Talking With Tech AAC Podcast

This week, we share a coaching call between Chris, Rachel, and our amazing Audio Engineer & SLP grad student, Michael Ball! Michaela asks the TWT team about a severely apraxic student she is working with who is a multi-modal communicator. With limited therapy time with this student, should Michaela focus more of her time on implementing a device, using sign language, or promoting verbal speech? How can she promote AAC best during the school day? Before the interview, Rachel shares with Chris about a another apraxic student she recently consulted with. Rachel talks about her approach to the difficult conversations that occur when a family is wary of AAC and holding out hope for verbal speech without AAC. Chris poses the option of bringing in more experienced families of AAC users to talk with the new client's family about the benefits of AAC. Chris also brings up the argument that AAC can often be the “lest dangerous option”, especially when compared to doing nothing differently. Key ideas this week: 🔑 When someone communicates in several different modalities, and we have to prioritize which modality to support, one good question to consider is “what modality will be most understood by unfamiliar listeners down the road?” 🔑 When we are choosing what word to target first when working with an AAC user, it can be helpful to choose a word that is both really motivating to them in particular and one that he or she will use in many different contexts. 🔑 When choosing between an iPad mini or a full-sized iPad for AAC, it is important to consider the extra “real estate” that the full-sized iPad screen can give. More space often means for more symbols! It can also mean more space between the symbols, which can help students with fine motor challenges. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, TWT presents four more short interviews, aka "small talks", covering a variety of topics related to AAC and Assistive Technology! Before the interviews, Rachel talks about a contentious IEP she recently attended for a student she consults with. Rachel had some ideas about supporting literacy that she shared with the team, but the team was resistant to Rachel’s input as an SLP and didn’t seem interested in changing any goals. Chris shares about a situation early in his career where he was told SLPs “don’t do reading” - but those same people couldn’t say who was responsible for helping the student succeed. Chris then connects this to ASHA’s perspective that reading falls under the scope of practice for SLPs. Rachel touches on some of the mistakes that are often made when teaching a minimally verbal student to read, presumably because teachers don’t know how to support a student’s reading effectively if he or she can’t read out loud. This week's Small Talks are: 🔑 Candice Steel, an SLP & AT specialist working for Gompers, a non-profit in AZ, talks about empowering paraprofessionals to support AAC. Her training focuses on concepts like core vocabulary, operational competence, evaluative feedback, and communication facilitation. You can email her to learn more at [email protected]. 🔑 Chris Ramirez & Monique Madrid are SLPAs who work with young children, AAC, and home health. Monique shares about being a parent of a child with autism and introducing AAC to her daughter. Chris talks about working with bilingual families and working with a supervisor who supervises SLPAs from out-of-state. 🔑 Sarah Gregory, SLP and AAC specialist, talks about the benefits of using Seesaw and videos to connect with families and teachers. Sarah likes to take videos and share them with families, including videos of students (with permission) that she shares with families. With Seesaw you don’t have have everyone’s email address to be able to contact them instantly. 🔑 TJ Haley - high school SLPA who discusses ways to engage students, including augmented reality. You can broadcast augmented reality for groups and classes using software that is often free and easy to use. He finds augmented reality is a great way to elicit expressive language. Sketch Fab and Jig Space are two apps he uses. Do you have burning AAC questions for Chris and Rachel? Sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/talkingwithtech and join our TWT Live show for Patreon members only on December 9th 7:30-8:30 pm Eastern Time (4:30-5:30 pm Pacfic)! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, we present the final episode in our three part series of TWT Live from New Jersey! This week, Rachel, Chris, and the participants tackle user questions about using eye gaze during teletherapy, how to decide if social media is accessible, maintaining attention and motivation during virtual sessions, and the language-system-first approach to AAC. Before Part 3, Rachel and Chris get a tutorial on the popular video game Among Us! Rachel and Chris discuss how concepts from this game could be used to make therapy more fun and to work on vocabulary. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Consider incorporating sensory movement breaks into virtual therapy to make therapy sessions more engaging. You can also incorporate a direct therapy hybrid where you include some coaching for communication partners during the session. 🔑 Using less technology and more physical items , like a puppet or toy, during a teletherapy session can make a session more interesting for some students. Check out @thespeakbotique on Instagram for ideas. (https://www.instagram.com/thespeakboutique/) 🔑 Incorporating items from the child’s environment and helping parents participate in therapy can be more useful for generalization and motivation then engaging them with our therapy items. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, we share Part 2 of Chris and Rachel’s “crowd-sourced” TWT Live from New Jersey! To listen to part 1, click here (https://www.talkingwithtech.org/episodes/twt-live-nj-1) . In Part 2, they discuss coaching vs consulting, how to pursue a job as an AAC facilitator in a school district, and how to increase support for high-tech AAC devices among ABAs who would rather use PECS. Before Part 2 of TWT Live, Chris and Rachel talk about an independent evaluation Rachel recently did for a school district that ended up with a student who was a good candidate for high-tech AAC put on a 90-day trial to determine if the student was a good candidate for AAC. Rachel shares her fears that the student will not get enough training to show her capabilities, and that they won’t use the device in motivating ways. She notes how hard it can be to do an assessment without being able to work the with the student after that. Key ideas this week: 🔑 If you force someone to use a device to communicate, they will probably reject what you are forcing them to do. We need to change the “I am the instructor, you do what I say” mindset in education to better motivate students to learn and grow. 🔑 Coaching AAC users and their circle of support is best when it “holds up a mirror” by asking reflective questions to lead others to their own answers. This leads to better internal motivation. Watch videos of yourself coaching to see how much you consult vs. coach. 🔑 If you want to work in the area of AAC and you are waiting until you feel totally prepared to be an AAC Specialist, you might never get started. You can coach, implement, and share AAC resources with others no matter what your title. Districts often want to see you know how to find the correct information rather than that you know everything there is to know about AAC already. Have some great questions for our team? Join our Patreon group now at patreon.com/talkingwithtech to participate in our next edition of TWT Live on December 9th! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, we share Part 1 of a “crowd sourced” episode recorded as a webinar with listener feedback we call “Talking with Tech Live”! To start, Chris and Rachel cover some AAC core concepts, like criteria for evidence-based practice, signs a child needs AAC, avoiding “quick fire” phrases, and 80/20 ratio for core words. Then, Rachel and Chris, together with listeners, discuss some effective coaching strategies when working with AAC users via telepractice! Stay tuned next week for more listener questions & participation in Part 2! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about connecting with people who share similar genetic information, including the story of how Chris learned he had a half-brother through 23 and Me! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Three criteria ASHA about evidence-based practice: Is there research supporting the practice? Do professionals agree it’s a good strategy? What are people who actually use AAC telling us works for them? 🔑 Signs a child needs AAC: If they aren’t able to speak, they have minimal language, speech is hard to understand, vocabulary less than 50 words, or they use a high level of scripted phrases. 🔑 Be careful of using “quick fire” stored phrases. They can be useful for certain circumstances, like social situations, but quick fires don’t support the individual building blocks of language very well. 🔑 Talk with AAC users about things that are memorable, exciting, interesting, even gross. AAC users aren’t inspired to talk about boring things any more than anyone else would be! Want more great TWT content and with access to members-only resources? Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, TWT presents Rachel and Chris’s meet-up with an AAC social group of SLPs and AT specialists in Cuyahoga county in Ohio! Their AAC podcast & research group sets aside time every month to listen and discuss a TWT podcast episode or journal article via Zoom. Rachel and Chris dropped by to connect with them and learn about how they have used the podcast to further AAC in their district. The social group talks about how they formed their group, how Zoom has helped make getting together easier, how helpful learning about AT can be for SLPs, and creating social groups for AAC users within the district! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel brainstorm assistive technology questions that listeners might have, and some possible answers. For example, turning on closed captions is really helpful with building literacy by presenting information in multiple modalities. Rachel and Chris also discuss word prediction and when a student might benefit from prediction that is “in line” rather than “ahead”. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Meeting on Zoom makes people more willing to participate in learning groups like this. Hopefully teleconferencing can make professional development for everyone more organic, authentic, and fun. 🔑 You can use Zoom to help students connect via a social group. This can be for just AAC users, AAC users and people who don’t use AAC, or even as a mentor-type relationship between a more advanced user and an emerging AAC user. 🔑 A social group for AAC users, whether in person or on Zoom, develops vocabulary that users may not use as often in an academic setting , like greetings and humor. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, TWT presents Chris and Rachel’s interview with Codi Mendenhall, a 14-year-old who has been using AAC since she was 5, and her mother Jennifer Mendenhall. Jennifer and Codi recently shared their story on a TEDx talk - you can watch here. Codi and Jennifer share about Codi’s journey learning to use AAC, the ways that Codi uses texting and social media to communicate with her peers, how to facilitate more communication opportunities for AAC users, and more! Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss some of their upcoming trainings on coaching and virtual AAC assessment. Chris shares about a recent multi-series event he hosted with both live and asynchronous components, and how the pandemic has made new ways of learning possible. Key ideas this week: 🔑 When selecting AAC, it’s important to consider the input of those who will be communicating most with the AAC user, e.g., the family may find one app easier to program and use than others. 🔑 Communication partners need to be very patient with AAC users and should try hard not to finish their sentences for them. 🔑 One way we can help motivate AAC users is by demonstrating that AAC is a way to connect more closely with the people in their life. Check out Codi’s YouTube Channel, Codi’s Life Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, TWT presents Chris’s interview with SLP, AT Specialist, and founder of Speech and Language Songs, Stephen Kneece! During the interview, Chris and Stephen discuss his work as a professor teaching AAC, as President-Elect of SCSHA, and how he founded a Youtube channel playing his original songs, including many songs targeting core words. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris talk about how they are promoting AAC during AAC Awareness Month. Check out Chris’s Inclusive Technology Spotlight here: http://bit.ly/lcpsaac. Rachel also shares about the new packet of resources she created to help learn more about an AAC user’s vocabulary needs (find out more at rachelmadel.com). Finally, Rachel and Chris discuss their hope that we all can continue to coach families via Zoom after SLPs are back working in person. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Coaching parents and team members has been more important than ever during COVID. Hopefully after COVID is less of a concern we can continue to reach out and coach an AAC user’s circle of support as part of our normal practice. 🔑 We can often get more bang for our buck helping families and staff support an AAC user than only working with the AAC user one-on-one. 🔑 Steven is the creator of Speech and Language Songs, a great resource with lots of songs about language concepts and using core words. You can learn more at https://speechandlanguagesongs.com Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, we share Part II of Erin Sheldon’s interview with Karen Erickson! In this fascinating second half, Erin and Karen talk about emergent vs conventional literacy, and four indicators that maximize the likelihood of success with conventional literacy instruction (e.g., phonics, decoding, spelling): Does this child know most of the letters most of the time? Does the child have a means of communication and interaction? Are they interested and engaged during shared reading (when not given a reinforcer)? Is there an understanding that writing is about letters and words? Erin and Karen also discuss the benefits of inclusion for everyone in the classroom, and why Project Core is a universal, Tier 1 solution for teaching symbol-based communication. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss one of Rachel’s clients whose family had no idea that the client had the ability to read and write. Rachel and Chris talk about the importance of doing foundational assessments to see what clients know, why incorporating books into therapy is so important, and the benefits of bringing in a reading specialist. They also touch upon dealing with a family who feels guilt that they did not understand how to help their child sooner. Key ideas this week: 🔑 It’s important to let your client pick what to read in therapy. If we are to develop a love for reading, it’s better with a book that interests them. Epic books is one way to search for interesting books (and it's free for educators). 🔑 If we say a student “isn’t ready yet” for high-tech AAC, there needs to be a plan for how we will get there. If we only provide low-tech supports with no core words, there may be no pathway to robust AAC. 🔑 If we are trialing a device with someone who has never learned core words, we can’t expect them to use their device right away. If we teach core words to everyone with complex communication needs with or without a device, they are better prepared to use a device at a later point. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, TWT presents part 1 of special education specialist Erin Sheldon’s amazing interview with literacy expert Dr. Karen Erickson on promoting literacy for people with significant disabilities, including deaf/blindness and severe intellectual disability. They talk about supporting access to grade level standards for kids with complex needs, the problem of the candidacy model, why literacy is critical for everyone's well being, and more! Before the interview, Rachel shares about meeting Hannah Foley virtually and how Rachel was able to connect Hannah with one of her clients. She shares about all of the ways that meeting a proficient AAC user motivated her client (and her client’s circle of support) to work even harder to achieve AAC proficiency. Key ideas this week: 🔑 We can teach reading and writing every day to every person. It’s not easy and it may take longer, but it isn’t impossible. There are people with significant disabilities that read and write every day. 🔑 Without literacy, a person with significant disabilities may lose the ability to connect with friends who have moved away after school. We want people to be engaged and happy when they are 25, not just when they are 10. Literacy is the way that we socially connect now. 🔑 “Presume competence” doesn’t mean “presume there is no disability”. We don’t want to presume people with significant disabilities will learn the same way in the same amount of time. We should presume potential and that there is a path to success. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes! Smiles for Speech provides children with special needs living in impoverished communities with the therapeutic intervention and resources they need to enhance their ability to reach their full potential. Contact them at [email protected] to sign up for their upcoming dyslexia workshop on October 10th!

This week, Rachel interviews Kaylie Gustafson, an SLP and AAC specialist in the schools who frequently works with AAC users who utilize eye tracking. Kaylie talks about remote modeling over Zoom using the “remote control” feature, which allows her to model on the user’s device and watch what the user does in response. Kaylie shares lots of tips and tricks for supporting eye gaze, including turning on visual/auditory selection feedback, using Boom Cards and Google Slides with eye gaze, positioning and calibration during telepractice, and more! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about their recent presentation,“Talking With Tech Live.” During TWTL, they answered questions along with the participants and “crowdshared” the presentation, allowing the community to help each other learn! Rachel and Chris share their thoughts about this format and promise to air segments from this presentation in upcoming episodes of TWT! Key ideas this episode: 🔑 You can model on an AAC user’s iPad during telepractice by using the “remote control” feature on Zoom. Learn more here. 🔑 Help Kidz Learn is membership service with lots of activities and games for a variety of access methods, including switch, eye gaze, mouse, and touch. 🔑 Ian Bean’s SENict Resources page has an excellent (free!) selection of online activities for switch, touch screen, mouse, and eye gaze that can be used in therapy and assessments. More Links: Access to Education conference Gassy Gary Powerpoint on TpT Assistive Touch How to Annotate in Zoom Toy Theatre Crickweb Playlists on Rachel's YouTube Channel

This week, Chris interviews Shawnda Saul, an SLP and AAC Specialist who runs the Learning Language AAC Initiative for Arlington Public Schools. Chris and Shawnda discuss how she promotes modeling and language instruction in the classroom, her approach to coaching communication partners, the changes she has seen coaching families during distance learning, and more! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about rethinking how we educate students. Teaching is still thought of as presenting information to a class from the front of the classroom and having students spit that information back on a test. For example, math instruction often has students memorize formulas and complete worksheets, even if they have dyscalculia. Chris demonstrates how we can better ground learning in functional problems, like discussing planting lettuce as a way to understand the concept of perimeters. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Accurate content about the world is widely available to students, making the concept of a teacher providing information to students from the front of a classroom less relevant. Instead, we should be teaching students strategies for absorbing and evaluating content more effectively on their own. 🔑 Coaching communication partners about AAC and making them I feel comfortable using a device is the most important thing clinicians supporting AAC can do. 🔑 For many SLPs during distance learning, a much bigger part of therapy with AAC users takes place in the home. Hopefully we can continue to reach out to families to support them after school resumes in-person and move to more of a coaching model rater than just direct therapy. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week on TWT, we share Chris’s interview with Lauren Kravetz Bonnet, an SLP & AT Specialist, and Brittany Thomas, who is also an SLP. Lauren and Brittany talk about their school-based communication program to support students with complex communication needs. This program is a short-term (i.e., less than two years), high-intensity intervention to teach young students to use their device more effectively. It is not a self-contained program; students get their support in an integrated, general education setting with in-class speech support for a large portion of the day. Lauren and Brittany share about their success with this program, the reduced need for this program as teachers embrace AAC more broadly, the importance of reflective listening with teachers and families, lessons learned training peers to become communication partners, and more! Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss one of Rachel’s new adult clients and the bittersweet experience of seeing the potential in the client but also seeing the time that was lost to poor AAC implementation. Rachel’s client uses some sign language and has had a device for many years, but he arrived without many skills using the device. The device was difficult to navigate and was not optimized for motor planning, and parents said that when they started using the device “he didn’t want to use it.” Rachel shares about the many great signs that AAC will be successful, including that the client pays a lot of attention to communication and is a quick learner. Finally, Rachel shares about the changes she has made to his device template and how she has improved implementation at home. Key ideas this week include: 🔑 Building rapport with school staff is a big part of Brittany and Lauren’s success. When teachers see that the device isn’t a barrier to progress in the classroom and the AT team is there to support them, they are more likely to embrace the device in the classroom. 🔑 Lauren started having much greater success with teachers and staff by doing more job-embedded coaching and reflective listening to lead people to their own solutions rather than telling them what to do. This leads to greater motivation on the part of staff and less of a struggle to find success. 🔑 Getting school peers to engage in authentic communication with AAC users increases positive attitudes about AAC and can be really motivating to all the students involved. Follow Lauren @aps_astech and Brittany @msbrittanyslp on Twitter to learn more about them and their awesome work! Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, TWT shares Rachel and Chris’s coaching call with Alison Bono! Alison is an SLP who reached out to Rachel and Chris for help working with a young student with complex communication needs. On the call, Rachel and Chris explore moving from low-tech to high-tech supports, getting teachers on board with a core language approach, integrating core words into routines, motivating the circle of support, and more! Before the coaching session, Rachel and Chris dive into Rachel’s latest “intensive” approach to supporting clients. During this approach, Rachel had observation and coaching sessions at least once a day over a two week period with a client’s circle of support, including behavior therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and parents. Rachel shares how this intensive approach gave her a new perspective on this client, provided lots of ideas for making faster progress, and gave everyone even more motivation to support the client’s use of AAC and language. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Until Rachel observed the whole circle of support during intensive coaching, she wasn’t aware of everything that was happening with communication partners. Partners may not see that they are prompting, or that the client is not actually responding spontaneously. 🔑 Asking reflective questions can be more helpful than giving advice. Allowing people to think through their problems and come up with their own solutions can lead to greater ownership and change. 🔑 A more intensive approach harnesses the collective energy of the team and promote greater change. Positive change in the client can then motivate the circle of support to continue improving and growing. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Chris interviews recent SLP graduates Alexis Martinez and Natalie Fry about their experience focusing on AAC in grad school and their thoughts on how AAC instruction and mentorship can be more effective for graduate students in the future. Before the interview, Chris and Rachel answer a listener question from a parent who has multiple children who use AAC. This parent has one 3-year-old child who uses LAMP Words for Life (WFL), and another child who uses LAMP WFL - Visual Impairment. Chris and Rachel discuss integrating low tech supports into daily routines, placing those supports around the home, modeling for both kids using high-contrast symbols, and taking a few minutes to model with each child individually. Key ideas this week: 🔑 It may be better to have a required AAC course early in grad school, rather than later, to better prepare students for the clients they may see early in their clinical training. 🔑 If an early AAC course isn’t an option, AAC and core language instruction can be embedded more into first-year graduate courses 🔑 Guest speakers about AAC can include AAC specialists and local AAC product representatives. Borrowing devices from lending libraries to be used in class is another great way to integrate AAC into graduate courses. Links: Previous TWT Episodes with Parents of AAC Users: Caitlin Calder, Dana Nieder, and Erin Sheldon Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Chris interviews Dr. Kathy Howery, an AAC specialist and educational consultant in Alberta, Canada. Chris and Kathy talk about modeling (aka aided language stimulation) and explore a question Kathy often gets from parents: “Is modeling getting in the way of my natural interaction with my child?” Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss a Spanish version of the AAC Agreements (habloconcaa.wordpress.com), using Microsoft Translate to communicate with someone who speaks another language, and ways that Rachel has been using Zoom to support her students in unique ways! Key ideas this week: 🔑 We don’t want to focus so much on modeling that we don’t pay attention to what the student is doing. Modeling needs to be a child-focused interaction, not a performance activity. 🔑 Modeling without expectation doesn't mean that we don't pay attention to what the AAC user says or does in response. We should try and honor multi-modal communication and pay attention to what the AAC User is trying to communicate. 🔑 Videotaping yourself is a good way to learn about how you model with students and how much you engage in expectant pauses. It is important to inhibit our natural inclination to fill silence with talk. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Chris interviews Krista Howard, an AAC Technician and AAC User, and Deanna Wagner, an SLP and AT Specialist, about supporting AAC users and family members in the community through Out & About. They discuss the Out & About program, the fun they have with AAC users and family members, Krista’s work as an AT Technician with Gompers, how Krista supports AAC and literacy, and Deanna’s experiences in Singapore with AAC. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss dealing with parents who don’t want to provide assistive technology for their child because they see it as a “crutch.” Rachel talks about a dyslexic client who needed tools like Read&Write for Chrome and Grammerly, and how she brought the client’s parents around to supporting these important tools. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Out & About selects activities each week that support the development of communicative competence (linguistic, operational, social and strategic skills) for AAC users and their family members. 🔑 The leaders of Out & About share the week’s planned activities ahead of time with its members, along with key vocabulary words. This gives everyone a chance to practice and familiarize themselves with key vocabulary beforehand. 🔑 One popular Out & About activity is their treasure hunt! AAC users pair up with a partner, often a family member, to take a picture of an item that they can find within a particular category. Afterwards, everyone gathers to vote on which words best match which picture! You can purchase the Out & About manual by Deanna Wagner, Caroline Musselwhite, and Jane Odom on TPT here. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Chris talks with Assistive Technology Specialist David Moehn about supporting general education and special education students more effectively with assistive technology (including AAC). They discuss how to train staff more effectively, supporting all students with text-to-speech and speech-to-text, the specific language system first approach, and the benefits of providing AAC and core language instruction to all students in a classroom. Before the interview, Chris and Rachel answer a listener question: how can we make using AAC more spontaneous and expressive for a child who is accustomed to lots of hand-over-hand prompting? Chris and Rachel offer lots of helpful suggestions for making AAC more motivating, including: changing the appearance of the device, evaluating what the child is most excited about, modeling without expectation, using expected routines, and the benefits of targeting motivating sensory experiences. Key ideas this week: 🔑 To tempt communication and reduce prompt dependence, combine an expectant pause with an expected routine, like “ready, set….” during a highly motivating activity. 🔑 Some technology supports, like Read & Write for Chrome, can be helpful for both general- and special-education students. For example, all students, not just students with dyslexia, can benefit from listening to their writing before submitting it. 🔑 When AAC and core language is more universally adopted in a district, consults go down over time because everyone is more accustomed to using the app. Many students also use language more expressively when modeling increases in the classroom. 🔑 Look at the time spent by specialists and support staff to train vs the cost of universal deployment of a tool like Read & Write - if teachers and staff are comfortable and do not need training, then less specialist involvement is required overall. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week’s episode features Rachel’s interview with neuropsychologist Dr. Karen Wilson! Dr Wilson shares some of the treatment approaches and assistive technology tools she uses to support children and adults with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and language-based learning disorders. Before the interview, Chris and Rachel answer a reader’s question looking for more on the "Specific Language System First Approach" from the TWT episode with Erik Engar. Chris tells the story of how this term came to be used, revisits some of the reasoning behind this approach, and shares some resources for learning more about it! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Classroom accommodations that can help children with ADHD include: private signals between a teacher and the student to refocus attention, breaking down instructions into smaller chunks to support working memory, and eliminating distractions with strategies like preferential seating. 🔑 Mindfulness helps with decreasing anxiety, increasing self-regulation, and and improving focus. Using a mindfulness app before beginning schoolwork can help people with ADHD increase focus and get ready to learn. 🔑 Listening to audiobooks (while following along with the printed text) can help children with dyslexia improve their reading comprehension, because they can spend more effort on comprehending the material and not use up all their energy simply decoding the words. Links & Tools AAC Spotlight Slides: Bit.ly/aacspotlightcb Mindfulness: Headspace Calm Stop, Breathe, Think Breathe like a Bear book ADHD: Revibe watch Dyslexia: NaturalReader Kurzweil Google Keep Notability Read&Write for Chrome Co:Writer Universal Snap & Read Livescribe Smartpen Top 6 digital scanner pens Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

In this episode of Teaching with Tech, Chris and Rachel explore the Picseepal, a low-tech AAC communication tool that protects and organizes low-tech communication boards! Chris and Rachel unbox the Picseepal, talk about how they would use it in therapy, and discuss the importance of Picseepal’s goal of donating 1 million Picseepals to those in need across the world. They also discuss why laminating communication boards is not ideal for protecting communication boards, including: 1) lamination may not last very long, 2) it creates a distraction for some AAC users, 3) recreating damaged boards takes time, and 4) dirty or crumpled lamination looks less professional than a Picseepal. Links: To see the video version of this episode, visit talkingwithtech.org/episodes/picseepal Buy an Early Bird Picseepal at over 40% off (for a limited time) and support their global initiative at startsomegood.com/picseepal Download Picseepal’s core communication board: bit.ly/picseepaldownload Learn more about Picseepal: www.picseepal.com

This week, Kevin Williams and Lateef McLeod share about racism and ableism from their perspective as Black AAC users. Kevin Williams is a freelance web developer and the Chief Technical Officer of USSAC. Lateef is a PHD Candidate in the Anthropology and Social Change program at California Institute of Integral Studies, Vice President of ISSAC’s LEAD Committee, and published poet/author. In the interview, Kevin and Lateef discuss the importance of having difficult conversations about racism and ableism, the intersection of race and disability in their own life, and the importance of patience, especially from the police, when communicating with AAC users. Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss the need for more options for AAC users to socialize with other AAC users online, especially during the pandemic. Key Ideas this Week: 🔑 Have uncomfortable conversations about racism and ableism with people in your immediate circle of friends and family. People are more likely to listen to someone they care about and respect 🔑 Police should inspire compliance with their own behavior, including telling someone why they are being physically restrained, rather than simply demanding compliance. Police need to be the most patient with people with disabilities. 🔑 An AAC user’s personality is communicated by more than the software or voice on a device; it also comes from that person’s gestures, vocalizations, and body language. Links: Some of Lateef's books on Amazon Lateef’s podcast “Black Disabled Men Talk” Join USSAAC and ISAAC ISAAC PWUAAC Chat page Speak Up blog Body Cam Footage of the Death of Rashad Brooks Warning: Video Contains Graphic Images Where is Hope, The Art of Murder (the documentary)

This week, Rachel interviews Erik Raj, a Speech-Language Pathologist and app developer. about using apps to make language development more motivating and fun! Rachel and Erik discuss picture-manipulation apps to get students laughing, telling stories with the my story app, making passive screen time more active, teaching students to comment and not just request, integrating parents into therapy with the superherofx app, and more! Learn more about Erik at Erikxraj.com and on Instagram @erikxraj For extra apps and hacks from Erik Raj and to enter to win Erik’s Your Face Learning apps, become a TWT Patron at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss their presentations on AAC in the Cloud: Chris’s presentation on robots and coding for core language, and Rachel’s presentation with Lauren Enders on attention-grabbing tools. They also share about some of the other interesting presentations from this year's AAC in the Cloud conference. Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Rachel interviews Chris Ellis of Audio Cardio, an app designed to help strengthen hearing. They discuss how the app uses threshold sound conditioning (TSC) and barely audible sound to stimulate the cells in the ear, and the results of research studies suggesting TSC can improve hearing thresholds. TWT listeners can get a free 30 day trial of Audio Cardio by going to audiocardio.com and using the code AAC3XS Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about intersection of hearing and AAC. Rachel shares about an AAC user who had recently received cochlear implants. This AAC user benefited from the visuals on the device and he rapidly improved his functional communication by using the device. Then, Chris shares about some of the issues regarding speaker volume he has solved with solutions like bluetooth speakers. Finally, Chris and Rachel discuss teaching AAC users how to change volume on their devices so they can be heard above the background noise. Check out Picseepal, a low tech communication tool that is mobile, durable, and splash-proof, at picseepal.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/picseepal Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Rachel interviews Gemma White, an SLP who owns a private practice specializing in AAC and feeding support. Gemma and Rachel discuss a “growth mindset” and why mindset is important for everyone, including people with complex communication needs. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris play a game where Rachel decides on which words she would use to communicate with fictional “veggie” creatures! Then, Rachel and Chris discuss resources for learning about state license reciprocity and how Chris teaches growth mindset to his kids. Key ideas this week: 🔑 The idea behind a “growth mindset” is that a person’s personality, intelligence and abilities are not fixed. People grow, change, and develop when they make mistakes and decide on a path forward. 🔑 Promoting a growth mindset isn’t just being a cheerleader- it’s also about fostering an environment where people are brave enough to make mistakes, receive feedback on what was done correctly and incorrectly, and choose a path forward 🔑 We can promote growth mindset while also teaching core language and modeling. We can model things like “you tried, it’s hard, you can do it” to support the idea that learning is a process, they made an error, and we are going to move forward. 🔑 When giving corrective feedback, try to say “not yet” instead of “no”. You can find out more about Gemma at gemmawhiteslp.com and on Instagram (@a.spoonful) Check out Picseepal, a low tech communication tool that is mobile, durable, and splash-proof, at picseepal.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/picseepal Research Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Digital, Inc.. Dweck, C. S. (2000). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Psychology press. Rhew, E., Piro, J. S., Goolkasian, P., & Cosentino, P. (2018). The effects of a growth mindset on self-efficacy and motivation. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1492337.

This week, Rachel and Chris interview Cara Walton (@thebuckeyeslp), the author of a recent change.org petition “Demands for ASHA to Increase Cultural Sensitivity.” Cara shares about her experience as a Black woman becoming a speech-language pathologist, what ASHA can do right now to increase cultural sensitivity, and ways that AAC can better support people of color. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris talk about their previous attempt to discuss anti-racism and AAC on the podcast, how they responded to mistakes they made, and how that response has led to a better understanding of their own cultural “blindspots” and the importance of learning from our mistakes. Key ideas this week: 🔑 There is a need for more diversity in the field of speech-language pathology - only 8% of SLPs self-identify as people of color, and only 3% identify as Black. We need to recruit more people of color to become SLPs and audiologists, and push graduate schools to have requirements to enroll a more diverse class. 🔑 Most AAC symbol sets typically default to white male icons being showcased in vocabulary templates and it requires a high level of customization to select and program racially diverse icons. Considering whether the symbols will represent the user can be an important factor when choosing a system for an AAC user. If software developers know racial diversity in symbol sets is a consideration when feature matching, we may see more diverse symbol options in AAC software. 🔑 There should be a mandatory diversity CEU requirement that is similar to the mandatory ethics CEU requirement, and there should be more CEUs on diversity and multicultural issues available on the ASHA Learning Pass. We invite you to write your own goals for improving racial equity and share them with us at https://bit.ly/twtequityform. Click here to sign the ASHA petition Cara started. Resources: Donation Spreadsheet Speech-Specific Organizations:National Black Association of Speech Language Hearing NBASLH Sistas in Speech Therapy and Audiology S.I.S.T.A.S. SLPs of Color Education-Related OrganizationsBlack Girls Code The Conscious Kid Social Media Accounts@equityslps @slpsofcolor @the_juvenileforensic_slp @speechologistsf @theslpway @jrc_theslp @ei_incolor @thebuckeyslp @coffee.communication Black Speech-Language Pathologists SLP Private Practice in Color (Townhall Meeting) Helpful PodcastsThe Mindful SLP Episode: Anti-Racist Mindfulness Brene Brown: How to Be an Anti-Racist Helpful VideosA Kindergarten Teachers Talking about Racism to her Students Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man Helpful ArticlesThe New Yorker: White Fragility Comprehensive Anti-Racism Resource Guide

This week, Rachel interviews Brittyn Coleman (https://www.autismdietitian.com), a pediatric dietitian who specializes in supporting children with autism and ADHD. She talks with Rachel about the difference between the different types of food reactions, when biomedical testing may be used to evaluate food sensitivity, the different reasons why some foods may be avoided by picky eaters, and more! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel finish their game of AAC Bingo! Topics that they rate themselves on this week include if they “inspire not require”, if they are CEU “junkies”, if they use password managers, and how much they enjoy laminating! Key ideas this week: 🔑 There are up to 30 different steps that may be necessary before we ask a picky eater to eat a new food (e.g., seeing, smelling, touching, tasting). Going straight to eating a new food may elicit a “fight or flight” response that reduces appetite even further. 🔑 There are different types of food reactions that can occur. Food allergies often involve anaphylactic reactions and typically can bee seen on the outside. Food sensitivities can take longer to show up and may only occur internally and manifest as cognitive and/or behavioral issues. Food intolerance is when there is a digestive enzyme that is missing and the body can’t break down a particular food. 🔑 Every person on the autism spectrum is unique and there is no one diet that works for everyone. Even if someone doesn’t benefit from one diet (e.g., gluten-free diet), it doesn’t mean they won’t benefit from a different approach. Listeners can get $500 off Brittyn’s services by using the promo code talkingwithtech !

Brittani’s son Lucas is a 7 year old AAC user who has Joubert’s syndrome. Brittani shares about her journey with teaching Lucas to communicate and how it led to writing her book “Lucas the Lion Loves the Tiny Talker,” a social story about a lion who uses AAC. It teaches kids about AAC and even comes with its own light-tech AAC device, the Tiny Talker! Before the interview, Chris plays the “Opposite Challenge” with Rachel, a game with a surprise ending! Next, Chris remembers the late, great Bruce Baker and talks about the impact Bruce made on his life. Rachel discusses starting new online therapy groups for kids that combine direct therapy activities and integrated parent training - learn more at rachelmadel.com/vitual. Chris and Rachel also talk about the need for a “telepractice” license that allows you to practice in multiple states at the same time. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Joubert’ syndrome is a genetic condition causing the vermis of the cerebellum to be underformed, which causes global developmental delays in eye movement, speech, coordination, and balance. 🔑 Considering the size of a device is important when doing an AAC assessment. A very heavy device may not be a good fit for a small child to take around at home and school. 🔑 Talking with Tech has a new website! Visit talkingwithtech.org for access to all of our episodes and more! Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!

This week, the TWT team presents Chris’s interview with Carson Covey, social media manager & AAC mentor at Jill Tullman & Associates, ambassador with PRC, and AAC user! Carson shares about changing his AAC system to TouchChat; the importance of having his circle of support use his device; updating AAC devices when sheltering at home; and going to school to become an SLP! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel play AAC Bingo & score themselves on AAC in their lives, including advocating modeling, using low tech AAC, valuing motor planning, and using AAC memes. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Having an AAC user’s 1:1 aide know and use the device can be a huge help when navigating the school environment inside and outside of class. Having the family know the device is similarly helpful at home. 🔑 It is important to avoid helping AAC users too much - we must give them the time and opportunity to communicate before jumping in to help. 🔑 AAC users should trust in themselves, and trust their technology! Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Tara Wineinger and Rachel discuss Sophie’s Run (runsophies5k.com), a “virtual 5k” that supports decreasing the amount of time students wait for AAC devices and to assist communication partners with training in the Kansas City area. Tara shares about building awareness for AAC, the services they have been able to provide, and ideas for how you can bring fundraising like this to your school district. Before the interview, Chris and his wife Melissa talk about how the school closures have changed their personal and professional lives. They discuss how “eduspeak” can be overwhelming to some parents, how getting emails from multiple teachers for multiple kids can be a lot to manage, and why we need to have a lot of compassion and empathy for each other in these times. Key Ideas This Week: 🔑 If possible, educators and therapists should focus on helping students to understand academic content and apply it to their lives (e.g., graphic organizers, reflective coaching, solving authentic problems.) rather than just providing content. 🔑 Having teachers and therapists meet as a team with AAC users and their parents to support AAC implementation and provide resources can help promote language development during school closure. 🔑 Co-Vidspeak (covidspeak.org) is a free open source, web-based video conferencing tool built for people who can't speak but still need to connect with others. Double Time Docs helps you write your pediatric SLP, OT, and PT evaluation reports in a fraction of the time. SIgn up for a free 30 day trial at doubletimedocs.com and use promo code TWT2020 for to get 1 free Doc credit! Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, the TWT team presents part 2 of Rachel’s interview with Caitlyn Calder, parent of a child with complex communication needs and SLP at CHI St. Luke’s Health in Houston TX. Caitlin continues to share from all that she has learned about being a parent of an AAC user, including thinking of parents as “co-clinicians”, how she second-guessed herself about her daughter’s progress with her device, how grief can impact family buy-in, and more. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris talk about running a “virtual 5k” called Sophie’s 5k to help fund devices for people with complex communication needs (runsophies5k.com) and Chris’s latest stories involving characters that use technology to communicate. Listen for free at nightlightstories.net ! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Caitlin’s daughter learned how to communicate much faster once there was more family buy-in for modeling. Showing parents how to model by watching the SLP do it first can be very helpful. 🔑 It can be really stressful for parents when a child starts to make progress with AAC, because often the family could have started supporting AAC sooner. It’s important to recognize that progress can be made at any age and to celebrate success rather than focus on what could have been done at a younger age. 🔑 Parents of students with disabilities experience grief in different ways at different times. The grief can be so overwhelming at times that working with a device feels impossible, but that doesn’t mean that it will feel impossible forever. Double Time Docs helps you write your pediatric SLP, OT, and PT evaluation reports in a fraction of the time. SIgn up for a free 30 day trial at doubletimedocs.com and use promo code TWT2020 for to get 1 free Doc credit! Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

On this episode of Teaching with Tech, Rachel and Chris do a deep dive into Double Time Docs, an online software that helps you write speech and language reports, including AAC assessments! By answering multiple-choice, fill-in, and short answer questions, you can have a fully written and formatted report generated in moments. It has an extensive bank of standardized tests that only require a few fill-ins to complete, as well as sections for articulation, voice, fluency, pragmatics, parent & teacher reports, observations, developmental history, and more! Their AAC evaluation section includes device trailing, method of access, and common standardized testing used to evaluate people with complex communication needs. Whether you are a new clinician that could use help making your assessments more thorough, or a veteran who would like to write reports in a fraction of the time, it is worth taking look at Double Time Docs! Go to doubletimedocs.com for a free 30 day trial, and use the promo code TWT2020 to get an additional report “doc credit” for FREE!

This week, the TWT team presents part 1 of Rachel’s interview with Caitlyn Calder, parent of a child with complex communication needs and SLP at CHI St. Luke’s Health in Houston TX. Caitlin shares from some of the many lessons she has learned, including working with specialists, teaching her daughter AAC, dealing with expectations that don’t match reality, and navigating the many challenges that complex communication needs can bring. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss dealing with co-workers and communication partners who are not motivated to provide the best service they can. Ideas for overcoming this include focusing and talking about the positive, charting out growth for everyone to see, incorporating language opportunities into routines, and more! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Parents & teachers can think “this isn’t working” when there isn’t quick success, but its normal for kids with complex communication needs to take significant time to learn language. 🔑 Parents who expect to use the device 24/7 may feel badly when the device isn’t being implemented all the time, which can lead to negative feelings that discourage them from using the device even more. 🔑 We can help parents feel less overwhelmed by setting realistic expectations for using the device (e.g., starting small,) telling them it’s OK to feel awkward to start using AAC, and teaching them how to model at home. Double Time Docs helps you write your pediatric SLP, OT, and PT evaluation reports in a fraction of the time. SIgn up for a free 30 day trial at doubletimedocs.com and use promo code TWT2020 for to get 1 free Doc credit! Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

For a FREE 30 day trial of Smarty Symbols, go to smartysymbols.com and use coupon code TWT30 at checkout! On this episode of Teaching with Tech, sponsored by Smarty Symbols, Chris and Rachel do a "deep dive" into Smarty Symbols! Smarty Symbols provides access to over 21000 clean and modern symbols that can be used to create visuals supports and materials for therapy and language enrichment. Chris and Rachel discuss how the Smarty Symbols website can be used to create comic strips, planners, low tech AAC boards, visual scenes, and more! The site also provides access to a library of ready-made materials and simple drag-and-drop tools for creating materials. The symbols can be used in other apps to create new materials as well, such as using them to create Boom Cards.With a commercial license, you can even sell your Smarty Symbols creations on sites like TPT! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, Chris interviews Mike Hipple, Tami Altschuler, and Sarah Blackstone of the United States Society of AAC (USSAAC) to talk about USSAC and its role in policy making, disaster relief, and providing funding help for AAC users. Before the interview, Rachel & Chris answer a Patreon member’s question about using music to teach AAC and how to support her son’s fine motor challenges. Chris and Rachel discuss teaching core words by starting and stopping music with edpuzzle.com, using a switch with powerpoint, adapting instruments to make them more accessible, creating a grid of links to music with symbaloo.com, putting links on a picture with thinglink.com, and more! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Without the work of USSAAC & Lew Golinker, Medicaid and Medicare would probably not cover AAC devices 🔑 patientprovidercommunication.org is providing free alphabet boards, symbol boards, medical decision making boards, and other communication resources for people in acute care & ICUs, including people in respiratory distress due to COVID-19. 🔑 We should look at communication as a medical priority - its a quality and safety issue. If you use AAC, having a “go bag” with chargers, low tech options, and anything else you might need in the hospital can help with emergency preparedness.

This week, the TWT team presents Rachel’s pre-conference presentation for AAC in the Cloud on AAC and telepractice! This session is filled with practical solutions for practitioners who are working with anyone over telepractice, with an emphasis on working with AAC users. Key ideas this week: 🔑 All children are candidates for telepractice, but telepractice will look different for everyone. They don’t have to be able to watch a screen for us to facilitate communication! 🔑 Checking in with parent’s to gauge how overwhelmed they are is critical right now; some parents are ready to take on more responsibilities, while other parents may need something simple and achievable. 🔑 Communication should not feel like work - look for the opportunities that already happen during the day and take advantage of them. What is their favorite time of day to spend with their child? When does their child communicate spontaneously, and what do they say? 🔑 Include a variety of communication partners, including siblings, friends, ABA professionals, teachers, etc. You can have them join in virtually as well as in person. 🔑 You can plan ahead and track progress using a shared google sheet to provide materials prior o the session, share photos/videos, and provide feedback after the session. 🔑 Use strengths-based coaching - start with what communication partners are already doing well, build a strong relationship through collaboration & listening, provide performance feedback, and encourage self-reflection. Links: Handout from the presentation: bit.ly/teleAAChandout Free Coaching Guide: www.rachelmadel.com/aaccoach Rachel’s Free Communication App List: www.rachelmadel.com/applist Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, the TWT team is proud to present the amazing Caroline Musselwhite! Caroline shares from her 45 years of experience with low- and high-tech AAC, including the communication circle of people around an AAC user, the importance of pranks & humor when using AAC, recognizing gestures, and more. Before the interview, Rachel shares from her webinar on telepractice and AAC and why “all children are good candidates for telepractice.” Rachel notes that telepractice can look different for different students, but all children can benefit from a qualified speech-language pathologist and/or AAC specialist facilitating communication, even if students won’t pay attention to the screen. Telepractice doesn’t have to be a direct service model - we can always coach communication partners, including parents, siblings, and other family members on how to support an AAC user's communication. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Coaching an AAC user’s circle of support should include peers whenever possible. Training friends and siblings allows for exposure to different communication functions, and involving peers can increase an AAC user's motivation and buy-in. 🔑 “Coaching” is not necessarily the same thing as “consulting.” They are both important, but coaching can be more valuable because it involves follow up and showing communication partners how to work with AAC users, not just telling them what to do. 🔑 Gestures are an important part of multi-modal communication. Recognizing what each AAC user communicates (or can communicate) with things like facial expressions can add to the overall effectiveness of their communication. You can learn more about Caroline and her work at www.aacintervention.com, her AAC Girls blog, on Pinterest, and Teachers Pay Teachers. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, the TWT team presents the audio recording of Chris and Rachel’s AAC Hour-by-Hour webinar originally presented on Xceptionaled.com! This episode is jam packed with practical strategies and advice for parents and professionals working with AAC users who are staying at home. These ideas can be implemented in the home or shared with parents and communication partners via teletherapy! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Look at your daily schedule and plan out the “when what who and how” for incorporating core words into your routines. Choose routines that happen every day to allow for more chances to model. 🔑 It’s OK to take a break and not model 24/7, especially when you are with an AAC user all day long. When giving AAC users a break, you can let them “babble” and explore with the words on their device freely. 🔑 Have a family meeting and create a to-do list for your extended time at home. Create the to-do list together to increase everyone’s motivation, and give everyone a chance to talk about feelings regarding the break. For links to the slides used in this episode, including shared resources, go to bit.ly/aachourbyhour Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, the TWT team presents Chris's interview with Dr. Elena Dukhovny, professor at CSU East Bay! She is a leading researcher on motor planning, AAC training for paraeducators, and more, and she shares some of what she has learned about these two important topics! Before the interview, Rachel shares a wealth of useful advice on preparing to consult with parents and the circle of support, including 1) asking what gets kids excited to communicate; 2) having parents write down all non-verbal communication, including behaviors; and 3) asking what parents would change about the child’s communication, if they could. Rachel also shares about gently approaching situations where a non-robust language system was already recommended to parents and she wants a robust language system implemented instead. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Developing a motor plan allows AAC users to have a rate of speech that is closest to verbal speech. 🔑 Elena’s research indicates fluent AAC device users plan and remember words by where their hands move on the device, similar to how speaking people remember words by how they sound and sign-language users remember words by how they are signed. 🔑 Briefly trialing different language systems isn’t always the best way to determine what system will be best for a user in the long term. For example, a system that is simpler or easier to visually scan may be learned quickly, but if motor planning isn’t supported then a user may not become as fluent with that system long term. Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes! Research Dukhovny, E., Gahl, S. (2014) Manual motor-plan similarity affects lexical recall on a speech- generating device: Implications for AAC users. Journal of Communication Disorders 48, 52-60. Thistle, J. J., Holmes, S. A., Horn, M. M., & Reum, A. M. (2018). Consistent symbol location affects motor learning in preschoolers without disabilities: Implications for designing augmentative and alternative communication displays. American journal of speech-language pathology, 27(3), 1010-1017.

Speech Blubs will be giving away a lifetime membership to anyone who signs up to become a Talking with Tech Patreon member by April 2nd, 2020! Just go to patreon.com/talkingwithtech! In this episode of Teaching with Tech, Chris and Rachel dive into the Speech Blubs speech therapy app. The Speech Blubs app utilizes games, video/peer modeling, and augmented reality to make learning language and improving speech skills fun and engaging! You can use the app to teach emotions & core words, work on wh- questions, improve verbal speech, and more. The app has been used successfully to improve communication for children with speech delay, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome, and apraxia! You can download a free trial of the app by going to speechblubs.com. Find out more about Speech Blubs on Instagram (@speechblubs) or by emailing them at [email protected]

This week on TWT, Chris interviews Christine Tripoli, an SLP with the Deaf/Blind program at Perkins School for the Blind, and Ellen Maisel, Director of Cortical Visual Impairment project at Perkins. They discuss cortical visual impairment (CVI), including what it is and how to look for it. Before the interview, Chris shares about his discussion on AAC Certification with Marie Ireland, VP of ASHA. Chris wonders if a slippery slope argument (if we let A happen, then Z will happen) is happening with AAC certification and talks about yourlogicalfallacy.com. Marie talked with Chris about the lack of data to support anyone getting denied services once a certification is put in place. Key ideas this week: 🔑 CVI is a brain-based visual impairment that affects visual attention and recognition. The cause of visual impairment for people with CVI isn’t their eyes, but their visual brain. 🔑 Just because a child is looking at something, doesn’t mean they understand what they are seeing. This understanding is the primary challenge for children with CVI. 🔑 For brain-based visual impairment, you don’t need to just make it bigger or closer. Its about teaching them to understand what they are looking at. If you love Talking with Tech, help us develop new content and keep the podcast going! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, the TWT team presents Chris’s roundtable discussion on coding, robots, and AAC with Darla Ashton, Brian Franklin, Catherine Brown, Kelly Fonner. They discuss practical strategies for teaching language using the Dash robot, Ozobot, Code.org, the Every Move Counts method, and more! Before the roundtable, Rachel and Chris share about meeting each other for the first time in PA during the previous winter break. Rachel also describes going to a screening of Uncut Gems and meeting Adam Sandler! Finally, Rachel and Chris talk about the challenges and rewards of networking, and how they have both become more comfortable with criticism! Key ideas this week: 🔑 It is important to be ourselves when interacting with others, especially when networking. While not everyone will be interested in us when we are ourselves, the connections we do make are stronger when we are authentic! 🔑 Coding and working with robots is a great way to work on core vocabulary (e.g. “go here”) Robots can be more age appropriate for students in school, especially middle and high school 🔑 Coding can encourage peer interaction, because coding robots is motivating to many students, and it allows robotics teams and students in special education to work side by side. If you love Talking with Tech, help us develop new content and keep the podcast going! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, TWT presents Rachel’s interview with Kathryn Dorney of AAC for the SLP! Before the interview, Rachel shares about a young client she is working with whose family was modeling using Rachel’s free communication board before their first session! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Kathryn Dorney discusses her recent research with Karen Erickson investigating attributing meaning to behaviors, using aided language input, and core vocabulary for preschool students with ASD. 🔑 For aided language input to be more successful, you need core words so that the communication partners have access to more of the words they use themselves. You can also teach intent better with core words - nouns often don’t indicate the intent of the speaker, but core words do. 🔑 When implementing AAC, we should encourage development, not performance. It can quite a while for some students to learn to communicate, and if we require early success to continue implementation, some students don’t get enough time to learn. If you love Talking with Tech, help us develop new content and keep the podcast going! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week on TWT, we present part 2 of Chris’s interviews from ATIA! Before the interviews, Chris shares even more stories from ATIA. There were two “smackdown” sessions which focus on sharing strategies. biy.ly/appsmack20 gives you links to all of the apps at the App Smackdown, and bit.ly/pdsmackdown20 links to all the strategies discussed at the Professional Development Smackdown. Chris also shares about the AAC Certification town hall, poster sessions on AAC camps, using robots to teach language, updates to the AAC Agreements ranking the evidence behind them, and more! Interviews this week: 🔑 Jeanna Antrim & Maggie Judson from BASSC share about their session on building capacity and supporting staff with implementation, strategies, and supports. Building capacity includes empowering families and increasing the AAC knowledge of educators and administrators. To build capacity, Jeanna and Maggie use the Power:AAC modules to create a learning community, hold monthly AT meetings with administrators, and host family AAC nights. Jeanna and maggie discuss the McNaughton et. al. (2019) article on building capacity, the Nate Network that connects AT specialists in Education, and other great resources! 🔑 Susan Todd & Laura Vaughan discuss why AAC assessment should not be a pass/fail test, but rather a dynamic assessment that occurs over a number of sessions. Family involvement should also be central to the assessment process whenever possible. They also discuss the Dietz et. al. (2012) article that describes seven aspects of AAC assessment for each assessment - Multi-Modal Approaches, Communicative Assessment, Symbol Assessment, Device Trials, Access Method, AAC Instruction, and Personalization. There is no hierarchy of mastery - it is a circle that changes for each individual. 🔑 Marlene Cummings shares about her presentation on breaking through barriers to AAC implementation utilizing the participation model from Beukelman & Mirenda. Barriers discussed include attitude, skill, practice, policy, and knowledge. If you love Talking with Tech, help us develop new content and keep the podcast going! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

If you love Talking with Tech, help us develop new content and keep the podcast going! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech! This week on TWT, we present part 1 of Chris’s interviews from the Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference 2020! Before the interviews, Chris shares some stories from ATIA, including not wanting to be “Creepy Chris” when he saw someone he thought he recognized, having FOMO over all the sessions he couldn’t attend, and how much everyone was talking about about literacy at the conference. Chris also talks about the super fun “AT Family Feud” he helped produce! Interviews this week: 🔑 Jennifer Thistle, Professor at Western Washington specializing in AAC, whose research includes the importance of motor planning and the design of Visual Scene Displays. Visual Scene Displays (VSDs) are photographs with vocabulary embedded into the picture. Jennifer is also asking for feedback from current school-based SLPs who have been working for at least three years and have a student who uses AAC. You can fill out this Google Form and contact her at [email protected] 🔑 Karen Fahey - graduate student at California State University, Northridge who is interested in AAC & assistive technology. Karen talks about her experience at ATIA, including her favorite parts of the exhibit hall and how much she enjoyed being around other people who are interested in AAC, and also shares about her experiences in grad school. 🔑 Amanda Hettenhausen - SLP & Saltillo consultant talks about how to use AAC in the classroom and adapt books for reading with an AAC user. She shares tips and tricks she uses, including making simple and natural powerpoint books, printing icons on address labels to label books, and more! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, we have the privilege of presenting Rachel’s interview with Hannah Foley, a senior at University of Illinois who is pursuing a career in Assistive Technology & AAC. Hannah has cerebral palsy and is an incredible adult AAC user who works as an ambassador for Saltillo! Before the interview, Rachel & Chris talk about Christine Derse’s article, A Call for Consistency in AAC Picture Systems. Rachel and Chris discuss their agreement that using different symbols sets can be confusing at times, but note it isn’t clear a universal symbol set would lead to better modeling. For example, adults often use labels, rather than pictures, when modeling, and once a motor plan is in place the pictures become less important. Key ideas this week: 🔑 Initially, Hannah was against using AAC because she felt her dedicated device was unsightly and it made her feel even more different. Working with Matt Baud, she came to see the importance of communication for her independence and started using an iPad. 🔑 Response time is incredibly important when communicating with an AAC user - it is critical that we give enough time to respond and become comfortable with silence. 🔑 People often assume that Hannah is intellectually impaired, can’t go to college, or manage her care independently because she uses AAC. This is, of course, totally incorrect! We need help from our listeners to keep Talking with Tech going - please support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech. Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes! Resources Hannah Foley's blog post - Overcoming AAC Resistance: Communication is Key. Schlosser, R. W., Brock, K. L., Koul, R., Shane, H., & Flynn, S. (2019). Does Animation Facilitate Understanding of Graphic Symbols Representing Verbs in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder?. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(4), 965-978.

We need your help to keep Talking with Tech going strong! If you are a loyal listener, please support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech. This week, Chris and Rachel talk about Chris’s takeaways from the Future of Education Technology conference, a place for teachers, coaches, and administrations can learn about ed tech, including using tech to increase inclusion. 🔑 E-sports was a big topic of discussion at FETC. E-sports allow for more inclusion because students who cannot participate in traditional sports can still play video games. Students can collaborate and interact in an authentic way with peers in a team environment and participate on twitch.com 🔑 The FETC keynote speaker Daniel Pink who discussed the relationship between timing and performance. You want to do analytical tasks in the morning and the afternoon is the “trough” which is better for more routine tasks. We can help students with low motivation to perform better by scheduling them in the morning. 🔑 Carol Allen talked about early childhood education and introducing students to educational technology at a very early age. Don’t be the “lid on the flea jar”, as seen in this video (https://youtu.be/v-Dn2KEjPuc), by setting low expectations for students. 🔑 Jane Odom talks with Chris about the new “voice control” feature on Apple iOS where you can use a real or synthesized voice to interact with everything on an iOS device. This has opened up opportunities for AAC users to become more independent in exciting ways! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

We need your help to keep Talking with Tech going strong! If you are a loyal listener, please support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech. This week, Chris interviews Matt Levac of ACCEL and David Reno of Southwest Human Development about making assistive tech and developing the “Makers of Change AT Challenge”. Matt and David discuss why making AT for each child can be so important, how recent technology like 3D printing has changed AT making, and how they leveraged the technical expertise of local students through the “Makers of Change AT Challenge” to solve real problems for people with disabilities. Before the interview, Rachel and Chris connect about getting clients to communicate with carrier phrases and doing fun and silly activities to engage students. They also discuss their experience finding their creative flow in therapy or writing, and how it can be a powerful way to produce a great deal of creative content. Key ideas this week: 🔑 The Makers of Change AT Challenge takes advantage of the technical skills of students to work on real-world problems facing people with disabilities. One year, students integrated internet-connected sensors into equipment so therapists could get better data about how equipment is being used. 🔑 The Makers of Change AT Challenge is looking for teams across the country to get involved next fall to work on the challenges independently and send in their solutions remotely. Learn more at Atmakerschallenge.com. 🔑 Access free AT resources and “Open AT” solutions at www.makersmakingchange.com and atmakers.org. Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

We need your help to keep Talking with Tech going strong! If you are a loyal listener, please support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech. This week, the TWT team is excited to share Rachel’s interview with Alyssa Hillary Zisk, an Autistic adult who is a “part-time AAC user” and a previous guest of the pod! Part-time AAC users have the ability to communicate verbally, but there are times when verbal speech is difficult and non-verbal communication is preferred. Before the interview, Rachel shares about all of her new technology she purchased recently, and shares tips on using an Apple Pencil to become more organized and use less paper in therapy! Key ideas this week: 🔑 Alyssa discusses their new article, “Am I the Curriculum?”. They discuss how and why being a part-time AAC user, taking an AAC course, and doing AAC research was “systemically awkward” because of many inconsistencies in the field, including our definitions of AAC and who uses AAC. 🔑 Parents may be resistant to AAC because want their child to use verbal speech, but we should empower individuals to use whatever communication method they find beneficial in that moment. 🔑 Alyssa prefers identity-first language (Autistic adult) rather than people-first language (person with autism) when talking about their autism. This perspective is not always respected in the field of AAC - in fact, some AAC journals refuse to accept submissions with identity-first language, even when the author is talking about themselves. Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

We need your help to keep Talking with Tech going strong! If you are a loyal listener, please support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech. TWT presents the last, but not least, collection of interviews by Rachel recorded at ASHA 2019! Before the interviews, Rachel and Chris talk about some gems from Chris’s upcoming presentations at FETC about inclusive design, flexible learning spaces, and teaching through coding with robots. They also chat about ATIA, where Chris will be doing a pre-conference on writing, an “AT Feud” Family Feud style game, an assistive technology strategy “smackdown” session, and more! Afterwards, we hear from our interviews: 🔑Betsy Kennedy and Megan Murray talk about their poster session about how students learn with a consistent core word system across classrooms. They found that two core words a month, with a different focus each of the two weeks covering the same word, was more successful that focusing on one word each week or one word in a month. 🔑Heidi LoStracco shares about Speak for Yourself and their new “Smart Search” feature that remembers the words that have been searched but were not on the system and allows you to quickly add those words later when editing. 🔑Daisy Clay, the author of “Super Core” for the AAC system “SmartBox” shares about how the research behind Super Core, and how it provides both a static set of core words and a dynamic set of context- or activity-specific words on the right. 🔑 Jennie Bjorem, an expert on Childhood Apraxia of Speech, talks with Rachel about helping children with CAS, red flags for making a diagnosis of CAS (e.g. inconsistent errors, consonant & vowel distortions, intrusive schwa, difficulty with multisyllabic words, prosody issues, slow rate), becoming more comfortable with making a CAS diagnosis as an SLP, and more! If you haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet, check out Chris’s amazing book on assistive tech, “The New Assistive Tech: Make Learning Awesome for All”! Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!

This week, we are happy to share the Xceptional Podcast Network’s 2019 Holiday Episode! To start off the episode, Mai Ling Chan of the Xceptional Leaders podcast talks about working with her new co-host, Martyn Sibley, and her new book “Becoming an Xceptional Leader.” Brandon Seigel talks about getting started with his new podcast, the Private Practice Survival Guide. Chris and Rachel (aka “Crachel”) share about being busy with lots of presentations and clients. Matt Hott talks briefly about the upcoming 100th episode of the Speech Science podcast and his son’s love of Lego games. After these introductions, the XPN crew play a fun holiday quiz game. Finally, the XPN crew share about their goals for the new year. From Chris, Rachel, Luke, and Michaela - have a safe and happy holidays!