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!
Kim Hurley & Jessica Conrad (Part 1) - Preparing to Implement the Specific Language System First Approach
Vicki Haddix & Janine Peca (Part 2): A Neuroaffirming Approach to Overstimulation and Sensory Needs
Vicki Haddix & Janine Peca (Part 1): Increasing AAC Skills Through Mentorship
Shelley Anderson: Teaching Core Words with Music
Bilingüe AAC (Part 2): Taking a Bilingual Approach to AAC Implementation
Bilingüe AAC (Part 1): Conducting Bilingual Family-Based AAC Assessments
Ceci Fetterolf: Supporting Core Words with Student-Led Projects
Benjamin Bennett - Implementing the Specific Language System First Approach District-Wide
Laura Taylor: Using PODD to Teach Communication, Language & Literacy
Meredith Gohsman (Part 2): Possible Negative Impacts of ASHA AAC Certification
Meredith Gohsman (Part 1): Evaluating the Effectiveness of AAC Camps
Small Talks VI: Andy Smidt, India Ochs, Lory Chrane, Mark Nichols, and Tali Kellerstein
Jeffrey Ebin - Creating a Free Eye-Tracking Communication Board
Andy Smidt: Writing Effective Goals for Emergent Communicators
Sarah Lockhart: Choosing Motivating Therapy Targets to Maximize Spontaneous Language (Part 2)
Sarah Lockhart: How AAC Supports Greater Spontaneous Language for People with Echolalia (Part 1)
Rebecca - Increasing the Quality of Assistive Technology Support in the Schools
Jeanette Washington & Mai Ling Chan - Creating Effective and Engaging Presentations
Stacy Maijala - Streamlining AAC Evaluations with Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
Tracy Kovach: Re-Defining the Role of AAC Specialist (Part 2)
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