Breaking Silence: Dr. Angela MacDonald-Prégent's SCERT Partnership Advances AAC for Minimally Speaking Children

Communication is a fundamental human need, yet many children on the autism spectrum face significant challenges in expressing themselves. Among them, minimally speaking children often remain unheard, their voices lost in the complexity of available communication tools and limited support systems. Dr. Angela MacDonald-Prégent helped alter this reality, in part, through her research partnership with SCERT (Summit Centre for Education, Research, and Training) and the Psychology of Pragmatics Lab in McGill University's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, creating accessible, effective communication methods tailored to these children's unique needs.

Dr. Angela MacDonald-Prégent —

Speech-Language Pathologist and autism researcher

who conducted her doctoral research specializing in augmentative and alternative communication for minimally speaking children.

The SCERT Partnership:

Bridging Research and Practice

Dr. MacDonald-Prégent's doctoral research (under the supervision of Dr. Aparna Nadig) exemplifies SCERT's mission of generating applied research that improves educational services for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. She was able to recruit families and conduct rigorous intervention research that directly impacts the lives of minimally speaking autistic children and their families.

This collaboration allowed her to access SCERT's network of families and educational professionals, creating the foundation for research that bridges the gap between academic study and real-world application. Her work demonstrates how SCERT's partnership model between Summit School and McGill University creates opportunities for meaningful research that translates directly into improved practices.

Impact at a Glance

Dr. MacDonald-Prégent's work has reached an international audience including dozens of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), directly impacting 16 children and their families through her studies. Her presentations at major conferences like ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and ISAAC (International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication) have brought recognition to her work. These numbers represent real connections made possible for children who previously struggled to communicate.

The Lightweight Revolution in AAC

Traditional communication technology for minimally speaking children often involves complex devices and intensive training, which can overwhelm families already managing significant daily challenges. Dr. MacDonald-Pregent identified this critical barrier and developed a solution that families could realistically implement.

Her research on Virtual Coaching for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) demonstrated that a lighter, less demanding approach could be just as effective as more intensive methods. She conducted a 12-week remote caregiver-coaching intervention study comparing different teaching strategies for non-spoken communication.

"We found that the lighter-weight approach was just as effective," she explains. "We wanted to find a way to give parents strategies that are effective, but not too arduous." By proving that virtual coaching works, her research has opened doors for families who lack the time or resources for traditional clinical interventions, allowing parents to support their children's communication development in manageable, sustainable ways.

Innovation Through Assessment Tool Adaptation

One of Dr. MacDonald-Pregent's most significant contributions is her adaptation of the MacArthur Bates Words and Gestures tool for non-spoken communication users. This innovation directly addresses a critical gap in assessment tools by capturing both spoken and non-spoken vocabulary in minimally speaking children.

Before this adaptation, clinicians often missed important progress because traditional tools focused only on spoken words. Now, with this comprehensive assessment approach, clinicians gain a complete picture of a child's communication abilities across all modalities. The tool is available as Open Access, enabling SLPs worldwide to better support their clients without additional cost or barriers.

Research Philosophy:

Rigorous Science with Real-World Impact

Dr. MacDonald-Pregent's research stands out for its scientific rigor and focus on an underrepresented population. Rather than using traditional treatment-as-usual comparisons, she employed active control groups, comparing two different intervention approaches to provide more robust evidence for what actually works.

Her commitment to rigorous methodology ensures that her findings translate into practical benefits for families and clinicians. The research provides tools and methods that work in everyday settings, improving the lives of children who have long been overlooked in autism research.

Research Findings and Outcomes

Through her study with 16 minimally speaking autistic children (ages 3-9), Dr. MacDonald-Pregent demonstrated significant improvements in how we assess and support communication development:

• Enhanced Assessment Capabilities: Including non-spoken communication methods increased reported vocabulary by an average of 14 words per child, with particularly dramatic improvements for children with fewer than 50 spoken words

  
  

• Family-Friendly Intervention: Virtual coaching proved as effective as more intensive approaches, making AAC intervention more accessible to families

  
  

• Global Tool Distribution: Her adapted assessment tool has reached over 60 Speech-Language Pathologists internationally, expanding impact far beyond the initial study

  
  

Practical Examples of Research Impact

• Virtual Coaching Success: Families participating in virtual coaching programs reported increased confidence in supporting their children's communication, using simple everyday moments to encourage gesture and communication board use.

• International Assessment Tool Adoption: SLPs in countries with limited resources have adopted the MacArthur Bates adaptation, allowing them to track progress without expensive equipment or lengthy training.

• Conference Knowledge Translation: Dr. MacDonald-Pregent's presentations at ASHA and ISAAC, featuring her research findings, have sparked discussions on making AAC more accessible and less intimidating for families and clinicians.

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What This Means for Families and Clinicians

Dr. MacDonald-Pregent's research offers concrete hope and practical solutions. Families no longer need to feel overwhelmed by complicated technology or inaccessible therapy approaches. Clinicians gain evidence-based tools that reflect the full range of a child's communication abilities, enabling better support and more personalized intervention plans.

Her research encourages a shift toward communication methods that fit into daily life, making it easier for children to express themselves and for families to understand and respond effectively.

The SCERT Model: Research That Makes a Difference

Dr. MacDonald-Pregent's success story demonstrates the power of SCERT's unique partnership between Summit School and McGill University. By providing access to families, research infrastructure, and a bridge between clinical practice and academic research, SCERT enables the kind of applied research that directly improves outcomes for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Her work shows how SCERT's mission—to generate research that improves educational services and best practices—translates into real-world impact. The lightweight interventions she developed, the assessment tools she created, and the evidence base she established all emerged from the collaborative environment that SCERT provides.

Continuing Impact and Future Directions

While Dr. MacDonald-Pregent has moved on to continue her career in Nova Scotia, her research continues to influence practice worldwide. The assessment tool remains freely available, her intervention approaches are being adopted by clinicians, and her research findings continue to shape how we understand and support minimally speaking autistic children.

Her work exemplifies how research partnerships create lasting impact that extends far beyond individual studies. By facilitating rigorous research that addresses real-world needs, SCERT continues to advance the field of special education and communication disorders.

Moving Forward: The SCERT Legacy

The progress made through Dr. Angela MacDonald-Pregent's SCERT partnership demonstrates that effective communication support doesn't have to be complicated or out of reach. By combining rigorous research methodology with practical application, her work has created tools and approaches that make a real difference in the lives of minimally speaking children and their families.

For families and professionals interested in AAC, the virtual coaching options and comprehensive assessment tools developed through SCERT research represent valuable next steps. Supporting communication in ways that respect each child's pace and family capacity can lead to meaningful connections and improved quality of life, exactly the kind of impact that drives SCERT's research mission.

Her story is just one example of how SCERT's partnership model between research and practice creates opportunities for meaningful advances in supporting individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. As SCERT continues to facilitate such partnerships, the potential for similar breakthroughs that combine scientific rigor with practical impact remains limitless.

This profile is part of SCERT's researcher spotlight series, highlighting the ongoing contributions of researchers who have conducted work through partnership with the Summit Centre for Education, Research, and Training. Dr. MacDonald-Prégent's work demonstrates how SCERT's collaborative model between Summit School and McGill University creates opportunities for research that makes a real difference in the lives of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.