Objective: The purpose of the investigation was to determine the effect of a core word of the week coaching program on preschool educators’ frequency of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) modeling during routine classroom activities. Method: Using a single-subject, A-B follow-up research design, three participants received a 30-minute training on core vocabulary and aided AAC modeling techniques. Following the training, participants received a maximum of two 20-minute individual coaching sessions per week until the criterion was met. Data collection of participants’ modeling count occurred during 10-minute routine classroom activities across baseline, intervention, and follow-up phases. Results: The results of the investigation revealed a positive relationship between participation in a coaching program centered around a core word of the week and the frequency of aided AAC modeling in natural classroom activities. Marked improvement from baseline to intervention and accelerating trends from intervention to follow-up occurred across participants. All participants increased their number of models to meet the criterion within four to six coaching sessions. With no declines in the follow-up phase, the participants maintained higher levels of modeling once the intervention ended. Conclusion: Implementation of a core word of the week coaching program can increase the aided AAC modeling of preschool educators. Future research is needed to validate these findings with a larger, more homogeneous sample size and to explore the long-term effects of the packaged intervention approach.
