Teaching · Special Education

How a student really uses their AAC device in a real activity.

During morning meeting or snack, tap a counter for every message, by what it does: request, refuse, comment, question, answer or social. Count partner models too. The summary shows how much the student said on their own, which kinds of messages are missing and which words to add to the device.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on

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Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the New special education teacher kit, $39 for 31 items.

The observation log

One observation per activity. Use initials or a code, never a name. Tap counters work on a phone or tablet. The example is made up.

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What you get

Teaching · Special Education$19 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with: For each observation, message counts by function, independent and supported, partner modeling and waiting, barriers and missing vocabulary, with a summary of messages per ten minutes, the independent share, the functions missing and next steps.
Who it is for: Speech-language pathologists, special education teachers, paraprofessionals and AAC teams supporting students who use speech-generating devices, apps or paper boards.
Format: Browser log with tap counters. Several saved records; printed with the summary or as a blank paper form; CSV with one row per observation; export and import a file.
Access: $19 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 New special education teacher kit ($39) and the Special Education toolkit ($99), and 2 more bundles. 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.

Drawn for this page. Students learn to talk with AAC the way all children learn language: by seeing it used, many times, without being asked to copy.

How to use it

Start a record with the student’s initials or a code and the date.
Note the activity, minutes, system and how the student selects.
Tap a counter for each message: on their own, or after a cue or model. Count each message once.
Count partner models, and note whether partners waited.
Mark what got in the way and the words the student reached for, then add those words to the device.

Start an observation

What the log is for

More than requesting

Many AAC users are taught to request first and stop there. Real conversation also means refusing, commenting, asking and answering. Counting by function shows which kinds of messages the student has and which ones still need modeling.

Model, wait, do not demand

Students learn AAC by seeing partners use it: touching symbols while talking, many times a day, without asking the student to copy. Then partners wait, expectantly, long enough for the student to find the words. The log counts both because both drive use.

Not an assessment

The counts describe one activity on one day. They are not compared with norms and do not decide what system a student needs; use them to plan vocabulary and partner support, and to see change. Records use a code, never a name, and stay in this browser.

Sources

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Practice Portal: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (asha.org/practice-portal).
Sennott, S. C., Light, J. C., and McNaughton, D. (2016). AAC modeling intervention research review. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 41(2), 101–115.
Light, J. (1988). Interaction involving individuals using augmentative and alternative communication systems: State of the art and future directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 4(2), 66–82 (communication purposes beyond requesting).
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.5, 300.6 and 300.324(a)(2)(v) (assistive technology).
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR Part 99.

The example student is made up. The log records use in one activity; it does not assess the student, choose a device or decide services. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.