AAC in the Cloud 2025

In this session, we'll explore the key tenets of Explicit Instruction (EI) as a high leverage practice for instruction to increase access for AAC users in low incidence classrooms. EI is a foundational instructional practice that can be used to teach skills and vocabulary, including engaging AAC interactions in general education and resource classrooms.

This session covers integrating Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) into school systems to empower students and support staff. Participants will learn about the Specific Language System First model and the MTSS framework, addressing barriers, sharing strategies, and providing tools to ensure inclusive, effective communication for all students.

Digital Assistants can be integrated into weekly speech therapy sessions to teach clients that Digital Assistants are a portal to information that can be accessed at any point through a series of steps. The steps to access Digital Assistants vary depending on the user's communication strengths (i.e., using their voice, using direct-selections on an iPad, and/or using their eyes to activate buttons on an iPad through infrared technology). Clients and their families learn to build trust in the technology by using skills learned in therapy for generalization into the home using the same portal.

This seminar is the culmination of a year-long research project on the relative message making efficiency of 60 grid sets across 11 apps. Have you ever been curious how many taps/selections it takes to create a message in one size grid versus another? One app versus another? Efficiency is an important aspect of respecting an AAC user's energy and time, and yet there has been no research until now to either back up or debunk assumptions we make about it. Come see what the numbers say, and learn why efficiency matters!

AAC in the Cloud 2025 Heather Roach shares her experiences starting as a special ed teacher, to her daughter being diagnosed with Rett Syndrome and adopting AAC supports at home, to becoming a PODD expert and trainer, to reaching out and supporting other families in their AAC journeys through her Parent Circle initiative.

Research on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for Gestalt Language Processing (GLP) is currently limited but real-world need for integration is essential. It is paramount that we support AAC users who may be GLPs. Let's explore how SLPs can incorporate gestalts into current AAC systems to improve communication effectiveness for communicators and their communication partners.

Effective implementation of AAC within classrooms requires a collaborative approach to ensure that all students achieve optimal outcomes. This approach emphasizes a collaborative model where SLPs provide education, support, and group intervention. Attendees will gain practical strategies to increase the effectiveness of their push-in therapy sessions.

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users often share the frustrations related to not feeling heard when attempting to advocate for him/herself. This presentation highlights how one program has attempted to improve student outcomes and give them a voice through opportunities outside of the classroom and use of technological resources.

Using high-tech AAC requires a significant amount of effort on the part of the end-user. As practitioners design AAC vocabularies, they need to consider user effort when choosing grid sizes, vocabulary location, organization, etc. But that doesn't happen consistenly. We present a vocabulary scoring framework using a standardized effort scoring algorithm, to allow for more normalized AAC vocabulary comparison and more effective vocabulary creation by designers and organizations.

We have not received enough responses yet to release these videos. Please help us out! Record one or more short video clips that will be compiled into this session, and you'll be added for an Amazon gift card drawing. See more at the conference web site.