Augmentative Resources

Hope you enjoy our products! Thank you for your support.

Augmentative Resources, Inc has been manufacturing and reselling products for individuals with Autism and related disorders for over 16 years.

Mission Statement…
We are committed to helping teachers and caregivers of these special children and adults by making quality products available to them that can help with communication, the understanding of language, social skill acquisition, behavior, independence, language and literacy skills. The company was founded by a Speech and Language Pathologist and made possible by the support of her wonderful family. We are thankful for the blessings of teachers, parents, and caregivers - and pray that the products we manufacture make the goals you have for your loved ones easier to achieve.

The beginnings…
I am the founder of Augmentative Resources, Cheryl Miller. By trade, I am also a Speech and Language Pathologist, SLP, and have been in the field for a little over 20 years. In graduate school, I had the wonderful opportunity of discovering my passion was working with students who had more severe communication disabilities. I love the challenges this represents and how each child is so different that you have to be a detective to figure out, often by trial and error, what works for each student as an individual. (I have always loved puzzles!) I also learned so much from each client I worked with, trying to see things from their perspective. Fortunately, the university I was attending had much to offer in the way of providing me with background knowledge and experience with this population, especially those with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), . There, I learned the basics of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Voice Output Communication Aid (VOCA) / Speech Generating Device (SGD), the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the benefits of using Visual Aids for individuals with Autism, including Picture Schedules and Token Reward Systems / Reinforcement Charts. Back then the go to for making communication pictures was Boardmaker Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) by Mayer-Johnson® / Dynavox®- now Tobii®, or the PECS® pictures. I remember when I was working with my first group of students with severe Autism who had 1 on 1 aids to assist them due to aggressive behaviors. I loved it, but my picture communication boards, which were made out of stiff foam board and Velcro® strips, were in shambles after each session and I kept having to make new ones – which wasn’t cheap. I was thinking “there has to be something more durable than this!”

Then it happened….
During one of my externships working in an elementary school, I went to visit my parents at their sewing shop. They had a business sewing heavy duty canvas, upholstery vinyl and other outdoor fabrics for marine applications. I walked in and there it was …drum roll please…wait for it… a roll of Veltex® fabric, as tall and almost as wide as me. Words cannot express the joy! This fabric is made by Velcro® and is like loop Velcro® but softer and bigger. (I have been told that back in the day there was a similar fabric called Tempo Loop that some of you might be familiar with.) She also had wider widths of regular Velcro® which I didn’t really know existed. Anyway, I was so excited to find these materials and had to explain to my parents about all of the Velcro® choice boards and picture communication books I made in the past that were pretty much disposable. My mind was racing thinking of all of the great things that could be made with the fabric for the students and teachers I worked with.


The first products in the works…
Shortly thereafter, I had my mother make a few products for the students I was working with at that time. The teachers were challenged by trying to hold student’s hands during transitions while trying to have the students carrying their picture communication books at the same time. Therefore, the first 2 products created were the portable communication books that could be fastened to belt loop. The communication/ visual waist apron was the next item, as teachers wanted a way to keep pictures accessible to students for things that they could request for outside play. Later, the visual aid full aprons were made. Many of the teachers had goals for increasing eye contact, so the Literacy Strip was created. This was a strip of loop Velcro® that fastens to most books with elastic strap resulting in an interactive visual display at the top of the book to promote interaction and eye contact up toward person narrating the story. I also developed a basic 2-sided Velcro® picture communication choice board at this time and a Velcro® page that would fit in a picture communication notebook.

Realizing the need…
The supervisor I had at that time was also in charge of AAC for our county and informed me that the things we made were not readily available and that I should look into making them available to the public. We did one Assistive Technology (AT) conference to test the waters. Our first was the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference, since it was in Florida near where we lived. We only had a few products at that time, but received an overwhelming response by those who visited our booth. Everyone seemed to really like what we had made, so we figured that we should continue with this new business venture. Augmentative Resources was born.

Building blocks…
So it begins, I was fortunate that my parents could slowly start the business out of the current facility their business was in. In addition, my father was able to do catalog layout and website stuff. Without my parents’ knowledge and support, I would not have been able to fund paying people to prototype and do digital marketing. It is as if it was meant to be that it all came together like it did, with all of our talents combining to make the company possible. I began prototyping more products with my mom that would help meet the needs of the children I was working with and their teachers to improve communication, literacy and language skills. Later we also developed some products for sensory development and organizational independent functioning / transition tools for children with Autism, like the Velcro® picture schedules and sensory mats.

Expanding our horizons…
We quickly found out that these products were not only good for individuals with Autism, but for many other individuals with similar communication and learning challenges, including severe Expressive Communication Disorders. Word began to spread and we were glad to discover that our products were also being used with children and adults who have Downs Syndrome, Verbal Apraxia, NonVerbal Language Disorder (NVLD), Selective Mutism, Angelman Syndrome, Stroke, Cerebral Palsy CP, Head Injury / TBI Traumatic Brain Injuries, ALS, Huntington’s Disease, Intellectual Disabilities (InD), Low Incidence Disabilities (LID) and Physical Disabilities.

Out and about…
As our product line grew, we started attending different conferences like Closing the Gap, CSUN California State University Northridge Assistive Technology Conference, CEC Council for Exceptional Students Special Education Convention, ASHA American Speech and Hearing Association Conference, ASHA Schools Conference and the Autism Society National Conference for the Autism Society of America. What memories! We met some wonderful parents, professionals and AAC students, gaining invaluable information from them along the way. Using the input they gave us, regarding the needs that were out there, we would get back to the drawing board and come up with new products. That is exactly what we did and the product line grew and grew. Special thanks to some of the AAC gurus and presenters for their input- here’s to Caroline Musselwhite for her Trifold Picture Communication Choice Board idea, Elizabeth (Libby) Rush for her input in the area of our Interactive Literacy products and to Linda Burkart for her vision of the Bi-fold Picture Communication Folder. Countless other Special Education Teachers, Teachers of the Deaf/ Blind and (VI) Visually Impaired, PreK Preschool ESE Teachers, Occupational Therapists, CAS Certified Autism Specialist, BCBA Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Applied Behavior Analysts (ABA Therapists). A big thank you to our friends at Lessonpix.com for coaching me with some of my marketing strategies and providing our customers with the pictures they need to customize our products at a reasonable price. Thank you all for your support.

Branching off…
The ties were cut…and we were finally financially able to move into our own building, leaving my parents’ wing. Of course, by that time my mother could not keep up with the demand sewing all of the products herself. We were determined to keep production by the manufacturing of Augmentative Resources products in the USA. I am proud to say that to this day all of the products we manufacture are assembled in the United States of America. I also started to offer some materials from other companies that complimented, or could be used in conjunction with, our products. I sincerely hope that you and yours are blessed by the materials we have to offer.

Compliments…
Our products can be used hand in hand, in conjunction with, or as a supplement to many different AAC programs such as: The PODD Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Displays Program, PODD Communication Books, PECS Picture Exchange Communication System®, Mayer-Johnson® Boardmaker®, Fitzgerald Key, Goosens’, Crain and Elder Color-Coding AAC System, AAC core vocabulary and AAC fringe vocabulary boards.