Teachers’ Awareness and Implementation of Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Teaching Autistic Children in Kampala, Uganda

الملخص

This study investigates teachers' awareness and implementation of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) for teaching children with autism in Kampala, Uganda, where limited awareness and effective use of AAC persist despite its proven benefits. AAC plays a crucial role in supporting or replacing speech for individuals with complex communication needs. Guided by Rogers' stages of the innovation-decision process, with a focus on the knowledge (awareness) and implementation stages, the study employed a quantitative approach using a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. The target population comprised special needs education teachers who taught autistic children and incorporated AAC into their teaching. A sample of 101 respondents was selected through snowball sampling across five divisions of Kampala District. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), employing descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The findings revealed that teachers in Kampala have low to moderate levels of awareness of AAC in teaching autistic children. Despite this, teachers actively implemented AAC strategies, indicating that implementation can occur even when awareness is limited. The study found a significant, moderate to strong positive correlation between teachers' awareness and their implementation of AAC (r = .645), suggesting that higher levels of awareness are associated with greater implementation of AAC strategies. These findings highlight the need for targeted professional development to strengthen teachers' knowledge and support more effective use of AAC.