Talking With Tech AAC Podcast

Nicole Bender - Moving Abroad to Support People with Complex Communication Needs

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This week, Chris interviews Nicole Bender, an AAC specialist who was inspired to move from the US to Thailand to help people with developmental disabilities to communicate! Nicole shares her fascinating experiences deciding to move to another country, her challenges and successes working with AAC in Thailand, and why Nicole loves working abroad so much. Before the interview, Rachel gives her much awaited update on her experiences in Nepal, including adapting her training to help people in a developing country, traveling to far-flung locations, blending in with the locals, and more!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 Nicole makes great use of Saltillo’s  “Activity First Approach” - We pick a motivating topic, fill in words in the different sections on the visual, and think about what we need to say or do to get the child to say targeted phrases.
 
🔑 Song activities for AAC - some families with a song-based activity before working on core words. The family sings songs together and points at the pictures as they sing. It can help in some cases get the family more comfortable with picture-based vocabulary. 
 
🔑  It is important to think about culture when choosing AAC pictures to use. In some cases, the picture is not culturally appropriate’. For example, Nicole found out that a picture of someone putting their feet to signify “take a break” in Thailand isn’t used because putting up your feet and pointing them at someone is considered rude.
 
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Small Talks III: Brian Whitmer, Brandi Lee Wentland, Kathy Howery, Shaun Pearson, & Kelly Key

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This week, we are happy to share our third Small Talks episode! We have 5 different short interviews from Brian Whitmer, Brandi Lee Wentland, Kathy Howery, Shaun Pearson, and Kelly Key! Each of them shares a key experience or strategy that is of particular interest!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 Brian Whitmer, CEO of CoughDrop, talks about the process of coming up with CoughDrop’s clever AAC-themed shirts (e.g., “I love it when a good motor plan comes together”). 
 
🔑 Brandi Lee Wentland discusses pushing into classrooms and other environments to support students in a more naturalistic environment.
 
🔑 Kathy Howery shares about working with parents, students, and SLPs at an AAC camp in Canada, including the importance of training communication partners before the camp begins.
 
🔑 Shaun Pearson shares about creating a table-top role playing game for children at AAC camp with Kathy, and all the creative ideas the students came up with! He also touches on the Argyle and Crew role playing game for kids and adults! 
 
🔑 Kelly Key talks about #coreaokey, a fun activity she came up with to work on core vocabulary! You play a song, and as it plays, you can model the language from the song! 
 
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Catherine Fredericks - Increasing AAC Buy-in with Parents and Teachers in the Schools

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This week, Chris interviews Catherine Fredricks, a School-Based SLP & AAC Specialist with Wayne Township Public Schools. Catherine shares about her experience using AAC with students with a variety of needs (bilingual students, language-delayed students who are verbal, students with complex communication needs, etc) and how she builds excitement at school for a student’s early progress with AAC.  Hearing about how she has built success and buy-in within the schools is useful and inspiring! Before the interview, Chris and his amazing wife Melissa Bugaj catch up on the latest at Melissa’s school site! 
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 Descriptive teaching is a way to reinforce and teach core language when we are discussing fringe words, especially during academic subjects. For example, instead of finding “ocean” or other fringe words during a science lesson, talk about the ocean - it is big, it is cold, etc. This allows for access to the curriculum while also reinforcing core language.
 
🔑  It can be difficult to get everyone on a school site “on board” with modeling & core language. Often, finding just one teacher to embrace AAC and work with the students can lead to others seeing the progress, which can create more buy-in for everyone.
 
🔑  When writing goals for students with complex communication needs, consider allowing for verbal responses as well as AAC responses in the goal (e.g., don’t just write the goal for AAC). This respects the student’s communication regardless of modality, and recognizes that verbal skills can grow with AAC skills.
 
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Amanda Scheriff - Practical Strategies Supporting Literacy & Language for AAC Users

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This week, Rachel and Chris interview Amanda Scheriff, an SLP working with students with complex communication needs at the Labbb Educational Collaborative in Lexington, MA! The Labbb Collaborative is a multi-district collaboration providing special eduction services that promote inclusion and independence. Amanda works with the Labbb’s multiple handicap program and social/emotional program, and she has lots of great practical advice and strategies to share!
 
Key ideas this week include: 
 
🔑 The “Symbol It” app is a speech to symbol app that takes speech input and will display the corresponding symbols/text. This can be a great way to avoid using an AAC user’s device to give them commands (“Sit down”). 
 
🔑 Asking AAC users which greetings, slang, humor, etc they would like on their device is a great way to increase interest in communicating with others, especially peers.
 
🔑 Amanda uses Carole Zangari’s “Tell Me: AAC in the Preschool Classroom” curriculum with her students as a way to provide structured reading and writing lessons focused on core language & familiar books.
 
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Sarah Gregory - Promoting Authentic Inclusion & Social Belonging for AAC Users

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This week, Chris interviews with AAC enthusiast, SLP, and TWT podcast listener Sarah Gregory (@SGregorySLP on Twitter) about “authentic” inclusion, social belonging, peer modeling, universal access, and more! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about Rachel’s upcoming trip to Nepal to train and coach teachers and caregivers about AAC!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 If we include students with complex communication needs into a general education classroom, we should try and help them feel they are part of the class and they have friends in the class. See this graphic by Shelley Moore.
 
🔑  Running peer modeling groups in school is a great way to teach everyone in school about AAC & celebrate our differences.
 
🔑  Culturally responsible teaching - can we structure classrooms so that AAC users are better represented?
 
Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

Lisa Erwin-Davidson: Researching Core Language & AAC for Preschool Children

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This week, Rachel interviews Dr. Lisa Erwin-Davidson (www.lisa-aac.com) about some of the questions Lisa had working as an AAC specialist, what answers about language she has discovered in her research, and her areas of interest she is exploring next!! Lisa is a faculty member at CSU Fullerton who has conducted research into how preschoolers with and without disabilities are taught core language, and she has unique insights into how core language develops!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 Rachel gives an update on the family from the “Aggressive Behaviors” episode. 
 
🔑 One type of core word, a “concept relational word” (e.g., in/out, before/after, big/little), can make an excellent target for beginning AAC interventions.
 
🔑 Infusing graphic language into daily routines, whether done by teachers or parents, is a great way to expand how often AAC is modeled and used throughout the day. 
 
Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

David Tobin: Using Audio-Based, Wordless Stories to Generate Language & Foster Creativity

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This week, the TWT team is pleased to share Rachel’s interview with David Tobin, former TV producer and CEO of Audiojack! First, Chris and Rachel discuss how they have gone almost 2 years making the podcast, and haven’t yet met in person (but almost did last week). Chris and Rachel also connect about using audio as a tool in therapy, and the importance of being able to visualize and use our imaginations. Next, Rachel connects David Tobin, former TV producer and CEO of Audiojack (www.audiojack.com), to talk about his company and how Audiojack is being used in classrooms and therapy rooms to improve student engagement and foster creativity. Finally, the episode ends with a short Audiojack, with Rachel and Chris comparing what they heard in the clip!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 “Audiojacks” are audio-based, wordless stories created by layering lots of different sounds together.
 
🔑 Rachel  has used Audiojacks to help clients produce more language and get better engagement in therapy. 
 
🔑 Some of Rachel’s clients used vocabulary Rachel didn’t know they had when trying to describe an Audiojack.
 
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Brandi Lee Wentland: Strategies for AAC Collaboration with Behavior Analysts, SLPs, & More

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This week, Chris interviews SLP & AAC Specialist Brandi Lee Wentland, owner of We Speak AAC!  Brandi shares lots of helpful strategies for working with AAC users, including collaborating with other professionals, using a reinforcement matrix, helping others to get started on their AAC journey, and more!
 
Key ideas this week include:
 
🔑The cost of agreeing to increase speech therapy minutes can be much greater for a district than vs the cost of a device, but a request to increase speech minutes may be much less scrutinized in some settings than a request for AAC.
🔑BCBAs want research, preferably research of a certain type. Instead of debating the merits of some AAC research, more productive conversations can be had about video modeling, functional language, and utilizing AAC with motivating activities.
🔑Increasing the number of communication partners that model AAC with an AAC user both a) increases their exposure to language overall and b) demonstrates respect for the AAC user’s chosen mode of communication.
 
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Supporting AAC Users with Aggressive Behaviors

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This week on TWT, Rachel shares about her recent experience with a client who became aggressive, self-injurious, frustrated during a therapy session, and what she was thinking and feeling as the situation felt like it was slipping out of her control. Rachel and Chris discuss the wide variety of emotions and thoughts that can occur after an experience like this, and they consider how we can best support students with complex communication needs who also demonstrate challenging behaviors.
 
Key ideas this week include:
 
🔑 Chris wonders whether videotaping sessions with the client could be helpful in figuring out what may have caused the client’s aggressive outburst. 
🔑 Gradual exposure to a disliked item, like a particular food being moved closer to the client each session, can be effective in some cases where students become upset or disregulated interacting with it.
🔑It is worth considering whether we can we make therapy that is engaging and fun that in order to reduce aggressive behaviors overall?
 
Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

Meghan Betz: Improving Collaboration & Communication with Parents & Teachers

This week, Chris interviews SLP and AAC Specialist Meghan Betz about her experiences with AAC and what she has learned about reflective listening, working collaboratively in IEP meetings, working successfully with parents in the home, chunking information for parents & teachers, and more!
 
Key ideas this week include:
🔑 Rachel & Chris talk iPad stands - Rachel talks about her favorite sturdy and inexpensive iPad stand on Amazon and Chris shares about making iPad stands with 3D printing at thingaverse.com. 
🔑 Chris discusses his article for USAAC on using block coding to teach language.  Learn more about coding at code.org and about the robots Dash & Dot at https://www.makewonder.com/robots/dash/
🔑 Meghan & Chris discuss the importance of listening as much as we talk when interacting with parents and teachers in order to build their confidence and buy-in with therapeutic interventions.
 
bit.ly/twtpod also has previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!