AAC: Community Access for Teens
Ordering, shopping, and transit vocabulary for independent community outings.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Rehearse in the room, then leave the room. Run the phrases as a script first, then role-play with someone who will respond unhelpfully — asks a follow-up, talks too fast, looks at the aide instead of the student. Can you hold this while I get my wallet? is the one worth drilling most, because it is the phrase that keeps a counter interaction from collapsing into someone else handling it. Then go somewhere and buy something. Fifteen minutes of practice and one real coffee is a better session than three rehearsals.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentSet up the moment, then wait with an expectant look for 10 seconds.Log as correct
- GesturePoint toward the device or the right area of the page.Log as cued
- ModelTouch the symbols on the device yourself while you say the message.Log as cued
- Partial physicalOnly if the team agrees and the student accepts touch: a light touch at the elbow toward the page. Never press the symbol for them.Log as cued
Adjust it
Fewer symbols on the page, and model the message several times before you expect it.
Wait longer before prompting, or expect one more symbol in the message.
Matching IEP goal
During structured activities, Student will use their AAC system to take part in the exchange in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a gestural prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight phrases a teenager needs to get through an outing without a parent speaking for them: One large iced coffee, please. Where's the fitting room? How much is this? I'd like to pay with card. Two tickets, please. Is this bus going downtown? The set is short on purpose — these are the exchanges that repeat every time, and pre-storing them is what makes an independent trip possible.
What to listen for
Watch who the clerk talks to. Much of what breaks down in community access is not the student's message but the partner's habit of redirecting to the adult, and the student needs a way to pull the conversation back. Notice whether the student initiates or waits to be prompted, and whether the phrase comes out before or after the silence gets awkward. Speed matters more here than anywhere else.
Carrying it home
Pick one errand a week where the teenager orders, pays, and asks the question. Families often do the talking to keep the line moving, which is understandable and is exactly the practice that gets lost. Standing back for ninety seconds is the whole intervention.
What's in this activity
- Where's the fitting room?
- Can I get a bag?
- How much is this?
- I'd like to pay with card.
- Two tickets, please.
- Is this bus going downtown?
- +2 more
Questions
- What age range is this for?
- Seventh through twelfth grade, and it maps directly onto transition planning goals around community participation and independent living.
- Can I use it without signing up?
- Yes. The board plays in full with no account and no card.
- Should the student memorize these or store them?
- Store them. Community exchanges are timed by the person behind you in line, and a pre-stored phrase is the difference between ordering and being ordered for.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.