Carole Zangari: AAC Educator and Co-Founder of Praactical AAC

Rachel, Lucas, and Chris are joined this week by the amazing Carole Zangari! Dr. Zangari, co-founder of the Praactical AAC website and professor of speech-language pathology at Nova Southeastern University, shares some of her ideas about improving the experience for pre-service (i.e., unpaid and new to the field) teachers and SLPs who work with AAC users. The team also discusses the need for greater funding for AAC research, ways that people can get involved in AAC education, and the importance of implementation science. Carole then shares about her journey building Praactical AAC (praacticalaac.com) into one of the most well-known and widely-used AAC resources available!
Questions addressed this episode include: How can we educate graduate students about AAC in a more meaningful way? How can SLPs and teachers promote more evidence-based AAC implementation? What areas of research should we be focusing on next? What can SLPs and teachers do to get started sharing their AAC expertise with others? 
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Eric Sanders: How do we Support Reading and Writing Skills with AAC?

This week, Rachel, Lucas, and Chris are joined by Dr. Eric Sanders for a roundtable discussion of how we can help augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users develop reading and writing (i.e., literacy) skills. Topics addressed include: Should we support AAC users in their development of reading and writing skills? What is the role of story time and shared reading in emerging literacy? What kinds of activities and goals encourage the development of reading fluency? How can we support a comprehensive reading approach for children who use AAC?
Eric Sanders, PhD, CCC-SLP is an AAC specialist and professor at Pacific University, Oregon whose areas of expertise include the development of literacy and language skills by AAC users and individuals with intellectual disabilities.
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References
Erickson, K., Koppenhaver, D., & Cunningham, J. (2016). Comprehensive Reading Intervention in Augmentative Communication. In R. J. McCauley, M. E. Fey, , & Gillam, R. B. (Eds.). Treatment of language disorders in children. (275-300).

Roundtable: When Should We Start Using AAC?

This week Rachel leads the team in a discussion of AAC for emergent communicators, focusing on early intervention through school-age children. Topics covered include the influence of AAC use on speech and language development, family and peer training, and a spirited debate about when to go high-tech - or not.
We'd love to hear your feedback and opinions! Come join us on Facebook, email us at tech@speechscience.org, or @talkingwithtech on Instagram or Twitter. Like what we do at Talking With Tech? Take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes as that helps others find us!
Research referenced in this episode includes:
Davidoff, B. E. (2017). AAC With Energy—Earlier: Research shows that children with communication challenges do best when introduced to augmentative and alternative communication as early as 12 months. The ASHA Leader, 22(1), 48-53.
Romski, M., Sevcik, R. A., Barton-Hulsey, A., & Whitmore, A. S. (2015). Early intervention and AAC: What a difference 30 years makes. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31(3), 181-202.

Roundtable: Modeling

After many requests to cover modeling in more detail, for the second time ever Talking With Tech is interview-free this week so that we can take a deep dive into the who, what, where, when, and why of modeling in Augmentative/Alternative Communication. We'd love to hear your feedback and your strategies! Come join us on Facebook, email us at tech@speechscience.org, or @talkingwithtech on Instagram or Twitter.
Like what we do at Talking With Tech? Take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes as that helps others find us!
Referenced during the episode: AAC Modeling Intervention Research Review - Samuel C. Sennott, Janice C. Light, and David McNaughton -102 Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities 41(2)

Roundtable: Core Words

In a small departure from form, the gang - Rachel, Chris, and Lucas - decided that they had so much to say about core words (especially after speaking to Jane Odom last week) that an interview wasn't even necessary. Let us know what you think about this format, as we're considering alternating between strictly educational content like this interspersed with thought leaders like those we normally have.
Click here to visit the Patreon mentioned in the episode. Also, check out www.aaclivenow.com to visit AAC Live Now (seriously, reach out to lucas@speechscience.org or call him at 541-952-1699 if you would either like to help or would LIKE help - spoiler alert, Lucas - or even one more member member of TWT - just may end up being your consultant). 
... and of course, as always, don't forget to rate, subscribe, and come join our the Facebook Page and Group, not to mention Twitter and Instragram. We'll only get better if we know what will benefit your practice!