Highlights For the Week of Nov 4, 2024
AAC & Inclusion -- Leveraging Peer Models
Sarah Gregory
2019
It is easy to agree that all learners should be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment. But sometimes students with complex communication needs are placed in general education classroom without a robust plan for support. Inclusion is not a place, it is a concept and it is not just about physical placement. The goal of general education placement is authentic inclusion, not merely a seat at the table.
Highlights For the Week of Oct 28, 2024
You’ve Got This! Caregivers as the Driving Force in Early AAC Implementation
Kate Ahern
2019
All parents teach their children to communicate. Without classes or workshops or the direction of a specialist, moms, dads, and caregivers teach language. Yet, when we look at a young (or older) child who is not able to communicate fully using spoken language we become afraid. We don’t know where to start or what to do. Advice varies and everyone has an opinion. This session will focus on looking at the skills all parents draw upon to teach their children to communication and harnessing those skills to teach your child with complex communication needs.
CoughDrop Collab™ - CoughDrop AAC Management Solutions for Districts and Organizations
Scot Wahlquist
2022
Special Education Departments continue to be asked to do more with less. Nationwide, districts are faced with less resources, teachers, staff, and time, but are simultaneously tasked with an increase of heterogeneous groups of students, including those with Assistive Technology needs (including AAC needs), and documentation. Communication is a right. How can districts ensure that every students’ AAC needs are being addressed and not being lost in the shuffle? This session will examine how districts and organizations can leverage CoughDrop’s cloud technology to provide personalized AAC services to greater amounts of students. This session will: Overview the CoughDrop Collab Organization and Management Tool and Resources Explore CoughDrop’s remote management options of district licenses and student and staff users from a central dashboard Investigate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies to integrate CoughDrop’s Individual, Classroom, and Site Licensing options into district initiatives Examine CoughDrop’s integrated features for IEP AAC Goal automated tracking and data reports Discuss CoughDrop privacy controls for AAC teams
Highlights For the Week of Oct 21, 2024
Brian Whitmer - Remote Communication is no Longer an Afterthought
2020
Remote digital communication can be a valuable resource for AAC users for many reasons. With the sudden shift to remote practice it can be difficult to know how to support communicators from a remote setting, and how to best implement AAC from a distance. Come learn about some of the unique features of CoughDrop like built-in two-way texting, virtual assessments, remote editing and reporting, and screen share helping tools, and how they can help support communicators in various settings.
Keyguards to Improve Accessability on iPads & Tablets
Mark Larson
2019
In this presentation we’ll demonstrate how keyguards improve accessibility for AAC apps, how to choose a case for your device that will best suit a keyguard, and the variety of materials and manufacturing methods available today. We’ll also include a discussion of how to best configure the most popular AAC apps for use with a keyguard.
Highlights For the Week of Oct 14, 2024
AAC Assessments
Celeste Helling
2019
The ultimate goal of a comprehensive AAC assessment is effective communication. Given the complexity of AAC evaluation, the diversity of those needing assessment and the constraints imposed by time and reimbursement factors, the need for a systematic, comprehensive approach to assessment is critical to the goal of successful AAC use. But how to get there when there are few systematic assessment protocols available? This session reviews the iOS app AAC Evaluation Genie, an informal assessment framework that provides a cohesive protocol for evaluating the skills that are most commonly looked at during an AAC evaluation process.
Alternative Access Beyond Physical Disabilities
Lily Huston
2020
We know and use alternative access methods for students unable to activate a device with direct selection. But what about our other students? What if we used eye gaze, head, pointing, switch scanning, and partner-assisted scanning for students that have the motor abilities for direct selection?
Highlights For the Week of Oct 7, 2024
Insight for Updating a High-tech AAC with Cognitive Design Perspective
Naz Yilmaz
2021
Since there is no consolidated baseline or roadmap to designing high-tech AAC systems, in this presentation I want to share our one year AAC redesign story. We design AAC for two languages: English and Turkish, and had the chance to experience each step in developing and designing a high-tech AAC. This includes UX research and design, drawing of the symbol cards, arranging them, developer & admin side like coding for language engines. These insights will benefit with professionals in the AAC design field.
AAC Speaker Employment Starts Here
Chris Gibbons
2022
Augmented communicators discuss the importance of recruiting and paying AAC users as public speakers. Each will offer examples of different public speaking engagements, what they need to be successful, how they prepare, unexpected challenges encountered, what they would do differently, and how they get connected with opportunities.
Highlights For the Week of Sep 30, 2024
Eye Gaze for Communication and Independent Learning
Keith Jackson
2019
This session will offer real world experiences using eye gaze to encourage and enhance independent communication and learning skills as an additional method of communication. Through videos, examples, ideas, and resources we will demonstrate how using this method of communication allows the user the ability to participate in games, social media, communication, as well as enhance learning skills in both school and home environments.
Highlights For the Week of Sep 23, 2024
AT/AAC in the IEP
Sharon Redmon
2020
Accommodations, Assessments, Tools, when does a UDL become AT! Where, when and how to add AT and AAC into the IEP? Writing IEP's is exhausting and not knowing if you are doing it right can be stressful. This webinar will, while not the most exciting part of what we do, help you have a better understanding of how to have AT/AAC documented and connected throughout the IEP. In this hour-long webinar, we will look at AT consideration, when UDL becomes AT, and how to ensure the Present Levels, assessments, goals, and accommodations are all connected. Examples of what and how to write goals, AT services and devices will be shared. We will also explore how to ensure your goals do not conflict with private practice goals and discuss testing accommodations for state testing. Learning Objectives: In this webinar participants will be able to... Understand the difference between UDL and AT Describe how and where to write AT/AAC into an IEP State importance of having AT/AAC in the IEP
Highlights For the Week of Sep 16, 2024
Alexa, Give me Independence
Jeanna Kakavas
2021
Smart speakers are a game changer for students who can't interact with the world typically. Students with multiple disabilities can use their AAC devices to control their environments This gives our students with the highest needs the ability to control their worlds, just like their typically developing peers.
Highlights For the Week of Sep 9, 2024
Improving AAC Support with Lessons from Distance Learning
Sarah Gregory
2020
There has been a recent pivot in the way AAC support is provided due to the need for distance learning. This is an opportunity to evaluate new and traditional strategies to decide what will be continued upon return to in person learning. Let’s allow creativity and innovation to guide implementation.
Core Communication Workshop -- Accessible Tools to Support Core Learning
Brian Whitmer
2019
Many AAC communicators can benefit from the gradual introduction and modeling of a small set of core words for the week or month. Focusing on a set of core words can also help the support team and families have a concrete area of focus. In this session we will discuss the research backing up this educational strategy and introduce the Communication Workshop, a free, open-licensed, community-driven library of books, videos and activities to support core word implementation across multiple device brands and implementations.
Highlights For the Week of Sep 2, 2024
Highlights For the Week of Aug 26, 2024
Highlights For the Week of Aug 19, 2024
AAC Implementation -- Model as a MASTER PAL
Tabi Jones-Wohleber
2019
A MASTER PAL, or “skilled partner” of an individual who uses AAC engages in authentic and meaningful interactions. However, developing such skills with communication partners is an on-going, nuanced and gradual process. This session lays out a framework for meaningful team dialogue to identify, describe, and discuss interaction behaviors of exemplar communication partners, in digestible chunks. Model as a MASTER PAL has been implemented in a school-based setting, but the content and structure are relevant across environments where AAC communication partners require support to understand and engage in authentic communicative interactions. Participants will be provided access to and an overview of Model as a MASTER PAL modules on the following topics: Model AAC, Motivate, Accept Multiple Modalities, Statements more than Questions, Time, Engage Naturally, Response Not Required, Presume Competence, Appropriate Prompting, and Let the Child Lead.
Highlights For the Week of Aug 12, 2024
Highlights For the Week of Aug 5, 2024
How I Learned to Read -- the experience of an AAC user
Cristian Rosas
2019
Yesterday I posted on Facebook, took my medicine, went to class, answered emails, and went out to eat. I can do this because I can read and write. I can read my medicine bottle, my Facebook feed, my class books, emails, and the menu at the restaurant. It was hard to learn to read. I will tell my story about learning to read and how I read and write now.
Highlights For the Week of Jul 29, 2024
Helping Families Build AAC Teams Through Collaboration
Heather Roach
2024
Explore effective collaboration strategies for AAC users, families, educators, and healthcare professionals. Gain insights from a seasoned special education teacher and parent of an AAC user. Learn to create personalized action plans integrating education, therapy, and medical goals. Empower families to advocate effectively and build cohesive AAC teams, leaving with practical tools for inclusive AAC support.