Who is it for

This toolkit is designed to be used by teachers of students with communication support needs, as well as school leaders and other school staff (for example, aides) who are new to working with students with communication support needs.  It aims to help create a more relaxed teaching environment by equipping teachers with the know-how to engage and support their students with little or no speech.

The toolkit is designed to be relevant to a diversity of students with communication support needs, regardless of diagnosis.

This toolkit may also be of benefit to parents and allied health professionals or others who care for and work with students with little or no speech, by identifying relevant rights, programs as well as best practice approaches to inclusive education.

The toolkit does not include recommendations of teaching strategies – rather, it aims to guide teachers and school staff through steps and resources that enable the identification of individually appropriate teaching strategies.  While some particular strategies are referenced in some sections, these are provided as examples only and it is not intended that the toolkit provides a definitive or exhaustive list of strategies that are suitable for use with students with communication support needs. This is because there are limitless strategies and determining which ones to use is most appropriately determined by a trained teacher, taking into account the particular abilities and needs of the student, as well as the intended learning outcome, all of which vary considerably from student to student and with age, over time and dependent on subject or topic.