S2C Practitioner Training
Currently, the nonspeaking population is underserved. There are more potential spellers than trained practitioners. To increase communication and learning for more nonspeakers and support their families, I-ASC is committed to training more rigorously prepared S2C Practitioners.I-ASC offers Practitioner training in Spelling to Communicate (S2C), a method for teaching purposeful motors skills for communication for individuals with autism and other sensory-motor challenges as a means of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). S2C Practitioners work with nonspeaking children and adults to teach the motor skills necessary to point to letters to spell words. As motor skills improve through consistent practice, students progress from pointing to letters on letterboards to typing on a keyboard.
Given the assumption that each S2C Practitioner will serve at least 15 new nonspeakers per year, over a 20-year career, that means each S2C Practitioner has the potential to help 300 nonspeaking people. For every training cohort of 10 S2C Practitioners, they will be able to collectively serve 3,000 nonspeaking individuals; 10 cohorts could support 30,000 nonspeaking people! The more practitioners trained worldwide, the more nonspeakers will be able to effectively communicate.
I-ASC’s training course (approximately 6.5 months) prepares S2C Practitioners to work with a wide range of nonspeaking individuals, and coach parents, family members, and educational aides to serve as Communication Regulation Partners (CRP) to provide continued support for their nonspeaking person.
I-ASC currently has trained S2C Practitioners in the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, South America, Dubai, France, Czech Republic, Venezuela, and Ireland. See our interactive map for the location of Practitioners.
I-ASC is led by Elizabeth Vosseller, a Speech-Language Pathologist with decades of experience working with nonspeaking individuals. To implement this training program, Elizabeth is joined by six experienced Practitioners who are members of I-ASC’s Leadership Cadre. These leaders, along with other seasoned Practitioners serving as mentors, work closely with students to support their successful completion of the course. Upon completion, students are prepared to open their own practices or join an existing practice or school. Graduates are eligible for membership in the I-ASC S2C Practitioner Network which provides ongoing access to content, resources, and support.
