Applying AAC Strategies Night 3 Everett Public Schools Discovery Ridge Barb Lark, SLP, ATP 3/24, 4/7, 4/21/09

Class Agenda Night 3 Quick Review AAC Systems Low tech Mid tech High tech Strategies, strategies, strategies

Quick Review What does AAC stand for? What is the goal of AAC? Continuum of communication independence Emergent communicators May 20 & 27? Context dependent communicators Independent communicators

Low Tech Systems Object displays Picture Boards Alphabet board or context setting boards PECS Communication Notebooks Single message voice output device you can have more than one available at a time Sequenced message device (e.g. Step by Step) Talking photo albums (Visual Scene Display) Access ideas – Model model model! Maybe want to use a flash light to focus visual attention. Direct select, eye gaze, partner assisted scanning

Low Tech Object displays Picture boards Strategies- Object displays – who would use them? Vis Impaired, more concrete What communication intents? request, tell next step in a sequence, categorizing Physical access - place on table/ place in compartments: reach for? hand them? Point to? Begin pairing with photo or picture symbols We will talk more indepth about use of object symbols in Emerging Communicators class Picture Boards – Variety of uses for variety of purposes – even a high level communication device user may use a picture board for some things core vocab vs. context specific placemats for eating, for crafts context boards for reading, specific play, calendar, circle time

Low Tech Alphabet board Context Setting Board Alphabet boards – you can model their use too! 1st & second letter, model word prediction, model strategies like “you can guess” Usually need a clear ways to repair communication breakdowns. Context setting boards – helps narrow down 20 questions - PODD

Communication Notebook Can use either direct select or partner assisted scan, or partner assist to find page. Use of tabs and color coding is important to facilitate fast use (color coding format available on our Wikispace) Need to be developed student specific Focus is on getting more vocab and providing an organized way to get to that vocab. Strategies for practice – Model Model Model – practice creating sentence strips – Rainbow sentences Use to talk about books (building literacy), what is happening in classroom, describing pictures (try to make pix relevant by using pix of students) http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/resource.aspx?id=326

Low Tech Single message voice output device Sequenced message device Talking photo albums (Visual Scene Display) Purposes Request Comment Participate Maintain interaction Single message devices – How are you using them? For participate? To increase interactions/turns around a topic? To request? Too comment (cooking oh oh, watch out, careful, etc)

Visual Scene Displays Recent development in research – increased sustained communication interaction when provided with a visual scene. Provide some specific vocabulary. Pictures you use should encourage questions and have visual supports for answers. This term is also applied to certain layouts in higher level communication devices where you get pop-up vocab. Can be a bit contrived.

Mid Tech Systems “Static Display” communication devices Features: Voice output Picture symbols Vocabulary size Number of programmable levels There are some that have software & memory chip capabilities

Mid tech What are some ways your students are using? Are they using a core vocabulary more? Context specific boards more? Great tools for training for higher level devices (NL Example) Biggest strategy – Model Model Model! Use flexibly. If possible, have student give input into the vocabulary. You can ask same age peers what they would most want to say. If planned as a group, this can be very helpful (IJ & TR example)

High Tech Dynamic Display (pages linked through cell activation) Features: Output (digitized vs. synthesized) Vocabulary (size and symbol set) Language organization Access options Physical features Literacy supports In selection of a high tech device, trial is important as well as specific feature analysis Durable medical equipment Tend to be very expensive

High Tech Computer-based Dynamic Display Proloquo2go with iPhone or iTouch

Message formulation Different devices are organized differently Some, like the DynaWrite, are strictly text-based. Word prediction Expansion abbreviation Others are phrase-based, like the Chat PC. Many are picture + text-based like the Dynavox and Vantage to support novel message composition Organized by categories Organized by Icon sequencing Combination of symbol selection, spelling, some phrase-based communcation

Resources Dynavox Implementation Toolkit http://www.dynavoxtech.com/training/toolkit/ Multiple page .pdfs that take you through theory to intervention ideas. Very good. Very well organized. http://www.adaptedlearning.com/ This is the Mayer Johnson arm of the company. Great activities available and they let you know each week what is new. For both of these websites you must register. But if you want access to their resources, it is definitely worthwhile.

Resources Prentke Romich Vanguard/Vantage http://teaching.prentrom.com/

Resources Tango SETBC http://www.setbc.org PictureSet CurriculumSet

Your Assignment  Think of an activity in your classroom or therapy. Think of a student you work with. Create a communication board layout for that student to use during the activity. It could be picture symbol-based, object symbol-based, or alphabet-based, depending on the needs of the student. It can be very simple!!! Try it out with the student by modeling how to use it, and noting what the student can do with help & independently. Send it to me by email, either by sending me the Boardmaker page or a photo of the board. In your email, write a short message about how it went. If you are taking this webinar as a part of a group, you can send in a group assignment. Just be sure to let me know everyone who worked on it.

Wrap up Share one thing you learned as a result of this class.