Edited 11/6/2019 This post was my 5th most popular post for 2019. If you enjoy the content of this website, please consider giving a donation to maintain site expenses.

I had the privilege of sharing our family’s journey with augmentative alternative communication at the 2019 #TalkingAAC Conference in East Lansing, Michigan last week. I gave the keynote, “AAC: Nathaniel’s Best Chance at Life” on Tuesday morning. Additionally, I presented a session, “Literacy as the Foundation for AAC at Home,” on Tuesday afternoon.

In this latter session, I shared with attendees about the role reading aloud has in our family. Those familiar with us or this blog know reading aloud is a daily practice and constant joy in our home. It is also one of the easiest times for Rich and me to model on an AAC device. Nathaniel is focused and attentive. Parents one hundred percent present. Each page turn can be a reward for communication. Language learning and communication benefit from the intimacy of parent and child reading a book together.

Over the last few years as I’ve learned more about literacy and AAC, I have seen the acronym CROWD in the CAR repeatedly as a strategy to use when sharing a book with a child. Literacy Instruction for Student with Significant Disabilities has an excellent description of this strategy and the benefit.

Something I would add that isn’t listed on the above website is that this strategy is accessible to parents to do in the home. I believe given a little encouragement and instruction by a professional, a book title, suggested core words to model, and sample questions - a parent can do this. If given a few of these as a take home handout from school or a therapy session, parents can likely start applying the acquired skill to books they already have available in the home.

My session on literacy took a ten minute break for attendees to partner up, read a children’s book, and create a handout to help parents practice shared reading at home. A printable worksheet for each title can be found by clicking on the titles below. Big thanks to those who attended my session on literacy and were willing to have their collaborative work posted on line. Authors of the worksheet are noted on each if desired by creators.

I See Fall by Charles Ghign
We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger
Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep by April Sayer
Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

Example: