This study involved 204 special education teachers responding to a survey. The purpose of the study was to profile special education teachers who serve on teams that deliver augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services as well as to begin to understand their team roles/responsibilities. The teachers were identified by school administrators whose addresses were obtained from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The results of the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman-Rho correlations and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients.
A profile of the typical respondents indicated that he/she served on a team 2-3 years, had a master's degree, and had some education in the AAC area. Reports by respondents to the survey indicated that the typical team was designated as a diagnostic/educational planning team that met monthly and served 6-10 students per week. Most teams were located in large urban communities and served students diagnosed with a variety of handicapping conditions. Several other descriptors of the teachers and their teams are reported in this study.
Additionally, respondents were asked to identify the roles/responsibilities that they presently assume, that they feel qualified to assume, that they would prefer to assume, and that they feel are appropriate to assume. A comparison of these questions suggests that the number of roles/responsibilities they presently assume are equal to the number they would prefer, feel qualified, and feel are appropriate to assume. Results of this study alert professions to include special education teachers on teams and to plan appropriate preservice, inservice, and post-secondary AAC educational opportunities.
