Many blind children display tactile defensiveness and may be reticent to explore objects which teachers and caregivers find interesting. The goals of AAC intervention must be in alignment with a larger educational picture for these children. Components include a combination of observational data, questionairres, checklists, developmental scales and, in some cases, formal testing. Once implementation of an AAC system has been achieved, ongoing monitoring and modification are mandatory. It is important not to underestimate the role of language comprehension when planning for AAC implementation.
Children can only communicate what they understand, regardless of their method of expression.
For visually impaired children, receptive language and concept development must be facilitated by providing opportunities for first hand experience of the environment through touching, manipulating, moving, smelling and tasting in addition to listening to well formed repetitive language models. Objects or tangible symbols provide the child with real life referents for some words. This has proven to be an extremely valuable augmentative input strategy for many visually impaired, multi-handicapped children. Referents must be carefully selected for their tactile rather than visual properties. A plastic banana neither smells nor feels like the real thing and will provide only confusion if presented to a blind child.