This document provides instructions for using an excel-based assessment tool to determine student eligibility for an AAC assessment. The tool involves assigning scores of 2, 1, or 0 to indicate whether students have certain attributes, abilities, or needs. Filling out both pages helps reflect on students' communication and literacy qualitatively. Higher total scores indicate a greater likelihood that a student would benefit from an AAC assessment, especially if they are already using basic AAC or can engage with symbols. The assessment need is strengthened if a student with speech has motor difficulties or some communication challenges. Students with no speech but language understanding will benefit from AAC.

1. Instructions for the use of the AAC assessment eligibility criteria
This tool is best used as an excel document rather than printed off and filled in
with a pen. However, the pen and paper approach still works; you just have to
add the scores up yourself. The excel document will do the adding up for you.
For each item write the number in the relevant place to indicate whether your
student has the attribute, ability or need indicated. A score of 2 indicate yes, 1
indicates you don’t know and 0 indicates no. It is equally important to fill in the
boxes on the second page as this will help you to reflect on the student’s
communication and literacy needs in a qualitative way. The higher the score the
more likely it is that your student would benefit from an AAC assessment. If your
student is using basic AAC successfully then the need for an assessment is
strengthened to establish whether the student could move on. If your student is
able to engage meaningfully with objects, photographs, pictures, symbols or text
an AAC assessment need is indicated.
If the student has fluent speech but difficulty with fine motor skills they may
benefit from AAC to access the curriculum rather than for communication. If the
student has some speech but experiences some difficulty with communication
they may well benefit from AAC for communication as well as to support the
curriculum If the student has no speech but demonstrates some understanding of
language they will almost certainly benefit from AAC for both communication and
curriculum access.