Understanding Early Childhood Educators’ Attitudes on Communication Practices and AAC: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

There is a small, but significant population of students who are not yet able to access systematic, reliable forms of communication. Students with significant cognitive disabilities and complex communication needs (CCN) have extensive support needs (ESN) that require extra nuance when planning for effective communication instruction and inclusion. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is a promising avenue for these students, but access to AAC is still very limited. For these students, in particular, appropriate and effective AAC use is not only determined by educators’ competence with using these tools/strategies, but also by their beliefs about students’ abilities and attitudes towards AAC. This study sought to better understand current attitudes of educators who support preschoolers with ESN/CCN and how these attitudes/beliefs affected their communication practices. Additionally, it explored how these attitudes impacted students’ inclusionary opportunities. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to gather survey and interview data to understand the connection between attitudes and practices. Results revealed that while early childhood educators showed positive intent and deep commitment towards student learning, effective AAC and inclusive practices were often constrained by technical skill gaps, limited resources, and implicit biases regarding disability and competence.