Introduction

Communication is a fundamental skill that impacts a child's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Without effective communication strategies, children may struggle to express their needs or engage in important social activities. For individuals who experience communication challenges, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can be beneficial.

This course provides rehabilitation professionals with an introduction to AAC and demonstrates how it can be effectively implemented in a case study discussion of a child with cerebral palsy.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• differentiate between speech, language and communication
• identify at least five key considerations that can influence augmentative and alternative communication assessments and interventions
• identify at least three low- and high-tech augmentative and alternative communication assistive technologies

Target audience

This course is aimed at rehabilitation professionals, students and assistants including but not limited to Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Rehabilitation Doctors, Rehabilitation Nurses, Prosthetists, Orthotists, Psychologists, Audiologists, Dietetics, Social Workers. Community Health Workers, Nurses or Medical Doctors interested in this subject are also invited to participate.

Practicalities

• Availability - this course is online and can be completed on your own schedule.
• Hours of Learning - No deadlines are applied to this course and it can be started and completed in your own time according to your personal schedule. We expect the required elements to take around 1.5-2 hours depending on your schedule and learning style. Additionally there are many optional resources provided and if you choose to review these the course could take longer to complete.
• Types of Activities - This course includes instructional and/or practical videos, reading activities, AI supported learning activities, reflection, evaluation forms, a quiz and additional resources.
• Certificates - At the end of the course, when you have completed all of the required elements, you will be able to download a certificate of completion and 1.5 Plus points will be added to your personalised learning dashboard.

Instructor financial and non-financial disclosures

Sopio Nadiradze: Financial: no relationship to declare
Non-Financial: the instructor wrote a chapter/module on "Functional rehabilitation elements for supporting students with severe disabilities in educational activities" for Teachers Professional Development at the National Center of Georgia, under the Ministry of Education and Science. This was done through MAC Georgia, without any financial benefit.

Accessibility and Non-Discrimination Policy

Physiopedia Plus is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible learning environment for all participants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, national origin, religion, sex, disability, military status, sexual orientation or age in any aspect of our continuing education services. We are dedicated to ensuring that all learners can fully participate in our programmes. Participants who require accommodations or have special needs are encouraged to contact us with details so that we can make all reasonable efforts to meet these requirements.