Supporting Participation in Literacy Activities for Multilingual Students Who Use AAC: Lessons From a School-Wide Professional Learning Community

Multilingual learners with significant disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) are often excluded from literacy instruction, in part because educators report limited preparation for addressing their complex and intersecting needs. This qualitative study investigated how participation in a yearlong school-based professional learning community (PLC) influenced the practices and perspectives of educators working with this underserved population. Fourteen educators including teachers, paraeducators, speech-language pathologists, administrators, and support staff participated in a yearlong PLC facilitated collaboratively by school leaders and a university team. Data sources for the current analysis included transcripts of PLC meetings and written reflection questionnaires, which were explored using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings showed that participation in the PLC might have acted as a catalyst for changes in professional practices, leading educators to integrate students’ home languages, cultural knowledge, and family input into emergent literacy instruction. Participants reported increased confidence in adapting literacy activities for their multilingual learners, designing culturally responsive instruction, and collaborating with families as partners in learning. This study highlights the potential of PLCs as a professional development model to foster culturally and linguistically responsive practices, build family-school partnerships, and expand participation in literacy for multilingual learners who use AAC.