Talking With Tech AAC Podcast

By Rachel Madel and Chris BugajTechnology Education

Favorites
74
Followers
Typical duration
57 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

Talking With Tech AAC Podcast episodes

November 14, 2018 Jenna Rayburn Kirk: Founder of Speech Room News & Popular TPT Contributor
This week, TWT interviews Jenna Rayburn Kirk, the ultra-creative school-based SLP, blogger, and TPT contributor! Jenna shares about how she got started creating resources, the kinds of AAC resources and materials that she thinks are effective, and how she continues to try and create resources that people really need! Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss their own experiences with making materials and, in Rachel’s case, why she recently decided to create a Teachers Pay Teachers page. Rachel and Chris also talk about some apps that they have used recently in therapy, including Choice Works and AR Dragon. Finally, Chris discusses “core kits,” a low-tech core vocabulary strategy that could save the day when you need a quick therapy idea.

Next, Rachel interviews Jenna Rayburn Kirk! Jenna talks about how she juggles being a full-time school SLP, AAC specialist, and an entrepreneur; why she is motivated to share her ideas; and how she has gotten to be so popular (over 25,000 followers) on Teachers Pay Teachers! Jenna covers useful topics in AAC and materials creation, including:

1) Why parent handouts are such an effective way to improve AAC implementation at home
2) Why it is helpful to be specific about how to get modeling and working on core vocabulary
3) Why we need to be flexible in how we approach asking for help from the circle of support
4) Why getting buy-in from someone is easier when you show them how you are solving a problem they have.
5) Why it is so important to build strong relationships with teachers, caregivers, and parents
6) Why some students need a “short term” assistive technology plan; not everyone who needs AAC needs it for years.
7) How a school can fill the gap between identification of an AAC need and getting a device funded by having devices available to everyone in the classroom.
8) Why “waiting for words” can delay language too much, because “there is no reason to stunt expressive language while we wait for speech sounds.”

To learn more about Jenna & get access to her TPT store, visit https://thespeechroomnews.com.
For access two free resources from Rachel and the Building Sentences board discussed on the podcast, visit http://bit.ly/RachelMadelTPT
We want to know what you think! You can connect with us at our Facebook group Talking with Tech, on Twitter, and Instagram (@talkingwithtech)! Also, please subscribe and post a review for us on iTunes- it helps others to find us!
1 hr 5 min
November 06, 2018Dana Nieder: Presuming Potential for High-Tech AAC
This week, TWT interviews Dana Nieder about her journey as an advocate, writer, AAC specialist, speech-language pathologist, and AAC mom! Dana shares about how she always presumed her daughter’s potential, why she shared about her experiences on blogs and social media, and what her many experiences have taught her about AAC! Dana shares many helpful insights, including:
How to deal with members of the circle of support who believe that an AAC user must “prove” they can use a high-tech device before one is provided to them;
Why parents can be such valuable resources and why they are such a key part of any successful intervention;
Why everyone in the circle of support needs to believe an AAC intervention will be successful;
Why we must presume that people with complex communication needs have the potential to succeed;
How to "invest" in an AAC user's circle of support, and why their buy-in and motivation is critical to success;
Why we need to change how we support AAC depending upon both a person's role and his or her comfort level with AAC;
Why we should share AAC modeling videos with people who are unfamiliar with modeling on an AAC device;
Why watching a video of a successful adult AAC user can be so motivating to the circle of support;
and much more!
We want to know what you think! You can connect with us at our Facebook group Talking with Tech, on Twitter, and Instagram (@talkingwithtech)! Also, please subscribe and post a review for us on iTunes- it helps others to find us!
1 hr 13 min
October 30, 2018Roundtable: Writing Effective IEPs and Goals for Students Who Use AAC
Join the TWT team this week for a roundtable discussion about writing Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals for students with complex communication needs (CCN). Topics discussed in this roundtable include:
Why augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices should be used in early intervention and not just as an ‘intervention of last resort” for students with CCN.
Using the accommodations section to detail what the student needs as part of his or her free appropriate public education.
Adding minutes for coaching the circle of support about AAC on the IEP as a “related service” instead of a “direct service”
Why listing a specific system or app in the IEP can cause problems, and how those problems can be avoided by describing, rather than naming, the system.
Why accessories for AAC devices (keyguard, switches) should be included in the IEP.
Why new training goals may be important when there is a major change in the circle of support.
Why being specific about what you are going to measure in a goal is critical when you are measuring it later.
The need to go beyond requesting when writing goals - include commenting protesting, asking questions, etc.
AAC therapy is language therapy - in many cases you don’t even need to mention the system or app when writing a language goal
Who should be responsible for an AAC-related goal on the IEP?
We want to know what you think! You can connect with us at our Facebook group Talking with Tech, on Twitter, and Instagram (@talkingwithtech)! Also, please subscribe and post a review for us on iTunes- it helps others to find us!
44 min
October 23, 2018Lindsey Paden Cargill: Using Communication Partner Meet-Ups to Improve AAC Modeling Skills
The TWT team is joined this week by Lindsey Paden Cargill, a speech-language pathologist and AAC specialist who works at Bridgeway Academy in Columbus, Ohio! Lindsey is the creator of the Chatterbox Challenge, an event that seeks to improve the modeling and prompting skills of caregivers and teachers of children who use AAC. During this challenge, caregivers and teachers communicate in a social setting using their student’s AAC device and no oral language!
Before the interview, Rachel and Chris share some modeling “tips and tricks” for AAC communication partners that can be used to improve modeling and prompting. Some of these tips include:
Using an AAC app’s search function instead of visual scanning when looking for a vocabulary word,
Modeling for the student at their language level (or one step above),
Coordinating “core word of the week” at home and in the classroom,
Using peers and siblings as modeling “buddies,” and
Using “scripts” describing how to model a particular book to increase AAC modeling during shared reading time.
Following this discussion, Chris connects with Lindsey Paden Cargill to talk about her work with AAC and the Chatterbox Challenge! First, Lindsey shares about how her efforts to improve modeling among teachers led to the creation of the Chatterbox Challenge, and how parents became motivated to become involved as well. Next, Lindsey and Chris discuss how the Chatterbox Challenge teaches modeling by asking caregivers and teachers to use the devices to communicate. AAC communication partners learn how powerful a robust AAC system can be and how these systems can be used for more than basic requests. Finally, Lindsey discusses some of the rules for the Chatterbox Challenge, and how listeners can start a Chatterbox Challenge of their own!
We want to know what you think! You can connect with us at our Facebook group Talking with Tech, on Twitter, and Instagram (@talkingwithtech)! Also, please subscribe and post a review for us on iTunes- it helps others to find us!
55 min
October 16, 2018 Rebecca Moles: How AAC Can Help Prevent Abuse and Neglect
This week, the Talking with Tech team is joined by Dr. Rebecca Moles, a pediatrician who specializes in child abuse, to discuss how we can recognize and prevent the abuse and neglect of people with complex communication needs (CCN). Before the interview, Rachel, Lucas, and Chris connect to talk about some of their experiences with families dealing with abuse and how core vocabulary has been used in some cases to report neglect. The team concludes with a discussion of what we can do to prepare people with CCN to report abuse when it happens, including teaching the word “hurt”, teaching emotion words, and other strategies.
Next, Chris interviews Dr. Rebecca Moles about identifying abuse and neglect, particularly when working people with CCN. Areas covered include: why teaching language is so important to stopping abuse, signs that abuse may be occurring, and what happens (and doesn’t happen) when a report is made to Child Protective Services.
We want to know what you think! You can connect with us at our Facebook group Talking with Tech, on Twitter, and Instagram (@talkingwithtech)! Also, please subscribe and post a review for us on iTunes– it helps others to find us!
Links:
Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2014 Statistics (bit.ly/abusestats2014)
59 min
October 09, 2018"Should I Start an AAC Business?" & Other Listener Questions
This week, the TWT team answers questions from our listeners! They address the following questions:
I’ve thought about starting an AAC consulting business, but I doubt at times that I have enough experience. What should I do?
What do you think about recent videos from Pyramid/PECS that seem to argue that we shouldn’t introduce core words until a student has already learned a number of fringe words?
How can we best talk to parents about interventions that are not evidence-based, like the rapid prompting method (RPM), when the parent has a positive opinion about it?

This is one of TWT’s most thought-provoking and interesting episodes. You won’t want to miss it!

We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!

Links:

PECS & Core Vocabulary 1: http://bit.ly/PECSCoreVocab1

PECS & Core Vocabulary 2: http://bit.ly/PECSCoreVocab2

ASHA Position Statement on RPM: http://bit.ly/ASHARPM
40 min
October 02, 2018 Julie Freed: How to Identify Key Tools for Dynamic Assessment with the APT
Talking with Tech is joined this week by Julie Freed, an SLP and school-based AAC specialist who helped create the AAC Planning Tool (APT)! Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss two communication assessments, the Continuum of Language Expression (COLE) and the Dynamic AAC Goals Grid (DAGG-2). Chris discusses his role in the creation of the COLE, what they considered when making it, and how it can be helpful when assessing emergent communicators. Rachel follows this with a discussion of the DAGG-2 and how it is similar to, and different from, the Communication Matrix. Rachel and Chris also chat about out how these assessments can be used as a baseline to determine the effectiveness of AAC implementation and measure student progress.

Next, Chris interviews Julie Freed, the Assistive Technology/AAC Resource Team Lead at Grant Wood Area Education Agency in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Julie is the co-creator of the APT, a “menu” of AAC assessment tools that helps to guide the dynamic assessment process. It provides key tools to use as part of this process, including communication sampling forms and communication partner worksheets, that are suggested based on the student’s symbolic communication ability. Julie shares about why the APT was formed, the advantages she has seen from using it, and how it has helped to increase AAC competency and interest for many teachers and staff in her area!

We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!

Links:
Continuum of Language Expression (http://bit.ly/colegooglesheets & http://bit.ly/lcpscolepiktochart)
AAC Planning Tool (http://bit.ly/APTbinder)
Dynamic AAC Goals Grid (log into mytobiidynavox.com, then follow this path: Community >> Resources >> AAC Goal Writing)
"Golden Rules of AAC Competency In a New Era of Communication" Course by Lucas, Chris, & Rachel: (http://bit.ly/GoldenRulesofCompetency)
52 min
September 25, 2018 Eleanor Francis: Creating a Video Modeling “TV Show” and Other Insights from Australia
The Talking with Tech team is joined this week by speech-language pathologist and AAC specialist Eleanor Francis to talk about AAC in Australia, literacy, video modeling, and more! Before the interview, Rachel and Chris mark the beginning of the school year with a discussion of Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings. Rachel and Chris chat how they maintain a good relationship with the entire IEP team, how to show the team their views are important, and ways to promote collaboration. Rachel and Chris then briefly touch on wording they try to avoid when writing reports (e.g., do we really know what a student was “able” to do, or just what they did?) and the pros and cons of using video to document client progress.

Following this discussion, Chris interviews Eleanor Francis, a speech pathologist who works with students with complex communication needs at a special developmental school in Melbourne, Australia. Eleanor shares about a number of interesting topics, including her tour of the US visiting AAC experts, recent changes to AAC in Australia, lessons learned from the recent ISAAC 2018 conference, and her experiences helping to create a video modeling "TV show" featuring her school’s staff and students called “MeTV”.

We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!
52 min
September 18, 2018 Traci Peplinski: Funding Options for AAC
This week, the Talking with Tech team discusses how to obtain funding for alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) devices with speech-language pathologist and nonprofit founder, Traci Peplinski! Before the interview, Lucas, Rachel, and Chris chat about how to find funding for AAC devices and the need for more financial help for individuals who require AAC but cannot pay for it themselves. Then, the team examines why funding for implementation (e.g., training the AAC user’s circle of support) is such an important consideration when evaluating funding needs. The team concludes by touching on some of the challenges they experience with trialing devices during the AAC assessment process.

Following this discussion, Rachel sits down for a conversation with Traci to talk about her nonprofit, A Voice Discovered (www.avoicediscovered.com)! A Voice Discovered provides funding assistance to individuals with complex communication needs in Ventura County, CA. Rachel and Traci discuss why she founded the nonprofit, how it has grown, and how others have used her nonprofit as a model for starting their own! Traci also describes ways that she has helped others find funding assistance, including regional centers, local charities, grants, and donation matching. Finally, Traci discusses her work with The Arc (www.thearc.org) to support adults with complex communication needs, and why helping adults communicate with AAC is so rewarding (and important)!

We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!
55 min
September 11, 2018 Jill Senner & Matt Baud: Teaching Communication Partners to Model Effectively
This week, Talking with Tech is joined by Dr. Jill Senner and Matt Baud! Jill and Matt are AAC experts who promote an evidence-based, systematic method for coaching communication partners how to implement AAC through partner-augmented input (PAI). Before the interview, Rachel and Chris discuss why training and coaching communication partners should be thought of as an ongoing process rather than something that happens once or twice in a “training.” Rachel and Chris also talk about why it is important to try and follow evidence-based principles when coaching communication partners and implementing AAC, even if we may not be able to meet that goal all of the time.

Following this discussion, Rachel and Chris interview Jill and Matt about teaching communication partners to model effectively, how they came to become interested in partner-augmented input, and lessons they have learned coaching communication partners in a systematic way. Their process is based on Kent‐Walsh & McNaughton’s (2005) 8-step process for communication partner instruction, which includes 1) pretest, 2) strategy description, 3) strategy demonstration, 4) SMoRRES (slow rate, model, respect & reflect, repeat, expand, stop), 5) controlled practice & feedback, 6) stepping back, 7) post-testing, and 8) generalization. Jill and Matt explain why generalization can be achieved effectively using this 8-step process, why this process takes less time than you would assume, and strategies for training family members to provide PAI on a consistent basis. Finally, Jill and Matt share some strategies for integrating their 8-step communication partner process into a variety of settings at home and in the community!

Dr. Jill Senner (@JillESenner on Twitter) is a speech-language pathologist, AAC specialist, AAC educator, and owner of the Technology and Language Center! You can find paid and free resources discussing PAI and other topics at her site, talcaac.com!

Matt (@Mbaud12 on Twitter) is an AAC coach, educator, trainer, practice owner, and the AT Coordinator for Niles Township District for Special Education. He is also an adjunct AAC instructor at Saint Xavier University.

We want to know what you think! Join us on Facebook at Talking with Tech and on Twitter and Instagram (@talkingwithtech). Also, please subscribe and post a review on iTunes - it helps others to find us!
53 min

About Talking With Tech AAC Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Join speech-language pathologists Rachel and Chris as they discuss supporting complex communication needs with alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) and assistive technology!