AAC Emergency Preparedness
By: Maria De Leon M.S., CCC-SLP
Children and adults with complex communication needs and those who use AAC are one of the most vulnerable in healthcare and emergency settings. They also face various challenges during natural or man-made disasters, such as storms, floods, fires, droughts, earthquakes, shootings, and Global Pandemics such as COVID-19 (Boesch et al., 2022). And due to climate change, such as rising sea levels, shrinking mountain glaciers, accelerating ice melts, etc. The world is seeing an increasing number of natural disasters. And AAC users and their families have little emergency planning preparedness.
This low rate of emergency preparedness is not exclusive to AAC users and their families. FEMA’s 2022 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness results show that nearly half of the country intends to prepare sometime in the future but has not yet started (The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 2022). The United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC) Disaster Relief Committee (DRC) conducted a survey to learn more about perspectives and practices of disaster preparedness for AAC users and their families. The survey was sent to 20 people who requested AAC assistance during Hurricane Harvey. A total of 13 people completed the 10-question survey for a response rate of 65%. Here are the results:
The survey found that out of the 13 AAC users and families who responded, only one had reported that their family was prepared before Hurricane Harvey, and the other 12 had not included AAC in their emergency plan. And after Hurricane Harvey, 9/13 participants had or were working on a plan. However, none of them had practiced the plan. Additionally, 4/13 participants reported that they still had no emergency plan that included AAC or communication support after Hurricane Harvey (Boesch et al., 2022). Even though the sample size of this survey is very small, we can compare this to FEMA's national data and deduce that there is probably a low number of AAC users and their families with an effective AAC emergency preparedness plan.
What can we do as AAC Service Providers
We need to increase awareness for preparing for emergencies is dire in populations with complex communication disorders and those using alternative communication means. We must remember to focus on the current and future AAC users who require additional support. Language learning is a holistic process where we must directly focus on the person's participation in real-world contexts and address factors and skills to participate and deal with extrinsic environmental factors (Light & McNaughton, 2015). And unfortunately, right now this includes the rise of natural and man-made disasters that affect us all.
As service providers, we can take several steps to help prepare for disasters. That starts by raising awareness and assisting AAC users and their families in implementing AAC in their emergency preparedness plans. Currently, the United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC) Disaster Relief Committee (DRC) has created a resource that is a text-based learning tool aimed at assisting people who use AAC and their families to prepare for a disaster, specifically addressing issues related to readiness. The resource is FREE and consists of seven days of text messages/emails of suggestions, sample plans, and materials that can help AAC users and their families start a plan. It is a simple and effective 7-day plan.
Sign up here: https://arist.app/orgs/ussaac/courses/53606054-df1e-46c7-bc58-848481d22832
Steps for AAC Service Providers
Help program specific context folders/vocabulary onto AAC systems.
Ex. Vocabulary and phrases in emergencies differ from the language used in daily communication. e.g., staying in shelter vocabulary: “How long will we be here?”, “Why can't I sleep in my bed?”, “Who are all these other people?” (Boesch et al., 2015). Check out Temple University Emergency AAC Vocabulary
Sign up for emergency notification APPS such as the Red Cross and assist AAC users and families in doing the same.
For families and AAC users that speak another language than mainstream English, collect information in their language and provide and review it with them with a translator/interpreter.
Create Emergency preparedness goals for your interventions, such as learning vocabulary, operational competency goals, or social competency goals on what to do in emergencies.
Steps for AAC Users and their Families
Consult your teacher, SLP, and/or AAC service providers on attaining local information about AAC Emergency Preparedness.
Go to https://ussaac.org/readiness/ for step by step on preparing a toolkit and signing up for the 7-day course that sends you text messages on what to download, materials etc. If needed, ask for the help of an SLP, teacher, or AAC service provider to review the steps.
Create a "go bag" and a “stay box” with essential tools—Ex. Light-tech communication boards, backup charging batteries, etc. Refer to https://ussaac.org/readiness for ideas.
Sign up for Red Cross or local organizations for emergency alerts.
If you have a plan, don't forget to practice it.
Check out my collection of Emergency Preparedness communication boards and passports along with other resources: Click Here
