AAC: Texting and Social Media
Short-turn phrases for group chats and social posts, where speed matters more than length.
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
Keep the phrases short and stored. A group chat moves in seconds and a well-formed sentence sent two minutes later lands in the wrong part of the conversation. Practise choosing between I'm down and Can't tonight — maybe Friday quickly rather than composing something original. Then set up a real chat with two or three peers and let it run; ten minutes of live conversation shows you more than a session of rehearsal.
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 short turns for a group chat: Send me the link. I'm down. Can't tonight — maybe Friday. That's hilarious. Who else is going? Post it to the group chat. Nice, congrats! I'll message you the details. Text is the one medium where an AAC user's speed disadvantage almost disappears, which makes it the most promising social ground available and one that rarely gets programmed for.
What to listen for
Watch latency and placement. A reply that arrives after the topic moved on is a timing problem, not a language one, and it is fixed by storing shorter phrases higher up. Notice whether the student initiates — Who else is going? is an initiation and is a different behaviour from replying, which is where most students stay.
Carrying it home
Families can help most by not managing the chat. Reading over a shoulder, editing messages, or answering on the student's phone all remove the practice. Privacy is part of what makes the medium worth using.
What's in this activity
- Send me the link.
- I'm down.
- That's hilarious.
- Who else is going?
- Post it to the group chat.
- Nice, congrats!
- +2 more
Questions
- Why so informal?
- Because register is the vocabulary. A device that can only produce complete polite sentences marks a teenager out in the setting where they least want to be marked out.
- Do I need an account?
- No. It plays free in the browser.
- How does this fit a goal?
- Social communication and peer interaction. Count initiated turns and reply latency rather than sentence accuracy.
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.