AAC in the Cloud - Highlighted Sessions
Highlights For the Week of Jun 23, 2025
Home Grown – Planting Seeds for AAC Growth
2022
Communication opportunities are everywhere. While therapeutic AAC intervention may be valuable to provide clients with foundational skills, it is certainly not the only way to encourage skill development in those with AAC needs. This session will explore manageable and accessible strategies for selection and implementation of AAC systems at home.
What's New With CoughDrop
2018
We're always making changes to CoughDrop, based on new research and what we learn from our users. Come see how new integrations, built-in modeling ideas and other new features keep making CoughDrop better and better!
Highlights For the Week of Jun 16, 2025
The Meaning of Voice -- The Lived Experience of SGD Users
2019
What is the meaning of voice in the life of a young person who speaks using a SGD? This presentation provides a glimpse into the lived experience of people who use speech generating devices, drawing upon their first hand accounts. “Giving voice”, both literally and metaphorically, will be explored.
AAC and the Transition to Adulthood
2018
This presentations will run through steps, concerns, and consideration regarding students who will be transitioning from school-based services to adulthood. Adult vocabulary, funding, and resources will be considered.
What are Tangible Symbols? Use of these AAC Supports Across Settings
2022
Learn what makes a "good" tangible symbol including considerations when making them that I have found to be successful. Demonstrating how this form of AAC can be powerful tool to provide access to AAC, not just in school, but also at home and how they can be used to facilitate and open doors for community interactions.
Highlights For the Week of Jun 9, 2025
Eye Gaze Access for Autistics
2022
Eyegaze AAC is often primarily considered when a disability affects the use of hands, arms or multiple limbs! When thinking of eyegaze most people think of ALS, cerebral palsy or similar disabilities as they are well known for impacting motor and coordination! rarely if ever considered for autistics, however many autistic speak at length about the brain body disconnect where our bodies don't listen to our brains, this ranges from person to person but is widely discussed and well known in the autistic community, the brain body disconnect effect motor movements, speech coordination ect. However despite it being widely discussed by autistics. As well as Spoken a fair bit about by many non speaking autistics eyegaze still doesn't seem to be looked at as an AAC access method for autistics
Highlights For the Week of Jun 2, 2025
AAC for Families -- Stories of Ourselves: Fun With Family Photos
2019
To improve AAC skills, it helps to write for an authentic audience. Organizing and marking up photos can be a fun family activity. It provides opportunities for commenting, asking/answering questions, and using the alphabet. Once photos are organized, they can be used in the AAC app to set a topic or share a memory.
AAC and Heritage Language
2021
A Heritage Language is a language that is not the dominant language, typically learned or used at home, by people who have cultural ties to that language. Through our family’s journey to achieving fluency and a working AAC device in an endangered language, this presentation will address common issues.
Literacy Connections -- Reading, Writing and AAC
2023
For students AAC communicators, the development of literacy skills are essential to unrestricted access to ALL the words. Too often, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening are taught in isolation. In this session, participants learn ways to connect and integrate reading, writing and language into instructional routines across the student day.
Highlights For the Week of May 26, 2025
Implementing Dasher for the First Time in an AAC App
2021
Dasher is a fluid, continuous gesture text entry system implemented for the first time in an AAC app in Predictable, as an access method. It is accessible via direct touch, as well as head and eye tracking, and features a letter prediction engine.
Overcoming Barriers to Communication
2018
Providing successful home, school, and community communication experiences for individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can be challenging, particularly in environments that do not easily allow for use of high-tech AAC systems. This webinar will provide participants with an overview of innovative strategies collaboratively developed by family members and therapists to overcome environmental and positional barriers to communication. This "show and tell" will highlight some of the creative adaptations that have allowed children and young adults to communicate in bed, in the shower, horseback riding, swimming, and more!
¡¡Encuentra el tesoro!! Recursos y estrategias para alfabetización emergente en español
2023
La evidencia confirma que las personas con Complejas Necesidades de Comunicación necesitan aprender a leer y escribir. La búsqueda y creación de materiales y recursos para apoyar la alfabetización integral de lectores y escritores emergentes, nos invita a compartir recursos para las necesidades de estudiantes y adaptadas a español.
Highlights For the Week of May 19, 2025
Fostering Independence of AAC Users in ALL Areas of Life
2021
I am going to look at home, school, community, friends and special events and how the user can be as independent as possible with the support of others.
Intro to CoughDrop AAC- Enabling Parents to Model on any Device and Platform.
-Beyond the Device Mentality
2017
Plain Language for AAC -- What It Is and Why It Matters
2023
Plain language is a type of writing that uses clear, simple words and sentences. Plain language can help people understand a piece of text better. You should use plain language when writing and talking about AAC. This presentation will teach you the basics of writing in plain language. This presentation will talk about how to write about AAC in plain language.
Highlights For the Week of May 12, 2025
Giving CoughDrop a Second Look - What You Haven't Seen CoughDrop Do Before
2019
CoughDrop has added some great new features over the last 18 months, all focused around helping communicators and their support teams be more successful. Check out what we've done around goals, modeling support, messaging, integrations, etc.!
Using Eye-Tracking to Access Predictable
2021
Predictable is a text-to-speech app designed for people who are literate but don't have the ability to speak. In 2020, we introduced three innovative access methods relying on Apple technology. This year, we worked with Irisbond and integrated the first iOS eye-tracking solution!
Highlights For the Week of May 5, 2025
AAC is Everything, Everything is AAC -- Why Guided Access & Other Methods of Locking Tablets Remove Autonomy
2021
To many, there's AAC apps for communication, and other devices for everything else. But, we use other apps (on the same device!) for communication, and AAC as non-communication assistive tech. The lines between AAC and everything else are fuzzy. Denying this, and locking us into one app is harmful.
Communication in the Community
2019
Community based instruction is an essential piece of today’s life skills curriculums. Unfortunately, supporting students who use AAC in the community setting can be a difficult and daunting process. This presentation aims to provide resources and support to help professionals provide the best possible services to the individuals they serve.
Highlights For the Week of Apr 28, 2025
Communication and Literacy in the Secondary Special Education Classroom -- It CAN Be Done!
2021
This presentation will detail the introduction of literacy and communication to a classroom of four young men with autism and a history of ineffective education. “Never too old to start” is a motto that rings true in the classroom that had one year to prove that intensive teaching works.
Putting the other "A" in AAC: The Augmentative Part
2019
In the world of AAC (Augmentative Alternative Communication), we tend to really focus on the alternative piece. As an SLP working in the public schools, I work with a lot of students who are partially verbal. That is they are speaking words but it might just be one or two word sentences or telegraphic speech. Oftentimes these students really benefit from the structure of a low tech communication board to give their sentences correct grammatical structure and by having a multi-sensory method of expressing themselves. This presentation will give you some tips and ideas for ways you can help your students "augment" their communication.
Highlights For the Week of Apr 21, 2025
AAC and Verbal Individuals: How AAC Impacted Our Lives
2018
My friend Lydia Wayman and I both have a diagnosis of autism. We are both verbal; AND we are both AAC users! We use AAC to supplement our verbal communication. Come hear us talk about how we use AAC to help us; even though we are verbal.
All Hands On Deck for Touch Access
2021
Calling all hands-on deck for touch access! There is so much to consider and explore for clients who use touch access. This session is led by two assistive technology consultants and speech-language pathologists ( SLPs) to review ways to encourage touch access, low-tech to high-tech device modifications and DIY ideas to trial touch access methods with your students. One small change can make a big difference when using touch access. Get ready for this hands-on course and leave with a touch access resource guide for editing tips, checklists and trial ideas.
Highlights For the Week of Apr 14, 2025
Feature Matching in the AAC Assessment
2023
Feature-matching in AAC assessment is a crucial component of the assessment process but can be intimidating! Feature-matching is completed by looking at an individual’s skills and needs to determine the most appropriate AAC system features (ASHA, n.d.). Learn more in this recorded webinar!
AAC in the Classroom...for the teacher
2018
“AAC in the classroom” usually means AAC for students. Sometimes, however, it's the teacher who needs AAC! I'll be talking about AAC in the workplace, specifically the classroom as a workplace, based on both my experience and that of other teachers I know of. Practical tips incoming!
Highlights For the Week of Apr 7, 2025
Free AAC Resources for Buy-in and Communication Growth
2023
Let's explore some of the great materials, websites, supplies, and assets that can be accessed for FREE to help support AAC communicators and teams.
Highlights For the Week of Mar 31, 2025
Visual Impairments & AAC -- Case Study and Discussion of Tips & Device Adaptations
2023
Join Naomi and Stefanie as Naomi discusses what she has learned as a part-time AAC user with vision impairments, and Stefanie shares device modifications she has made with young AAC users with vision impairments. Participants will receive access to resources related to AAC and vision impairments.
Highlights For the Week of Mar 24, 2025
My AAC is Part of My Gender Presentation
2020
When setting up AAC, considering disability is normal. But, identity is complex, more than just our disabilities, and our assistive tech is a part of us. It needs to support the whole person. We’ll discuss using AAC as a trans, disabled person and some considerations as they customize their device.
Switch Adapting Toys is Easy!
2021
Who am I? What are switch adapted toys? Overview of switch adapted toys. Live tutorial. What is Jericho adapts toys and how to start your own organization!
Highlights For the Week of Mar 17, 2025
Strategies to Increase AAC Modeling in the Classroom
2018
A nationwide survey of general and special education teachers (pre-k – high school) identified perceived barriers in being able to provide partner aided language in the classroom setting. The results of this survey will be shared with participants along with practical solutions to overcome these obstacles, and provide educators with the tools and confidence they need to speak AAC.
