Talking With Tech AAC Podcast

Amy Mayer: Engaging Students and Driving Inclusivity with EdTech Tools

This week, we share Chris’s interview with Amy Mayer! Amy is the founder and CEO of friEdTech (https://friedtechnology.com/), a company that provides educational technology (EdTech) professional development for educators. Amy talks about her recent book, Beyond Worksheets, which provides resources for teachers to utilize EdTech tools and to inclusively redesign education for everyone! She and Chris discuss the impact of AI on education and writing, ideas for creating meaningful professional learning experiences, and more!
 
Before the interview, Rachel updates Chris about one of her clients, including how a fun collaborative creative writing exercise led to improvements in both his writing and spoken language! 
 
Key Ideas This Episode:
 
🔑  AI tools can be helpful for new writers trying to get feedback about their work, including reviewing for spelling and grammar. However, having a real person read and provide feedback about your writing may provide feedback from a broader view that current AI tools can’t provide.
 
🔑  Amy knows that educators often do not choose to come to a PD, but friEd Tech gets educators invested by designing learning experiences to solve problems that people actually have. Then, once people have talked about the problems they have, the group works together collaboratively to figure out how to solve those problems.
 
🔑  We need to have bigger conversations with students about the ethical use of AI tools. For example, some students never use AI tools because of ethical concerns, even though some AI tools could be used ethically to improve their learning.
 
Amy's recent book: Beyond Worksheets: Creative Ways to Engage Students 
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!

Karina Carter & Nicole Young: Teaching Language to AAC Users with Horses

This week, we share Rachel's interview with Karina Carter and Nicole Young! Karina Carter is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) at Children’s TheraPlay, where horses are used therapeutically to support children with disabilities and/or unique needs, including complex communicators! Nicole is the mother of TY, an AAC User who is one of Karina’s clients. Karina shares all about equine speech therapy with AAC Users, and Nicole shares about her son’s journey becoming an AAC user and (eventual) horse lover with Karina’s help!
 
Before the interview, Chris shares about his wife's recent completion of a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, and his son, Tucker’s, quest to become a Veterinarian! Congrats Dr. Bugaj and good luck Tucker!
 
Key Ideas this Episode:
 
🔑 When AAC Users started bringing their devices onto the horses, the device would be knocked around and was difficult to use, so the Children’s TheraPlay team developed an adjustable AAC stand that is worn around the horse’s neck!
 
🔑 Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Physical Therapists (PTs) have been using horses for therapy at Children’s TheraPlay for 20 years at TheraPlay, but Karina was the first SLP they hired. She had a lot to learn from PTs and OTs about sensory input and the client’s experience so she could integrate teaching communication with horseback riding.
 
🔑 During speech therapy, Karina works on a variety of language skills (e.g. prepositions) using tools situated throughout the arena, including a mailbox, poles, and rings. This helps create tempting communication opportunities for her clients!
 
Links:
 
Becca Eisenberg’s TWT Episode
 
Becca Eisenberg’s book, All About Core
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!

Elisa Wern - The Importance of Including OTs During AAC Consideration & Implementation

This week, we share Rachel’s interview with the amazing Occupational Therapist (OT) Elisa Wern! Along with being a school-based OT, Elisa speaks and writes about issues related to AAC and OT, including that OTs can have a critical role in the AAC consideration and implementation process! Elisa shares ideas for supporting students with sensory processing issues, the need for OTs to get involved earlier to support writing at an early age, the importance of teaching AAC Users how to type, and more!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 OTs are skilled with body and device positioning, environmental control, supporting executive function skills, and teaching students when and how to advocate for themselves. These are all skills that apply to AAC Users. OTs involved in the AAC process can provide greater perspective on many topics that are not as familiar to SLPs. There are things, like the glare from overhead lights, that SLPs may not consider, but OTs are often good at analyzing and making adjustments to positioning of the device and/or the student to reduce glare.
 
🔑 We need to think more about sensory processing concerns when we’re setting up and positioning an AAC device. Some sounds that come from an AAC device can cause sensory dysregulation for people with sensory processing issues, and if they don’t have the language to share their dysregulation, the situation is even more difficult to navigate. If possible, try and teach AAC Users (when they are ready to learn) how to navigate to a page where they can share these dysregulated feelings for themselves.
 
🔑 OTs should make sure they’re involved on the team when they are discussing writing at early IEP meetings. Providing acess to letters and literacy enables students have the ability to create any utterance, not just being forced to choose symbols and words that are not preferred by the AAC User, and it can take a lot of practice to develop alternative pencil or keyboard skills.
 
Links from This Week’s Episode:
 
ASHA, AOTA, and APTA Joint Statement on Interprofessional Collaborative Goals in School-Based Practice
 
Elisa Wern's AT & OT Coaching & Consulting Website
 
Fundamentals of AAC: A Case-Based Approach to Enhancing Communication
 
Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!
 
We need your help to keep Talking with Tech going! Please support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech

Fairfax County Public Schools AT Team: Celebrating the Life of AAC Specialist Jeff Powers

This week, we present Chris’s interview with some of the Fairfax County Public Schools AT Team: Jeff Sisk, Meaghan Tracy, Jennifer Carr, Ashley Kiley, and Colleen Kalamajka! They gather to share about the life of AAC/AT Specialist Jeff Powers, who passed away in 2023. They celebrate some of the many things he brought to his work with AAC, including helping people feel OK even if they don’t know everything, early support for the Specific Language System First Approach, his work sharing AAC on platforms like Youtube, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss the recent addition of automatic transcripts to Apple Podcasts, and some of the previous “behind the scenes” work that was done to provide transcripts for TWT episodes.
 
Key Ideas this Week:
 
🔑 If you are interested in watching Jeff share about AAC, they have some of his videos up at the Fairfax County Public Schools AAC Page: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/academic-overview/special-education-instruction/assistive-technology-services-ats-5
 
🔑 AAC can become more of a tier 1 or 2 support. The most accommodations related to AT are typically visual supports and audio supports, and AAC provides both of those things. Providing AAC to more people also gives us an opportunity to teach a wider group of the community to be communication partners.
 
🔑 Fairfax County Public Schools recently had an “AAC Integration Workshop” with teachers that was all about how to use descriptive teaching to teach about more concepts, with a focus on breaking down academic language into easier language.
 
Links from this week's Episode:
 
Thing Explainer: https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!

Yoosun Chung: Honoring an AAC User's Chosen Form of Communication

This week, we share Chris’s interview with Dr. Yoosun Chung, former president of USSAAC, activist, professor at George Mason University, and AAC user! Dr. Chung shares about her journey from South Korea to the United States to learn English and pursue higher learning, her first introduction to high-tech AAC as a doctoral student in assistive technology, her work as co-chair of the 2023 ISSAAC conference in Cancun, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel have a fun discussion about suno.com, an AI song generator that creates some incredible songs about AAC - right on the spot! Chris and Rachel talk about how fun the tool is, and Rachel reflects on some of the motivating therapy lessons that she can create with this tool!
 
Key Ideas this Week:
 
🔑 To AAC users, Dr. Chung says: don’t shy away from becoming activists.  It is more than about speaking up, it’s about sharing your lived experiences and pushing towards a world that is inclusive for all. Each story we share, every obstacle we tackle, it expands the realm of understanding and acceptance.
 
🔑 To family members of AAC Users, Dr. Chung says: be a voice for your loved ones, ensuring they are heard in every space. It’s about empowering AAC users and their right to communicate themselves and making their own decisions. It’s crucial to respect and support their preferred method of communicating - this is a deep form of respect that lets them know you see and support them.
 
🔑 To service providers, Dr. Chung says: please listen to AAC users. Implementing AAC for someone needs to be a collaborative journey you embark on together. Involving AAC users in every step of the process is essential. This partnership ensures that AAC solutions are tailored to meet the unique needs of each user, fostering a more effective and empowering communication experience.
 
Links from This Week’s Episode:
 
NAACA Communication Access Video 
 
Suno.com: Online AI Song Generator

Chantelle Hutchinson: Supporting Adult AAC Users with Acquired Brain Injuries

This week, we share Rachel’s interview with Chantelle Hutchinson (@dysphagiacommunity)! Chantelle is a Speech-Language Pathologist who works with adults with acquired brain injury and progressive neurological conditions. She shares about some of the factors that make working with clients with acquired brain injuries, like traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke, unique, including: how AAC needs can be different, the impact of frequently changing communication partners, the value of getting to know the client before writing goals, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel chat about why podcasting should be considered and supported more often as a form of professional development. When we make education more engaging, it leads to better outcomes and retention!
 
Key Ideas This Week:
 
🔑 Some people who have a TBI or stroke may not understand that they are communicating differently or their communication partner is not understanding. This can impact buy-in, because the client may not see much need for the device if they are not aware of the communication breakdowns.
 
🔑 We don’t always target building awareness about communication breakdowns for a client with a TBI or stroke. It takes a balance, because if a client is totally unaware, it can impact their ability to know when to use strategies (like AAC), but being highly aware of communication difficulties may lead to lower mental health outcomes overall.
 
🔑 A therapist working with TBI and stroke needs to keep in mind the client’s cognitive profile -  some may never get to the point where they can initiate a conversation, no matter how much you practice the skill. In that situation, try and consider if the client’s needs are being met naturally and how you can best support them given their cognitive profile.
 
Links from This Week’s Episode:
 
Talking Mats: https://www.talkingmats.com/
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!

Tiffany Joseph (Part 2): The Use of Gestalts in Acquiring Language as a Part-Time AAC User

This week, we share part two of Rachel’s interview with Tiffany Joseph! Tiffany is an autistic mother of three neurodivergent teens, as well as an educator, advocate, and a part-time AAC User with inconsistent verbal speech.  She shares about her experience as a gestalt language processor, how she thinks AAC could help students mitigate their gestalts, her perspective on Spelling to Communicate, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel answer a listener question about “seasoned SLP‘s” in the listener’s school district who said that “high-tech AAC wasn’t appropriate for kids with lots of behaviors.” Chris and Rachel discuss the question, noting that behaviors are often reduced when a student has a device, and they wonder whether those “seasoned” SLPs should reconsider their openness to new ideas.
 
🔑 Chris’s motto  is “education instead of restriction,” meaning we should teach people how to use new things (like AI, etc) rather than just try and restrict or block them in the schools. In his experience, you can restrict a particular app or website but it’s better to teach students to use the tool in a better way.
 
🔑 Tiffany said it would’ve been really helpful for her communication growing up if she could’ve had a device that displayed the first half one of her gestalts, followed by different logical alternative endings that she could choose from to help her mitigate her gestalts.
 
🔑 Tiffany believes that spelling to communicate is a valid form of communication and doesn’t believe it should be  controversial. She feels that, similar to “body doubling,” where the presence of a familiar person can help us regulate and focus, having a familiar partner facilitate communication is really valuable. Tiffany says that having a person there for to help coach the motor plan doesn’t make S2C invalid.
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!

Tiffany Joseph (Part 1): Educating and Supporting AAC Users as a Part-Time AAC User

This week, we present Part 1 of Rachel’s interview with the amazing Tiffany Joseph (@nigh.functioning.autism)! Tiffany is an autistic mother of three neurodivergent teens, as well as an educator, advocate, and a part-time AAC User with inconsistent verbal speech.  She explains more about situations when verbal speech becomes difficult, the ways that writing text out before hand helps her, strategies she uses when she has trouble with verbal speech, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss a listener question from a parent of a teen who wants more authentic inclusion for her child, but she feels like encouraging more authentic inclusion is not very achievable. Chris and Rachel discuss the difficulty living in a world that isn’t universally designed, how we can use IEP accommodations to support UDL, cultivating belonging through inclusion, and more!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 People will point out when someone doesn’t talk as much, and it often feels uncomfortable for that person. Not everyone talks all the time, but there is often an unspoken judgement when people are described as “not talking as much.” Sometimes it feels to Tiffany that she always has to be doing something extra, like talking, for others to feel happy.
 
🔑 Tiffany is a dyspraxic multi modal communicator with inconsistent motor plans, including with inconsistent verbal speech. Difficulty with motor plans can include routine activities, like brushing her teeth. Some people have entire bodies like this, while other people have only parts of their bodies with these kinds of motor difficulties. You can get really anxious in social situations when your speech and motor plans work inconsistently.
 
🔑 Be thoughtful about saving a student’s energy for learning & communicating, and try not to overdo repetitive daily tasks you know they can do. There isn’t an unlimited well of energy available, so we should be thoughtful with what we are asking someone to do. For example, don’t want to focus on handwriting so much that it limits progress on spontaneous communication.
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!

Bob Sagoo: Empowering an AAC User as a Parent

This week, Chris and Rachel interview Bob Sagoo! Bob is the father of Harchie, an 18-year-old young man with cerebral palsy who uses an AAC device with eye tracking to communicate (along with other modalities). Bob shares about Harchie’s AAC journey, Bob’s work to get Harchie mainstreamed in school, Harchie going to college, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about delivering fun experiences while teaching about language with AAC! They share about why we need to bring playfulness and a playful energy, and some ideas for ways we can bring the fun, like humor, music, dressing up, painting, and modifying games!
 
Key ideas This Week:
 
🔑 Parents need to feel empowered - in any situation, parents are the expert when it comes to their child. It’s Ok to respect specialists for their experience and knowledge, but when it comes to your child, you are the expert. You are their advocate and speak on their behalf until they are able.
 
🔑 It’s for OK not to be OK. There is often a lot behind the scenes going on within families that we don’t see, especially for families of children with complex bodies. We need to give parents grace when working with them - if they don’t do something we recommend, there is probably a reason other than “they don’t care.”
 
🔑 Bob says the feeling he gets when he wakes up at three in the morning, of “I don’t know what my kid is going to do after I’m gone,” doesn’t really go away, but it can be helped a lot by taking the time to reach out and find out as much as you can. That will help you become as informed as possible as you learn about what your child needs.
 
🔑 If parents are feeling overwhelmed by information about their child’s needs and don’t know where to start, one good place is to connect with other parents of children with special needs,  They can help you get started moving in the right direction, and anytime you’re going through something difficult, knowing you’re not alone can be very powerful!
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!

Beth Moulam & Joanna Holmes: Recognizing AAC Users as Multimodal Communicators

This week, we hear Chris’s interview with Beth Moulam and Joanna Holmes! Beth is a master student, former Paraolympian, a Trustee of Communication Matters (a branch of ISSAC), and patron of a charity called One Voice. She is a multi modal communicator who often uses AAC devices to communicate. Joanna (@mummyvsaac on Instagram) is the mother of Lucy, a 9-year-old multimodal communicator with a complex medical history that includes a genetic component. They share about Beth’s AAC journey, the importance of a language rich environment on AAC development, the multimodal nature of communication, and more!
 
🔑 Beth doesn’t feel she will ever reach her final communication destination, because she is always learning. Learning to use AAC is a labor of love, it takes hours of practice and lots of resilience for the user, families, and their support networks.
 
🔑 Beth and Joanna both emphasize the many modes of communication a complex communicator uses to communicate.  A person’s communication “system” is more than the AAC app a person uses, it is everything that person does to communicate with others.
 
🔑 There is a popular misconception that getting an AAC device will lead to lots communication. You also need the language to use it, which for some is a long jump. Learning to use AAC for most people isn’t like flicking a switch, its like building a house - it takes a team of people, doing their best to do things in the right order, learning nail-by-nail, to use AAC together.
 
🔑 Beth had a communication rich home environment as a child, including being read to daily and having phonics on her bedroom wall that she discussed with her mother. She believes this was really important to her literacy and ability to work with AAC at a young age.
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!