Teaching · Special Education

AAC that goes to lunch, recess and math, not only to therapy.

Walk the day and mark, part by part, whether the student’s system was there and whether an adult modeled on it. Then check the device, the vocabulary and the people. The summary shows coverage across the day and the few changes that matter most.

Start a classroom checkWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Special Education toolkit, $99 for 100 items.

The classroom check

One record per student and check. Use initials or a code, never a name. The example is made up.

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What you get

Teaching · Special Education$5 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
For each check, a settings grid of where the system was and was modeled, every practice marked in place, partly or not yet, and a short, ordered list of what to work on first.
Who it is for
Speech-language pathologists and special education teachers who support AAC users, with the general education teachers and paraprofessionals they work alongside.
Format
Browser checklist, used during a day or two of observation. Several saved records to compare over the year; printed with the summary or as a blank checklist; CSV with one row per record; export and import a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Special Education toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
the device goes where the student goes
Drawn for this page. AAC works when it is part of every routine, not only therapy time.

How to use it

  1. Start a record with the student’s initials or a code and the date.
  2. Follow the student through the day, or ask the staff in each setting.
  3. In the grid, press y or n for whether the system was there and whether an adult modeled on it.
  4. Mark each practice in place, partly or not yet.
  5. Share the work-on-first list with the team and repeat the check in a few weeks.

Start a classroom check

What the check is for

Why the whole day

A student learns to use AAC the way any child learns language: by seeing it used many times a day, in real routines, by the people around them. A device that only comes out in therapy gets little use. Modeling on the system while talking, often called aided language input, is one of the best supported practices for AAC learners.

Small changes first

Most gaps are practical: the device is not charged, not in reach, or left behind at lunch; adults are unsure how to model. Fixing these usually does more than adding vocabulary. Repeat the check to see the change.

What this checklist is not

It does not assess the student’s communication or choose a system. It describes the setting around the student. Device decisions belong to the IEP team, with assistive technology considered under federal rules.

Sources

  1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.105 and 300.324(a)(2)(v) (assistive technology devices and services; the IEP team considers the student’s communication needs and assistive technology).
  2. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Practice Portal: Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
  3. Beukelman, D. R., and Light, J. C. Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs, 5th edition (2020).
  4. Biggs, E. E., Carter, E. W., and Gilson, C. B. (2018). Systematic review of interventions involving aided AAC modeling for children with complex communication needs. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 123(5), 443 to 473.

The example student is made up. The checklist describes how AAC is used around a student; it does not assess the student or choose a device. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.