Our course is a training program for communication partners who work for, and with, students using text-based multimodal AAC in educational settings. We recognize that many students do not participate in traditional school settings, so this training is appropriate for those who support nonspeakers in all educational environments, including homeschool situations and private schools. While our team is based in the United States, we work with schools around the world to train communication partners.

Our course addresses core competencies for educators and related professionals who support text-based multimodal communication of non-speaking autistic individuals. Multimodal communication can include typing on a keyboard or communication device, pointing to letters on a laminated letter board or alphabet board, or pointing to text-based choices. The course will address best practices for developing a partnership between communication partners and autistic individuals by fostering understanding of presumption of competence, apraxia, emotional and physical regulation strategies, and varied communication strategies. You can view our course outline here.

The course consists of 15 modules in which course instructors provide instruction, examples, and modeling of course competencies. During an 8-week period, participants watch prerecorded modules each week and then participate in weekly live online sessions to receive further instruction and engage in discussion. The live course features monitored homework assignments, an online community discussion group, weekly accountability, and feedback for one video submission.

We offer three self-paced options. Lifetime Access allows you access to recorded modules, PDFs, weekly activities, and self-reflections. You can go at your own pace without pressure to finish at a pre-determined date. Lifetime Access Team Training allows 5 individual licenses to access the recorded modules, PDFs, weekly activities, and self-reflections. Your team can go at their own pace. When a team member leaves, you can transfer one license to another user for a small fee. 16-Week Access allows you access to the same recorded modules with weekly activities and self-reflections as our lifetime option, but sets an end date to your access. This option is good for folks who may need a deadline to hold themselves accountable or who are looking for a more budget-conscious option. Utilize the end date to inspire course completion! Self-paced courses do not include access to our live courses, online discussion groups, supervised homework, or video feedback. Join our self-paced classes here.

Absolutely! We recognize that there are many different types of educational environments that support nonspeaking autistic students, including home and community settings! Although this course speaks mostly to "in-school" experiences, the principles and instruction can be applied to any learning environment.

We do! If a school system has a group of 6 or more participants, we can help set up a custom course section, discussion group and private weekly classes. Having a group composed just of one system allows us to dive more deeply into specific issues impacting you and your students. We invite schools to download our School Info Guide here. If your school wishes to set up a custom 8 week training class or explore alternate training models, please send us an email at info@communicationforeducation.com

We have found that having a diverse group of participants can be helpful for a school team to build their institutional capacity to support nonspeaking students in the long term. This group could include anyone directly working with nonspeaking students (EA/paraeducator), special education teachers, general education teachers, OTs, SLPs, etc. We also have had district administrators present in our trainings.

We encourage you to download and share our course info guide, list of professional contributor bios, and the course research reference list to share with your schools and administrators who are looking for more information.

Yes! Participants in our live classes who satisfactorily complete all required course components are eligible to apply for two (2) Continuing Education Units (CEUs). A $39 processing fee will apply. Additionally, SLPs who have participated in our past sessions have told us they are able to count the hours from the live classes as Professional Development Hours for ASHA. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer CEUs for participants in our self-paced courses.

We are unable to offer graduate credit for this course. You can earn Continuing Education Credits only.

We do our best to accommodate requests to use alternate funding sources (self-determination funding, homeschool vendor programs, outside scholarships, etc.) but cannot guarantee we will be able to accept all forms of payment. To inquire about a specific alternate funding source, please email info@communicationforeducation.com with all details involved for that source (e.g., vendor packets, tax forms, invoicing procedures). We will evaluate the information and be in touch within 3-5 business days.

We do! We offer group rates for groups of 6 or more. for our live class. We are also able to create custom sections for groups (school systems, home teams, etc.) who are registering 6 or more participants. If you wish to inquire about a custom live class for a group or for group rates in general, please email us at info@communicationforeducation.com

We do accept purchase orders for custom group trainings or for schools wishing to register employees for our general live course sections. Payment must be received in full prior to the course start date. If you wish to register a participant with a purchase order, please send us an email at info@communicationforeducation.com

Since 2023, we have been able to offer more than $30,000 in grants and scholarships to individuals and school teams thanks to generous funding from the Autism and Communication Center at California Lutheran University, REV AccessAbility, and the Eugene B. Casey Foundation. We are committed to continued efforts to make our training more accessible for educators and parents. Scholarship opportunities are dependent on sponsorships and fluctuate in funding amount, number available, and selection criteria. You can view current scholarship opportunities here. If you would like to contribute to organizations that have sponsored grants and scholarships, you can donate to the Autism and Communication Center at California Lutheran University or REV AccessAbility.

Limited personal consultation and individualized coaching is available at this time. You can review openings and book a consult using this link.