Talking With Tech AAC Podcast

Listener Questions III: Promoting Literacy for AAC Users, AAC & Echolalia, & More

This week, Lucas Steuber of Tobii Dynavox returns to help Chris and Rachel answer questions from our listeners! 
 
Key ideas this week include:
🔑 Ideas for supporting an eye gaze user's as he enters a magnet high school for game and app development.
🔑 Advice for a person whose client uses AAC and appears to display block-like disfluencies.
🔑 Strategies for promoting literacy, including incorporating the use of bluetooth keyboards.
 
For show notes, links to resources, past episodes, and more, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast. To earn CEU credits for listening to past episodes of TWT, head to bit.ly/techceu!

AAC Apps Update - Part 2 (Earn CEU Credit)

Listen to part 1 of the AAC Apps Update last week, then head to bit.ly/techceu to earn CEU credit for listening to both of these episodes!
This week, the TWT team is pleased to share the second half of the AAC Apps Update 2018! This conference session was originally presented by Lucas, Chris, and Rachel as part of the Special Apps Update Conference 2018. 
Before we present this week’s session, Chris and Rachel discuss Rachel's recent hand injury, ideas for improving aided language input, and more! 
 
Key ideas this week include:
 
🔑 Important features to look for in AAC applications.
🔑 Using  parallel-talk vs self-talk when working with adults over 60+
🔑 App ideas & strategies for challenging AAC assessments.

AAC Apps Update - Part 1 (Earn CEU Credit)

Listen to part 2 of the AAC Apps Update next week, then head to bit.ly/techceu to earn CEU credit for listening to these episodes!
This week, the TWT team is pleased to share the first half of the AAC Apps Update 2018! This conference session was originally presented by Lucas, Chris, and Rachel as part of the Special Apps Update Conference 2018. 
Before we present this week’s session, Chris and Rachel discuss reading specialists, being aware of compensatory measures when assessing children with autism, and more!
Key ideas this week include:
🔑 AAC users may benefit from working with a reading specialist and/or from including a reading specialist on their interdisciplinary team. 
🔑 When assessing receptive language, you must determine whether a child really understands the language and isn’t using compensatory measures, such as visuals or gestures.
🔑 School districts should consider teaching the basics of AAC to all students and staff!
 

Stephanie Pitts & Rachel Kapp: Strategies for Supporting Academics & Executive Functioning

This week, Rachel interviews educational therapists and co-hosts of the Learn Smarter podcast, Stephanie Pitts & Rachel Kapp! Stephanie and Rachel share what educational therapy is, why executive functioning is so important, and strategies they utilize to help learners improve task initiation, time management, and motivation!
 
Key ideas this week include:
🔑 Educational therapists teach learners how they learn and strategies they can use to learn better and improve executive functioning.
🔑 No child is actually "lazy" - it is often about meeting learners where they are.
🔑 How to help early communicators improve both sustained attention and task initiation.
 
For show notes, links to resources, past episodes, and more, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast!

Small Talks with Erin Sheldon, Kelly Fonner, Lance McLemore, & Mo Buti

This week, the TWT team presents another “Small Talks” episode featuring short conversations with AAC specialists Erin Sheldon, Kelly Fonner, Lance McLemore, and Mo Buti!
 
Key ideas this episode:
 
🔑Suggest an AAC evaluation for young children (2-3 years old) with limited expressive language, because we don’t have to delay language skills while other skills (e.g. articulation skills) catch up.
 🔑Try to use fun, memorable stimuli and prompts in therapy, because clients talk more about things that are silly, remarkable, and novel.
🔑Ask students who are AAC users to use their vocabulary to talk about the curriculum in the classroom, not just answer basic vocabulary questions.
 
For show notes, links to resources, past episodes, and more, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast!

Brian Whitmer: Supporting Open & Free AAC Symbols, Communication Boards, & More

This week on TWT, Chris interviews Brian Whitmer, CEO of CoughDrop, about OpenAAC.org and the “open” movement supporting AAC users and their right to move communication boards from one system to another, access a free set of symbols, open 3rd party apps inside their AAC systems, and more!
 
Key ideas:
🔑Many AAC developers do not allow communication boards to be moved from one communication system to another system, especially if that system is not owned by the developer. This can lead to users being stuck on old, broken equipment when a system or device is no longer supported.
🔑Giving control back to the user can be good for developers as well as users! Building customer goodwill can be a powerful way to build customer loyalty.
🔑The Communication Workshop (https://www.coreworkshop.org) is a growing collection of free materials, videos, and prompts for teaching words and ideas to AAC users.
 
For show notes, links to resources, past episodes, and more, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast!

Alyssa Hillary Zisk: Adults With Autism Who Use AAC Part-Time

This week on TWT, Rachel interviews Alyssa Hillary Zisk! Alyssa is a graduate student in neuroscience who shares their experiences as an autistic adult who uses AAC part of the time to communicate. 
 
Key ideas this episode:
 
🔑Some autistic adults experience intermittent or insufficient speech.
🔑Some of these adults use AAC part of the time.
🔑It is important to give AAC users the same chance to participate in discussions and to allow them to communicate in whatever modality they choose.
 
For show notes, links to resources, past episodes, and more, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast!

Carly Stoltenberg: An SLP’s Journey Recovering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (Part 2)

This week on TWT, we share the second half of Rachel’s interview with Carly Stoltenberg! Carly is an SLP who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) two years ago. At one point in her recovery, Carly was paralyzed and unable to speak. In the second half of the episode, Carly shares what she has learned about valuing the uniqueness of each person in our care, and why honesty about her struggles with GBS has led to greater, more meaningful connections with others!
 
Key ideas this episode:
 
🔑There are many ways to acquire AAC, and successful implementation doesn’t always require the involvement of an “AAC expert.”
🔑The “wrong” AAC is often better than no AAC at all.
🔑We should respect the differences in each patient, because there no “one size fits all” when it comes to a person’s treatment and care.
 
For complete show notes for this episode, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast
Earn CEUs from listening to Talking with Tech at linktr.ee/talkingwithtech

Carly Stoltenberg: An SLP's Journey Recovering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (Part 1)

This week on TWT, we air the first half of Rachel's interview Carly Stoltenberg, an SLP who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome two years ago. At one point in her recovery, Carly was paralyzed and unable to speak. Carly shares her amazing journey to regain her ability to walk and talk, and how this has shaped her passion for positive thinking and patient advocacy!
 
Key ideas this episode:
 
🔑The critical need for patients to be able to communicate with medical professionals during treatment.
🔑How Carly used low-tech AAC to communicate when she was paralyzed.
🔑A resilient attitude isn’t about “not having bad days,” its about getting back up when you’ve been knocked down.
 
For complete show notes for this episode, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast
Earn CEUs from listening to Talking with Tech at linktr.ee/talkingwithtech

Charlie Danger: Working with AAC Users From Different Cultures

This week, Chris interviews Charlie Danger, an occupational therapist from the UK who specializes in assistive technology and AAC! Charlie shares from his fascinating experiences working with AT and AAC in Qatar, including how to increase our understanding of other cultures and the importance of learning about our own!
 
Key ideas this episode:
 
🔑 Importance of encouraging more than requests from AAC users
🔑 Why “different but not less” applies to both cultural and neurological differences
🔑 Strategies for working with AAC users and families from different cultures
 
For complete show notes and links from this episode, visit bit.ly/twtpodcast
Earn CEUs from listening to Talking with Tech at linktr.ee/talkingwithtech