The Effect of Blended Training on AAC Strategy Use by Pre-Service Educational Professionals

This study explored the feasibility of a blended training program model on the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) strategies by pre-service education speech pathology students. The training incorporated Read-Ask-Answer (RAA) and naturalistic Show-Wait-Respond (SWR) techniques, aiming to increase participants’ competence in AAC strategy application. Four graduate students participated in a single-case A-B research design. Following five baseline sessions, participants completed a one-hour asynchronous online training based on a modified ImPAACT model (Kent-Walsh & Binger, 2013; Kent-Walsh & McNaughton, 2005). The training focused on RAA and SWR strategies and included video demonstrations, written practice opportunities, and reflection activities. Following the training, each participant completed five role-playing practice sessions, during which feedback was provided to enhance strategy implementation. Primary outcome was participants' correct use of combined RAA and SWR strategies per two-page book reading spread, with secondary outcomes tracking the total number of modeling and waiting/responding strategies used. Two participants showed immediate improvement in applying all AAC strategies, reaching high accuracy levels. Whereas the other two demonstrated gradual improvement across sessions. The blended training model established a functional relationship between training and AAC strategy use for half of the participants, with consistent increases in SWR techniques across all participants. The blended training model, combining asynchronous instruction with guided role-play and feedback, effectively enhanced specific AAC skills among pre-service educators. These results suggest the value of including blended AAC training modules into pre-service curricula to improve educational professionals’ readiness to support children using AAC. Future research should explore expanded sample sizes and skill retention.