class participation, formative assessment, and immediate feedback for the teacher and students. The following response modes are also great because they do not disrupt the lesson or take away instructional time.
- ‘Thumbs up, Thumbs down,’ can be used for students to communicate if they agree or disagree, or to reply with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.
- Stoplight cards may be used for students on their individual desks to communicate if they are working and understand (green), if they are trying but are feeling unsure of what to do (yellow), or if they are stuck and need help (red).
- ABC cards can also be used during a multiple choice activity for students to hold up their card with the letter matching their response.
- Whiteboards hold many possibilities for uses in the classroom across the curriculum. If a student has difficulty writing, they may need to use their electronic device during this time.
- Magnet boards are great for phonics instruction, but if a student has difficulty in fine motor skills, they may need to use their electronic device during this time. The activity would remain quite similar to the actions of students using the magnetic boards, as with the whiteboards as well.
- Make accommodations as needed. For written assignments, allow students to type their assignment if it is challenging for them to write
- American Sign Language (ASL) can be taught to the whole class to communicate daily needs, such as asking for a drink of water or asking to go to the bathroom. New signs can be taught to the class throughout the year during morning meeting if you wish to do so to expand the class's knowledge of ASL.
2. Core words for each month
A student’s electronic device, symbol board, communication book, PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System), or other means of AAC, needs to be updated constantly. Make sure the student is aware of the location of new vocabulary, questions, phrases, and other new information. New vocabulary can be pre-taught before whole class instruction. Pre-teaching can occur within a small group as well if you have students with learning disabilities that would benefit from a preview of new information. When exposing students to new vocabulary, be sure to model the words for aided language stimulation to demonstrate what the words look and sound like when used in authentic ways of communicating.
3. Grouping
Group your students appropriately to ensure meaningful and positive interactions with supportive peers. Students who are paired or grouped with a student with communicative disorders should be taught with modeling how to support their peer, and how to navigate their communication device if need be. These supportive peers should practice and understand the need for wait time, which should be practiced for all students!
4. Question Cue
Another strategy to help ensure successful experiences within the classroom is to provide students with question cues. Letting a student know that you are about to ask him or her a question can stimulate motivation, engagement, and reduce stress for students who get anxious giving an answer on the spot. This is also a good strategy to use for students who need wait time. A student who uses an aided technique for AAC may also need the notice from a question cue to think about how they will respond using their device.
5. Validate and Praise
Continue your best practice of positive reinforcement with support and praise to encourage students when they succeed as well as when they are trying. Affirm word approximations and model as needed.
"Fairness is not giving everyone the same thing. Fairness is giving each person what they need to succeed."