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This week, Chris interviews Catherine Fredricks, a School-Based SLP & AAC Specialist with Wayne Township Public Schools. Catherine shares about her experience using AAC with students with a variety of needs (bilingual students, language-delayed students who are verbal, students with complex communication needs, etc) and how she builds excitement at school for a student’s early progress with AAC. Hearing about how she has built success and buy-in within the schools is useful and inspiring! Before the interview, Chris and his amazing wife Melissa Bugaj catch up on the latest at Melissa’s school site!
Key ideas this week:
🔑 Descriptive teaching is a way to reinforce and teach core language when we are discussing fringe words, especially during academic subjects. For example, instead of finding “ocean” or other fringe words during a science lesson, talk about the ocean - it is big, it is cold, etc. This allows for access to the curriculum while also reinforcing core language.
🔑 It can be difficult to get everyone on a school site “on board” with modeling & core language. Often, finding just one teacher to embrace AAC and work with the students can lead to others seeing the progress, which can create more buy-in for everyone.
🔑 When writing goals for students with complex communication needs, consider allowing for verbal responses as well as AAC responses in the goal (e.g., don’t just write the goal for AAC). This respects the student’s communication regardless of modality, and recognizes that verbal skills can grow with AAC skills.
Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!
Otto Lana: Autistic Advocate, Writer, Actor, and AAC User
Rémi Morin - Creating the Canadian-French Version of LAMP:WFL as a Parent
Emily Macklin, Neha Sharma, & Amber Skerry: Supporting Communication for Deafblind Students
McKinzee Steve, Danielle Welge, & Kendra Everette (Part 2): Providing High-Tech AAC as a Tier 2 Early Childhood Intervention
McKinzee Steve, Danielle Welge, & Kendra Everette (Part 1): Providing District-Led 1:1 AAC Training to Parents
Emily Taylor: Using Social Media to Promote Your AAC Resources
April Wallace & Christina Stader - Specific Language System First Approach Q&A
Dr. Barry Prizant (Part 2): Is ”Spelling to Communicate” Authentic Communication?
Dr. Barry Prizant (Part 1): Echolalia and Gestalt Language Processing
Kimberly Neely: The Trauma-Informed SLP
Barbara Gruber & Ashley Grady: Supporting Accessibility and Inclusion at the Smithsonian Institution
Tiffanie Zaugg: Creating an AAC Facilitator’s Guide for a School District
Ashley Waterman: Supporting Language as a Parent of an AAC User
Judith Schoonover (Part 2): The Role of OTs in AAC Assessment
Judith Schoonover (Part 1): Quickly Create AT Solutions From Common Objects
Recast: AAC Modeling Roundtable
Recast: Chris Klein: The Importance of Motor Planning
Recast: Shaun Pearson & Chris Chicoskikelly: The AAC Agreements
Recast: Core Words Roundtable
Jordyn Zimmerman: Overcoming Limiting Beliefs in the Education System
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