This week, Rachel interviews Sarah Lockhart, an SLP and host of the SLP Happy Hour podcast. Sarah had questions about providing AAC to a student who has limited spontaneous communication but used lots of scripts. Rachel and Sarah discuss the importance of supporting independent communication for echolalic students, how AAC benefits these students by providing visual word choices with auditory feedback, and more!
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss a listener question about a student with a complex medical history, including CVI, who uses an eye gaze system. Rachel and Chris touch on how they would approach the case and some specific things that come to mind, including the challenges of directly prompting an eye gaze user, ideas for using games to teach language, and how they could use Canva in therapy to make something useful for the student’s school.
Key ideas this week:
🔑 If a student relies on us to open a folder on their device, how can it generalize to independence? It’s especially tempting to help an eye tracking user, but If we aren’t training from a motor plan approach, it may not generalize. If we start with supports, we need to fade them as soon as possible so they get the full motor plan.
🔑 It doesn’t move the needle for spontaneous autonomous speech to verbally say what we think they want to say and have them repeat that over and over again. In many cases this hasn’t worked for years.
🔑 You can support independent communication with AAC in ways you can’t with verbal speech alone, such as gesturing at the device with an expectant gaze
Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!
Links from this weeks episode:
Episode 147: Kaylie Gustafson: Supporting Eye Gaze Users Through Telepractice https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/kaylie-gustafson?rq=Eye
Pepi's Wonder World: https://www.pepiplay.com/wonderworld/
Coaching Call w/ Michaela Ball: Supporting a Severely Apraxic Emergent Communicator
Small Talks 4: Candice Steel, Chris Ramirez, Monique Madrid, Sarah Gregory, and TJ Haley
TWT Live from New Jersey - Part 3
TWT Live from New Jersey - Part 2
Talking with Tech LIVE from New Jersey - Part 1
Cuyahoga AAC Podcast Social Group: Benefits of a District-Wide AAC/AT Social Group
Codi & Jennifer Mendenhall: Using Social Media and Making Videos as a Teen AAC User
Stephen Kneece: Making Core Word & Speech Therapy Music Videos
Erin Sheldon & Karen Erickson: Why Literacy Matters for People with Significant Disabilities - Part II
Erin Sheldon & Karen Erickson: Why Literacy Matters for People with Significant Disabilities - Part I
Kaylie Gustafson: Supporting Eye Gaze Users Through Telepractice
Shawnda Saul: Telepractice AAC Coaching for Teachers, Parents, and Staff
Lauren Kravetz Bonnet & Brittany Thomas: Short-Term, High-Intensity AAC Intervention in the Schools
Alison Bono: Transitioning from Low Tech to High Tech AAC
Alexis Martinez & Natalie Fry: Increasing Access to AAC for Grad Students
Kathy Howery: Making Modeling a Better, More Meaningful Experience
Krista Howard & Deanna Wagner: Creating a Successful Community AAC Group
David Moehn: Supporting Students More Universally with Technology
Karen Wilson: Technology Supports for ADHD, Dyslexia, and Language-Learning Disorders
Teaching with Tech: Picseepal
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Regenerative Skills
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast