Attributing meaning. My name is Amanda Hartmann and I'm one of the Speech Pathologist on the team, here at AssistiveWare. Did you know, attributing meaning is actually one of those really valuable strategies that we can use as communication partners with many AAC users. What does it mean? How does it look? When we attribute meaning, we watch and observe. And we assign meaning to what we see. We listen to what our AAC users are telling us with their faces and their bodies and their actions and their communication attempts. When the AAC user is still learning we can also take it one step further. We model. We model words and language on the AAC to match those possible meanings. Attributing meaning actually serves many purposes. It makes us responsive communication partners. It builds our connections. It guides us and helps us to decide what words and language we can model on AAC. We should all be attributing meaning to AAC users to support their communication. There are two key ways we can attribute meaning. First we can label behaviors and actions as communication. And secondly, we can respond meaningfully to any attempts at communication, that they might make on their AAC. Let's look at the first. Attribute meaning to behaviors and actions. AAC users tell us a lot with their faces, bodies, actions and behaviors. Tell them that this means something to us. We attribute meaning when we say: "I see you smiling". "You are telling me you like this", while pointing to [like] on the AAC. Here are some video examples. {laughs}! oh! look, You're smiling. I think you [like]... I think you like that photo. Yeah, oh... you are reaching for the ball, you [want] the ball? Yeah. There you go. Wow, cool. Oh! You're getting up from the table. You're telling me you're [finished]. Okay, finished. Oh, you're squeezing me. You want [something sensory]. Here you go .. squeeze squeeze... [something sensory] Oh! That is hard to do. You need some [help]. You need some help. Okay, I can [help]. There you go! Observe and watch AAC users. What do their behaviors, facial expressions, body language, gestures and actions tell us. And you know what? If you're not sure what a behavior might mean, why don't you ask a familiar communication partner for some ideas? They might know. And remember you might not always make the right guess about what a behavior means. We are not mind readers after all. Often AAC users will tell us when we get it wrong, with a look or a protest reaction. We can respond to that too and try and guess again. Here's an example of that. You're reaching for the ball. You [want] the ball. You push it away! You do not want the ball. You do [not] want the ball. You want something [different]. Hmm?.. Lego or - the Lego car.. cool, great. Okay, let's look at the second way now. How we can attribute meaning to attempts at using AAC. Often AAC users communicate with their AAC in ways that we don't immediately understand. We should never treat their attempts at using AAC as an accident. Instead respond meaningfully. So if they tap helicopter repetitively on the AAC - "helicopter helicopter helicopter", do not scold them or remove the word. Instead attribute meaning. Say "oh, helicopters!" You must [like] helicopters. I do too. We should go [look] for helicopters. Again, we can take it one step further. Model words and language to add meaning to their message. Even if their communication seems random with their AAC, attribute meaning anyway. Here are some more video examples. [helicopter helicopter helicopter helicopter] I think you're saying you [like], you like helicopters. Oooo, maybe we should go and [look] for some helicopters. Where..oh!? Tom, you're asking a question. Maybe you're saying.. where [where] is Dad? Yeah. [Where Dad]. Where is Dad? [cake] Oh... cake? Hmm. I know I you thinking [think] about the weekend, maybe? Maybe you're [think]ing about that we might eat [eat] some [cake] on the weekend for [Dad] Dad's birthday. Yeah, that is a good idea. Yeah, definitely [eat] [cake]. We must respect all forms of communication. Many people who use AAC communicate in lots of different ways. We respect and allow all these different ways. If we can understand a gesture or an action, well, there is no reason at all that someone should also say it, and communicate that message, with that AAC as well. We can actually attribute meaning to behaviours, actions and communication attempts, while also respecting those informal ways to communicate. The most important thing is that the message is conveyed, in whatever way possible. We should be using this strategy for all AAC users. We need to attribute meaning. Then we can connect and build communication skills together. For more information, Check the learn AAC section of the AssistiveWare website. Thanks, and bye. Thank you to my friend Tom for acting out these moments with me, so that I could demonstrate attributed meaning for the video examples. Thanks, Tom.