This week, we share Part 1 of Chris and Rachel’s recap of their recent trip to ATIA 2024! Chris and Rachel discuss a recent change to ATIA’s venue, share resources and takeaways from the conference, talk about what they covered in their own sessions, and more!

Key Ideas this week:

🔑 A lot of discussion at ATIA was about “Assistive Technology Myths and Facts” from the Office of Special Education Programs and the National Educational Technology Plan for 2024. They could be helpful as tools to demonstrate what you are sharing about AAC is supported by the federal government.

🔑 At his presentation, Lance McLemore shared about fear and anxiety using his device with unfamiliar people. For an AAC User, they don’t always know if the other person will do things like provide sufficient wait time. If you support an AAC User, be cognizant that an unfamiliar communication partner could be a possible source of stress.

🔑 Chris got to connect with Amanda Hartman, who is the author of two children’s books about AAC, “AAC Rhyme Time” and “I Talk in Different Ways”.  It could be used, for example, to introduce a classroom to AAC, build phonological awareness, or support literacy!

🔑 One thing to look into if you work with students - are the accessibility settings enabled or disabled by default on student computers and devices? Many students need things like text-to-speech, but enabling it requires several hurdles through the IT department (or they are totally locked out).

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