AAC & Literacy
This is a curated collection of information and resources related to literacy development and instruction for complex communicators and AAC users. We encourage you to explore and judge for yourself which to add to your toolbox.
These resources are for educational purposes. This is not an exhaustive list. Inclusion does not signify endorsement. Use of any information provided on this website is at your own risk, for which NWACS shall not be held liable.
Do you have a favorite resource that we missed? Send us an email to share!
Literacy Bill of Rights
All persons, regardless of the extent or severity of their disabilities, have a basic right to use print. Beyond this general right, there are certain other literacy rights that should be assured for all persons. These basic rights are:
The right to an opportunity to learn to read and write. Opportunity involves engagement in active participation in tasks performed with high success.
The right to have accessible, clear, meaningful, culturally and linguistically appropriate texts at all times. Texts, broadly defined, range from picture books to newspapers to novels, cereal boxes, and electronic documents.
The right to interact with others while reading, writing, or listening to a text. Interaction involves questions, comments, discussions, and other communications about or related to the text.
The right to life choices made available through reading and writing competencies. Life choices include, but are not limited to, employment and employment changes, independence, community participation, and self-advocacy.
The right to lifelong educational opportunities incorporating literacy instruction and use. Literacy educational opportunities, regardless of when they are provided, have potential to provide power that cannot be taken away.
The right to have teachers and other service providers who are knowledgeable about literacy instruction methods and principles.
Methods include but are not limited to instruction, assessment, and the technologies required to make literacy accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Principles include, but are not limited to, the beliefs that literacy is learned across places and time, and no person is too disabled to benefit from literacy learning opportunities.
The right to live and learn in environments that provide varied models of print use such as reading a recipe, paying bills, sharing a joke, or writing a letter.
The right to live and learn in environments that maintain the expectations and attitudes that all individuals are literacy learners.
Resources
Articles, Books and Documents
AAC at Penn State literacy-related articles
Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write (2020) by Karen A. Erickson and David Koppenhaver
Jane Farrall Consulting blog has many posts related to literacy and writing and AAC
Let’s Talk AAC: Using Shared Writing to Support Literacy Development (2024) NWACS blog
No More Teaching a Letter a Week (2015) by Rebecca McKay and William H. Teale
PrAACtical AAC literacy-realted blog posts
Ready, Set, Write! Alternative Pencils and Writing for Students with the Most Significant Needs (2016) by Gretchen Hanser and Caroline Musselwhite; handout from their ISAAC presentation
The ABCs of Alphabet Knowledge and Phonological Awareness! by Caroline Musselwhite, Deanna Wagner, and Gretchen Hanser
The Science of Literacy (three-part series; 2024) NWACS blog
Using Shared Reading to Support Literacy Right #3 (2024) NWACS blog
Learning Modules
Dynamic Learning Maps (options for self-directed modules and facilitated module materials for groups)
Emergent Writing
Predictable Chart Writing
Shared Reading
Teaching Text Comprehension: Anchor-Read-Apply
Writing with Alternate Pencils
Writing: Getting Started with Narrative Writing
Writing: Getting Started in Writing Arguments
Writing Information and Explanation Texts
Writing: Production and Distribution
Writing: Research and Range of Writing
Writing: Text Types and Purposes
Literacy Intervention for Learners with Complex Communication Needs
Project Core modules (options for self-directed modules and facilitated module materials for groups)
Module 8: Shared Reading
Module 9: Predictable Chart Writing
Module 11: Independent Reading
Module 12: Independent Writing
Unlocking Literacy for Students with Disabilities
Universal Tools & Strategies
Alphabet & Phonological Awareness
Emergent Reading
Emergent Writing
Materials
Accessible Literacy Learning (ALL) from Tobii Dynavox
Alternative Pencils - Center for Literacy and Disability Studies
A-Z for Adapting Literacy from TTAC Online
Bookshare - an ebook library for people with reading barriers
CandLE library of accessible books adapted into Grid 3 and keyboard options
Comprehensive Literacy for All (CLFA) Book Collection from SETC
read more about the CLFA Book Collection in this post on the NWACS blog
Emerging Reading & Writing Supports for Students with Disabilities
First Author from Building Wings
Kizclub Story Props (and other printable resources) - be sure to use the blue arrow at the top to scroll through all the pages of story props (note: the website reportedly goes down for periods of time when they are updating)
Literacy Planner Implementation Activities from PRC-Saltillo
Look to Read from Smartbox Assistive Technology
Newstopia from Building Wings
One More Story online library
Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College library of adapted literature and lessons
Phonics for All from Smartbox Assistive Technology
Reading A-Z has leveled reading material on a variety of topics
Reading Avenue from Tobii Dynavox
Readtopia from Building Wings (homeschool/parents call 800-999-4660 for a discounted license)
ReadtopiaGO from Building Wings
Tar Heel Reader library of open-source, accessible, texts for individuals with disabilities of all ages
TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom (2016) by Carole Zangari and Lori Wise
also check out these related posts on the PrAACtical AAC blog
TumbleBooks offers e-books and is available through some school districts and public libraries (check with your child’s school or your public library)
Unite for Literacy library
Podcasts
Awe and Wonder Podcast series 3: AT & AAC - Literacy
LOMAH Disability Podcast series (season 5, episodes #131 - 145): Literacy Instruction for Students with Disabilities
Websites
AAC & Literacy from SETC
Building Bridges resources for teaching reading, writing, language, and communication as integrated parts of comprehensive literacy instruction for students
Comprehensive Literacy for ALL website from Jane Farrall
Deaf-Blind Model Classroom Resources from Center for Literacy and Disability Studies includes information on shared reading, chart writing, alphabet activities, remnant books, downloadable templates for PowerPoint ABC books, and more
Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities
Paths to Literacy from Perkins School for the Blind and Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Tar Heel Shared Reader resources that support the implementation of shared reading for school-aged students
Videos / Webinars
AAC & Literacy Expert Interview Series from Tobii Dynavox with Lindsey Frohn & Maureen Donnelly
AAC in the Cloud presentation recordings:
AAC and Emergent Literacy at Home - A Beginners Guide for Families and Caretakers by Ashley Larisey & Lauren Sheehan (2022)
Alternative Pencils - What Are They & How Are They Used by Kelly Fonner (2020)
Building Language & Bridging Literacy - Just Like That! by Maureen Donnelly (2019)
Communication and Literacy in the Secondary Special Education Classroom by Laura Taylor (2021)
Discover Affordable & Alternative Alphabet Charts by Ruth Williams & Gemma Wilkinson (2020)
How I Learned to Read - The Experience of an AAC User by Cristian Rosas (2019)
Incorporating Comprehensive Literacy Instruction into AAC Intervention by Kristin Ellis (2022)
Interactive Reading and AAC users: Building Schema by Sharon Redmon (2022)
Integration of AAC & Writing by Laura Hayes (2020)
Let’s Read & Write with AAC by Maribeth Plankers (2021)
Literacy and Learners with CCN Using UFLI by Kate Ahern (2023)
Literacy Connections - Reading, Writing and AAC by Beth Poss & Kelly Fonner (2023)
Modeling AAC Within Storybook Reading Activities by Cheri Dodge Chin (2020)
Planning Emerging Literacy Lessons in Spanish by Claudia Marimón R & Soledad Cuesta G (2022)
Predictable Chart Writing - Vocabulary Building Makes Its Mark, With a Little Canva on the Side by Sharon Redmon (2022)
Pretend Play Power - Integrating Literacy Modalities & Tools by Kelly Fonner & Donna McNear (2023)
Reading Avenue: Paving the Way for Literacy Development from Tobii Dynavox
Scribbling - Writing Experience Before the First Written Word for ALL Students by Kelly Fonner & Donna McNear (2021)
Shared Reading - Let’s Be Interactive! by Jane Farrall (2020)
Shared Reading Group & AAC in Spanish (session is Spanish) by Claudia Marimon Rigollet (2020)
Shared Storybook Reading with AAC Users Who Don’t Like Books: How to Make it Awesome by Chana Feinstein (2019)
Writing - One AAC User’s Journey to Become a Writer by Sharon Redmon & Mike Hipple (2022)
AT Literacy Tools AT for Reading & Writing videos from SETC
Comprehensive Literacy for All Book Study recordings from SETC
Literacy for All: In conversation with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite
Literacy for All with Readtopia and LessonPix from LessonPix with Dr. Karen Erickson and Dr. Caroline Musselwhite
Making Connections: Communication and Literacy with AAC Users | 2022 Literacy Symposium (PaTTAN)
Tips for Reading with Children from Tobii Dynavox
“Literacy is an incredibly important way that we socially connect with each other.”
- Excerpt from an interview between Erin Sheldon and Dr. Karen Erickson
Other Resources
Remember what we know about literacy instruction for speaking children. We should not throw that all out just because someone uses AAC! Resources aimed at literacy instruction for children at risk or struggling to learn to read may be useful. Here are a few to explore and adapt as needed:
FCRR Student Center Activities from Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness Resources from Univ. of Canterbury (NZ)
Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy (SEEL) from BYU McKay School of Education
this article includes a free assessment: Measuring Preschool Attainment of Print-Concept Knowledge: A Study of Typical and At-Risk 3- to 5-Year-Old Children Using Item Response Theory (Justice, Bowles, Skibbe, 2006)
UFLI Resources from Univ. of Florida Literacy Institute
Selected References:
Clendon, S., Erickson, K., van Rensburg, R.J., & Amm, J. (2014). Shared Storybook Reading – An Authentic Context for Developing Literacy, Language, and Communication Skills. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. https://doi.org/10.1044/aac23.4.182
Erickson K. A., & Koppenhaver, D. A. (2020). Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students With Significant Disabilities to Read and Write. Baltimore: Brooks Publishing Company.
Rohde, Leigh. (2015). The Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model: Early Literacy in Context. SAGE Open. 5. 10.1177/2158244015577664
Yoder, D. E., Erickson, K. A., & Koppenhaver, D. A. (1997). A literacy bill of rights. Chapel Hill, Center for Literacy and Disability Studies.