Charting the Cs: Cooperation, Communication and Collaboration.
Statewide Professional Development to Support the Workforce and Low Incidence Disability Areas.
Charting the Cs Conference 2024
Empowering Excellence Through 
a Collaborative AAC Coaching Cohort
Karley Sykora , MS, CCC/SLP 
Brainerd Public Schools 
Kirsten Morton - Aldous, P/HD, TBI, OHD Specialist, AT Specialist 
Paul Bunyan Education Cooperative

Welcome & Introduction
Karley Sykora , MS, CCC/SLP 
Speech - Language Pathologist 
Brainerd Public Schools 
Kirsten Morton - Aldous, P/HD, TBI, OHD Specialist, AT Specialist 
Paul Bunyan Education Cooperative (PBEC)

Learner Objectives
Participants will describe why a coaching model may be an effective way to 
build capacity of Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams.
Participants will identify key principles and strategies involved with a 
coaching model.
Participants will demonstrate knowledge of effective collaborative practices 
used within our coaching model.

Background and Purpose
Paul Bunyan Education Cooperative
6 Districts & 3 Charter Schools
Aitkin Public Schools, Brainerd Public Schools, Crosby Ironton Public Schools, 
Pequot Lakes Public Schools, Pillager Public Schools, Pine River Backus Public 
Schools, Crosslake Community School, Discovery Woods Charter School, and 
Pillager Area Charter School
Founding Professionals
3 Cooperative Staff Members
11 Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP)

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) 
Coaching Model Goals
Empower and build capacity in IEP teams to provide AAC support to learners who 
present complex communication needs.
Serve as a resource for AAC strategies
Provide support to speech/language pathologists as they lead IEP teams through 
the AAC Process.

Three Foundation Years
Year One (2018-2019)
Monthly meetings/trainings, vendor visits, creating a shared knowledge
Year Two –Taking a Step Back (2019-2020)
Continued monthly meetings/trainings, developed AAC Process Framework, 
developed a shared Google drive that matched AAC Process Levels
Year Three -Bringing in Our Colleagues (2020-2021)
Introduced our process, presented at cooperative meetings, moved to monthly virtual 
roundtable meetings

Our AAC Process
AAC Cohort process chart
Teams flow from level to level, 
not necessarily in order listed

Letting Feedback Be Our Guide…
Forms response chart AAC Challenges in January 2020
Surveys sent out quarterly to 
speech - language pathologists 
within the Paul Bunyan Education 
Cooperative helped us know 
where to focus.

Examples of How We Addressed Each Challenge
“I don’t have access to the 
materials that I need” 
AAC Lending Library
Assistive Technology Lending 
Library barcode system
Shared Google Drive of resources 
“I’m not sure how to complete 
the process”
Grant supported workshop by 
Rachel Madel+ Chris Bugaj
AAC Tidbits
SETT Framework resources
Access to AAC Cohort Coaches

Learning to Use Coaching Questions
Cohort Coaches worked together to develop a “Quick Reference ” document. Some 
examples of questions we developed are:
“What change do you and the IEP team want to see?”
“What does the team need in order to support this student and make this change 
happen?
“What features of a communication system are important for this student?”
“If “yes” to (a specific communication system), what did you say “no” to?”

(More) Examples of How We Addressed Each Challenge
“I don’t have the support I need 
from the IEP Team”
Relationship building
Empowering teams with 
strength - based coaching 
strategies
“Time”
The great mystery!
Administrative support

Coaching Strategy: 
Reflective Listening
Reflecting on the speaker’s message in your own words 
“What I hear you saying is…”
“It seems as though…”

Coaching Strategy: Let’s Practice!
Reflective Listening
Timmy’s teacher reports, “He never uses his device.”

Coaching Strategy: Let’s Practice!
Reflective Listening 
Timmy’s educational assistant reports, “His device is never 
charged when it comes back to school.”

Coaching Strategy: 
Strength-Based Coaching
Capitalizing on the positives! Proactive check - ins to build confidence and 
leverage areas of strength and growth. 
“What went well today?” 
“Why do you think it went well?”
“I noticed how you…”

Coaching Strategy: Let’s Practice!
Strength-Based Coaching
Ivan’s educational assistant (EA) has been working on using more wait 
time. She has an abrasive tone and is often observed speaking for Ivan 
(e.g., “Well, he thinks…”). She is known to ask repeated questions without 
giving Ivan enough time to process and respond. She is admittedly 
uncomfortable with AAC and often comments that she’s just a “dumb EA.” 

Fast Forward to January 2024
Google forms response chart: What is your biggest challenge in the area of AAC assessment?

The Result of Increased Assessment Capacity
A bar graph of the number of AAC users increasing from 11 in October 2020 to 73 in January 2024.

Our Next Steps
Virtual Roundtable meetings for all IEP Team members held every 6 
weeks: networking + problem solving
Cohort coaches meet in-person twice yearly
Working toward implementation plans and fidelity using the Quality 
Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT) matrices

Questions?

Thank you!
Karley Sykora, MS, CCC/SLP
karley.sykora@isd181.org
Kirsten Morton-Aldous, P/HD, TBI, OHD Specialist, AT Specialist
kirsten.morton-aldou@isd181.org