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!

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