Barbara Fernandes: CEO of SmartyEars, Developer, and “GeekSLP” Blogger

Rachel and Lucas discuss entrepreneurship and app development with Barbara Fernandes, CEO of SmartyEars, a company that has created over 60 apps for speech, language, and communication! Before the interview, Lucas and Rachel have a lively conversation about their experience starting a private practice, their reasons for doing so, and some of the pitfalls they ran into starting their practice. Following this discussion, Lucas and Rachel sit down with Barbara to talk about her experiences as a business owner, app developer, speech-language pathologist, AAC specialist, and blogger  at geekslp.com. Barbara shares insights learned from a multitude of experiences working with bilingual students, founding SmartyEars, developing apps for iPhone and iPad, blogging, and creating her own symbol system, SmartySymbols!
Questions addressed this episode include:
Why did Rachel move to LA and start a practice in a new city?
What experience told Lucas he should be working with AAC?
Why did Rachel start out her practice doing in-home therapy?
What made Lucas and Rachel decide it was time to start their own practice?
What do Rachel and Lucas wish they had known before they started?
What inspired Barbara Fernandes to found SmartyEars?
How can we support better parent/child interactions using technology?
How can we make apps both motivating and instructive?
What inspired Barbara to create her own symbol system?
How can we take our creative and business ideas and make them a reality?
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Stacey Landberg: Should we Limit Screen Time for Young AAC Users?

This week, Lucas and Rachel discuss their experiences with screen time and ways that they have tried to make screen time more meaningful for clients. Rachel and Lucas also discuss situations when they have disagreed with a family member about how to proceed with an AAC intervention, and why parent buy-in is so critical. Next, Rachel and Chris discuss screen time recommendations for children under the age of three with Stacey Landberg, a speech-language pathologist who specializes in early intervention and early childhood development. Ms. Landberg discusses why not all “screen time” is the same and shares some great tips on how parents and instructors can make screen time more meaningful and educational!
Questions answered this week include:
How should we deal with a parent who disagrees about goals or first steps in intervention?
How can we use educational apps to teach AAC?
Why is family input and parent education so critical to AAC in particular?
What is the difference between active vs passive screen time, and are these terms misleading?
Should AAC use be considered “screen time” for children under three?
What is the “default mode network”?
How can caregivers turn video watching into a social interaction?
What is the best way for parents to manage screen time for children under three?
We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!
 

Calum Hartley: Why Do Some Children Have Difficulty Understanding Pictures?

Rachel, Lucas, and Chris are joined this week by Dr. Calum Hartley, Professor of Psychology at Lancaster University. Dr. Hartley’s research focuses on why some young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and complex communication needs may have a difficult time learning the meaning of pictures (e.g., icons, drawings, photographs). One reason a child with ASD may understand one picture over another is its “iconicity,” or how closely the picture resembles its referent (i.e., what the picture is intended to look like). Rachel, Lucas, and Chris open the episode by discussing why iconicity is important to AAC and how it influences communication. The team then discusses why teaching children the meaning of pictures is so important, and situations in which they would (and would not) consider replacing icons with photographs on a speech-generating device. Finally, Lucas and Rachel sit down with Dr. Hartley to discuss his research into ASD, iconicity, and symbolic communication. Dr. Harley and the team provide a fascinating look into picture comprehension, why understanding language is closely connected to understanding pictures, and how we can use iconicity to improve our AAC interventions.
Questions answered this episode include: Why do some children understand photographs more easily than drawings? How do children with ASD learn about pictures in unique ways? How can we use iconicity to improve our AAC interventions? How can we support learning the meaning of pictures? What makes core words less iconic than fringe words?
We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!
Hartley, C., & Allen, M. L. (2015). Iconicity influences how effectively minimally verbal children with autism and ability-matched typically developing children use pictures as symbols in a search task. Autism, 19(5), 570-579.
Hartley, C., Trainer, A., & Allen, M. L. (2017). Investigating the relationship between language and picture understanding in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 1362361317729613.

Tabi Jones-Wohleber: Supporting Communication Partners in the Classroom

In this episode, Rachel, Lucas, and Chris first discuss the work/life balance for SLPs, including the integration of social media into our professional lives and the need for balancing career growth vs. personal time when pursuing work-related interests.
 
Then, Chris is joined by school-based AAC Specialist Tabi Jones-Wohleber! Tabi is creator of “Model as a MASTER PAL”, a training series that emphasizes the importance of environment and the communication partner’s responsibility to model. Tabi shares about coaching others to be an effective communication partner, the need to create more naturalistic communication opportunities, and why it is important to speak in statements, not just questions, to people who use AAC.
 
Questions addressed this episode include:
How can we better balance our jobs and side projects with the need to take time for ourselves?
When is (and isn't) social media an important tool for SLPs looking to connect?
How can we better motivate AAC users to engage with communication partners?
How can we better structure lessons to provide communication opportunities all day long?
What do communication partners need to know to model more effectively?
We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!

Rachael Langley: AAC Specialist, Educator, and Conference Co-Founder

In this week’s episode, Rachel, Lucas, and Chris are joined by Rachael Langley, AAC specialist, educator, and co-founder of the #TalkingAAC Conference. Rachael Langley is also a well known resource for AAC information on Facebook (@RachaelLangleyAAC). Rachael discusses her experience co-founding a successful conference, shares about working as an AAC specialist in the schools, and speaks about her experience using social media and online groups to spread the word about AAC implementation! 
Questions addressed this episode include: Why is it important to start conversations about AAC with others? What is one of the biggest roadblocks to working with AAC in the classroom? How can we help teachers, staff, and parents increase modeling with AAC users? How can we help parents and teachers who are afraid of "doing it wrong" when they are modeling AAC?
We want to hear what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Instagram and Twitter (@TalkingWithTech). Also, please subscribe on iTunes and give us a rating - it helps others find us!

Susan Berkowitz: How can we Support AAC in the Summer?

Rachel, Lucas, Chris, are joined by SLP, author, and AAC consultant Susan Berkowitz for a discussion of how to help AAC users maintain their communication skills during the summer months (and any other break from school). Topics include: What is the "summer slide"? How can parents support AAC best during the summer? Do devices need to go home with students in the summer? How can parents support language during play activities? Finally, Susan discusses her work creating and sharing online resources through her blog, kidzlearnlanguage.blogspot.com. Learn more about Susan at susanberkowitz.net. 
We want to hear what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Instagram and Twitter @talkingwithtech. Don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating on iTunes!

Gideon Grossman: Inventor of Noisybands

This week Rachel, Lucas, and Chris talk about their upcoming presentations on autism, AAC, education, and, yes, escape rooms at AAC in the Cloud and the Assistive Technology Industry Association. Then, Rachel and Lucas sit down with Gideon Grossman, engineer and inventor of Noisybands, a talking bracelet that is activitated by a high five! Gideon discusses his device, how they could be used in play and therapy, and his plans for developing them into an assistive technology device in the near future.
After earning a mechanical engineering degree with Honors from Princeton University, Gideon has worked as a mechanical, electrical and software engineer at innovative startup companies around the world from Manhattan to Tel Aviv, Maui and San Diego. He has helped design counterterrorism robots, genetic sequencing machines, app connected security systems and rugged training equipment for Olympic athletes. You can find out more about Gideon and Noisybands at noisybands.com.

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.
We want to hear what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking With Tech and on Instagram and Twitter @talkingwithtech. Don’t forget to subscribe and give us a rating on iTunes!
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).

Chris Klein: Why Does Motor Planning Matter in AAC?

This week, Rachel, Lucas, and Chris discuss the implications of motor planning in instruction and use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication, including: Why motor planning is important, when to start considering a child’s motor plan, and practical ways to incorporate motor planning into your practice. Then Chris Bugaj is joined by Chris Klein, an educator, mentor, past president of the United States Society of Augmentative Alternative Communication (USSAAC), and founder of Building Connections with Others through Mentoring and Education about AAC (BeCOME AAC). Mr. Klein, an AAC user himself, is a voice for AAC users and individuals with disabilities everywhere; his thoughtful insights on motor planning are not to be missed!
We want to hear what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking With Tech and on Instagram and Twitter @talkingwithtech. Don’t forget to subscribe and give us a rating on iTunes!
References
Dukhovny, E., & Zhou, Y. (2016). Effects of icon size and location on speed and accuracy of SGD access. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 32(4), 241-248.
Dukhovny, E., & Gahl, S. (2014). Manual motor-plan similarity affects lexical recall on a speech-generating device: Implications for AAC users. Journal of communication disorders, 48, 52-60.

Mark Barlet: Making Video Games Accessible to All

In this episode Rachel Madel and Chris Bugaj (and later just Chris) take over the episode to talk about accessible gaming! We welcome Mark Barlet of AbleGamers to talk about their work in making recreation available to everyone. Like what we do at Talking With Tech? Make sure to subscribe and rate on iTunes - and check out Chris's new book coming out soon: http://bit.ly/thenewatforall
Interview Notes:
Chris explain how he met Mark Barlet
Mark discusses what Ablegamers is all about
Mark talks about using videos games to escape
Video games as a social experience with meaningful friends
Mark talks about how Ablegamers was founded
Mark talks about how Ablegamers blossomed to what it is today
The focus changes from add single feature for single user to designing games for everyone because the market demands it
All game companies are building accessibility features into their design
Now Ablegamers is building new technologies with 3D printing
Ablegamers is reaching out to build game centers in places where people with disabilities are located
First steps to making games more accessible in schools
Getting administrators involved
Tablets are cracking the idea that games are meant for home only
Find someone who is passionate about games to lead the endeavor
Some schools have after school gaming clubs
Making games and coding could be part of STEM curriculum
When people come to Ablegamers, what do people do?
Ablegamers skew more to people with physical disabilities but are growing to people with cognitive disabilities or others
Ablegamers do an assessment