This week, we share Part 1 of Chris’s interview with McKinzee Steve, Danielle (Dani) Welge, and Kendra Everette, three members of the AAC Team for a large school district in Texas! In this half of the interview, McKinzee, Dani, and Kendra share about two projects they have been working on lately: 1:1 caregiver training sessions for parents and caregivers (with the help of grad students), and an "AAC Book Club" literacy enrichment program for AAC users!
Before the interview, Rachel shares with Chris about one of her recent success stories with a client! Rachel talks this student's profile, and how he started making significant gains once he moved to a “core word of the month”. In this strategy, it that starts with explicit instruction about that month’s word, followed by lots of modeling from communication partners throughout the month!
Key ideas this week:
🔑 If an emergent AAC user is not making progress despite lots of high-quality modeling from communication partners, ask yourself - is there a need for more explicit instruction, (e.g., teaching what the words mean)? Sometimes a student immersed in AAC will pick up how to use a device right away, while other students may require exposure for longer periods combined with explicit instruction.
🔑 Part of the services that McKinzee, Dani, and Kendra provide to parents and caregivers includes 1:1 training sessions with the help of local grad students over Zoom. Caregivers get six weeks of training with the grad students (with supervision). Afterward, parents and caregivers reported feeling more confident and capable of supporting their student’s use of the AAC device.
🔑 Another service McKinzee, Dani, and Kendra provide is an AAC Book Club. They have created "bins" that can be checked out by SLPs for six weeks that correspond to a particular book and include a variety of materials and activities that are extensions of the book. These lessons are based on the PRC Literacy Planner series.
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!
TWT Live: Colorado’s SWAAAC
Brian Schobel - Supporting Assistive Technology During the Transition to Employment
Chris Klein and Lance McLemore: Creating an AAC-User-Led Conference & Nonprofit
Marge Blanc & Alexandria Zachos (Part 2): Supporting Gestalt Language Processing With AAC
Marge Blanc & Alexandria Zachos (Part 1): Supporting Students with Echolalia Using the Natural Language Acquisition Framework
Becca Eisenberg: Using Video Modeling to Teach AAC Communication Skills
Dr. Cheri Dodge Chin: Teaching Caregivers to Model via Video Chat
Joanna Holmes (Part 2): The Benefits of Open AAC
Joanna Holmes (Part 1): Finding the Right AAC Access Method for your Child
AACessible: Improving AAC Assessment and Trialing
Daniel Parker, Kathy White, & Stacy Duffy: Assistive Technology Microcredentials
Hank Poore: AAC User, AAC Ambassador, and Foundation Director
Ken Hackbarth, Christine Baudin, and Michael Dicpinigaitis: Using 3D Printers to Make Inexpensive AAC Keyguards
Gemma White: Teaching Personal Safety Awareness to AAC Users
Tami Altschuler - Improving AAC Access and Training in the Hospital
TWT Live from Oregon (Part 2): Getting Buy-In from Teachers who Refuse to Support AAC
TWT Live from Oregon (Part 1): Strategies for Improving Virtual Assessments
Sean Sweeney (Part 2): Evaluating Resources & Apps for Therapy with FIVES
Sean Sweeney (Part 1): Experiences of an SLP Jeopardy Contestant
Kim Hurley & Jessica Conrad (Part 2): Involving Stakeholders in the Selection of a Tier 1 AAC System
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Regenerative Skills
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast