This week, we share Rachel's interview with Vicki Haddix and Janine Peca! Vicki Haddix is an AAC Specialist and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Memphis who teaches their course on AAC for the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. Janine Peca is an autistic adult who recently went through Memphis’s CSD program and is now an SLP. Vicki shares about making pre-service education more interesting and engaging, and the need for increasing mentorship for recent graduates. Janine shares some of her experiences as an autistic adult, including some of the ways neurodiversity was and was not supported during her undergraduate and graduate experience.
Key ideas this week:
🔑 Even with with the best AAC pre-service prep for students, we will need mentors after graduate school for new SLPs to lean on, especially for initial AAC device selection and implementation.
🔑 One part of a being a good mentor is leading others to where the good resources are (e.g., podcasts, webinars, articles). One way we can do that is giving them a “curated” list of resources to review before you meet together. Once they have gone through those resources, you can discuss them in-person. This can reduce the time spent going over basic information and increase the value of your discussion together.
🔑 New SLPs may also feel lost on how to evaluate and treat non-symbolic communicators who may only have emergent intentionality. They may write goals and use materials for more advanced communicators that are not appropriate yet. We can direct them to focus instead on establishing foundational communication skills, including initiation and understanding symbolic representation.
🔑 When someone asks Vicki to explain AAC to them, she will point them to praacticalaac.com, AAC in the Cloud (aacconference.com), and the Talking with Tech podcast (talkingwithtech.org - thanks Vicki ☺️). This gives people something to read, something to watch, and something to listen to, depending upon how they learn best.
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!
Carly Stoltenberg: An SLP’s Journey Recovering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (Part 2)
Carly Stoltenberg: An SLP's Journey Recovering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (Part 1)
Charlie Danger: Working with AAC Users From Different Cultures
Researching AAC Teaching Methods with Shannon Graham, Courtney Kaczmarek, Lizzie Llewellyn, and Payton Yates
Melanie Pensak: How Mindfulness Can Promote Joy, Prevent Burnout & Improve Therapy
Facebook Live with Matt Hott: ASHA's AAC Clinical Specialty Certification (Part 2)
Facebook Live with Matt Hott: ASHA's AAC Clinical Specialty Certification (Part 1)
Katya Hill: Developing an ASHA Specialty Certification for AAC
Lance McLemore: Learning to Become a Proficient AAC User
Mo Buti: Tips for Writing IEPs and Working With IEP Teams
Building a State-Level AAC Organization with Mike Hipple, Jennifer Schubring, Kelsey Osten, & Sharon Redmon
Sarah Whyte: AAC for Adults with Neurogenic Communication Disorders
How to Teach "More", Involve Siblings With AAC, and Other Listener Questions
Kelly Fonner: All About PODD (Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display)
Interviews from ATIA & FETC: Christine Baudin of "AAC for the SLP", Michael Dicpinigaitis & Mike Marotta
Carly Hynes: AAC Implementation Ideas for the Classroom
Jason Lehmbeck: Co-Founder of Special X & Parent of Child with CCN
Michael Biel: Motivation and How It Can Influence AAC User Engagement
Russell Cross of PRC: How Combining Core Words Into "Phrasal Verbs" Can Boost Your Client's Vocabulary
Why Presuming Potential Matters + Interviews from ASHA with Bill Binko, Cindy Halloran, Heidi LoStracco, Sarah Wilds, and Brian Whitmer
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