AAC by the Bay Conference Schedule

Changing Challenges Learning to read and write is a dynamic, developmental process. The skills and instructional needs of children as they navigate this process change over time. As a consequence, the challenges children face in learning to read and write independently also change, as their skills emerge and their needs become more sophisticated. This presentation will explore how children who use AAC may encounter these ‘changing challenges’, and will consider the implications of these challenges for intervention.

In attempting to devise a tailored AAC device organization and customized literacy training program it is important to know about the daily life experiences and interests of students. This can be extremely difficult to determine for children with profound physical, cognitive and/or social problems. In our presentation we discuss how this problem has been approached at the Bridge School using a regular feature of program, namely the regular sharing of ‘Home News’. Independent of ability levels, all students share their news in the same way, through the use of a Step-by-Step Communicator. In preparation for ‘Home News’, a student’s parent or other family member or carer records the relevant news that the student will share into the communicator. The Bridge School has been collecting digital recordings of the home news for selected students over the course of many months, and using this data to document the experiences and topics of interest that are recorded for the student. The recordings also give a sense of the language and communication patterns that students are exposed to at home (their family ‘dialect’ if you will). These data are transcribed and create a data set which can be manipulated using various corpus linguistic tools to identify recurrent constructions, key words, important topics and so on. We discuss how the output of such analyses are used as the input for personalized AAC development and, where relevant, literacy development.

Personal narrative language is an essential component to the development of overall language competency and the ability to acquire literacy. Students who use AAC often display impaired personal narrative ability. This presentation will present a strategy to support the development of personal narrative skills of children who use AAC systems.

The ability to attend is widely recognized as a necessary foundation for learning and cognitive development at all levels - including social, communicative and literacy development. Issues of attention and attention management gain special significance when students have sensory and motor challenges, and where AAC systems place additional demands on a student's and teacher's attention. We share a framework that helps educational teams customize environments and practices in ways that maximize individual students' ability to attend with the ultimate goal of increasing participation, motivation and achievement.

This workshop will focus on the unique role of vocabulary in supporting reading and writing skills. Participants will explore strategies to support vocabulary learning that encompasses different aspects of word knowledge, and will apply these skills in practical activities linked to reading and spelling.

LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) is a specific strategy that uses augmentative communication to promote the development of language for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This presentation will introduce participants to a set of implementation strategies for emergent communicators with Autism. The key elements that will be shared are: Readiness to Learn, Shared Focus, Auditory Signals, Motor Planning, and Natural Consequences.

Today is NOT Brought to You By the Short Vowel ‘O’ Research shows that phonemic awareness is predictive of and a cornerstone of literacy success. Students who use AAC often struggle with phonemic awareness. This workshop will begin with a brief overview of the research on phonemic awareness and tasks for assessing phonemic awareness. Both light and high tech strategies will be suggested for supporting phonemic awareness, including adaptations for students who use AAC. These strategies follow Musselwhite’s AAIF Rule (adapted, authentic, individualized, as well as being fun and interactive).

This workshop describes several projects in which students who are struggling writers (including students who use augmentative and alternative communication), create texts for younger students, then share those texts. This provides support in both reading and writing, and strengthens the reading – writing link. A variety of texts were created, ranging from paper Big Books to Alphabet Books to high tech books with ‘bells and whistles’. Tips will be shared for: making connections between sites, creating fun books, focusing on enriching language, and supporting generative language through the alphabet. Be prepared to get the most bang for your buck!

Approximately 25%-50% of all individuals with autism are likely to have a communication disorder that makes them functionally non verbal. Many of these individuals with autism could benefit from high tech AAC. There have been various strategies used with individuals with Autism with limited spoken language skills. Some of strategies recognize the role of AAC in supporting the communication needs of this population. The use of AAC can provide individuals with autism a way to engage socially, expand their educational opportunities, advance their receptive language skills and provide a tool for higher levels of self regulation and behavior management. This session will look at 3 students with Autism Spectrum Disorder who use AAC. Case studies of each student will be presented. Strategies used to build communicative competency and literacy skills using AAC systems will be discussed. Video vignettes will be used to illustrate successful communicative and literacy experiences.

Children who have limited expressive vocabularies are at risk of further language delays and reading comprehension difficulties, which may significantly impact their educational achievement. This presentation will discuss current issues and effective practices central to the development of language supports for students with AAC needs. We will discuss core language competencies required for participation in academic and social contexts. The presentation will also address the challenges faced by practitioners, targeting both AAC skills and curricular content at the same time. It will include guidelines, strategies, and tools necessary to address student needs, demands of the curriculum, the nature of social contexts, and required technology within the school environment.

Children who use AAC often have very limited expressive vocabularies as compared with their typical peers. A large clinical and educational research base suggests that robust vocabulary skills are related to academic achievement and written language development. Vocabulary knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of educational achievement and it is a critical foundation of literacy and school curriculum. Shared book reading at home and school has been repeatedly advocated as an important context to support vocabulary growth in the fields of early literacy instruction and communication disorders. During this presentation, we will first describe why shared book reading is so important to the development of early language skills in young children. Second, we will analyze the evidence behind the use of shared book reading as a context to support the expressive vocabulary of children who use AAC. Last, we will describe and illustrate strategies that have proven to result in noticeable word-learning gains.

Current statistics show that 1 in every 150 children are being diagnosed with Autism. Many of these children present with complex communication needs, requiring support of AAC strategies, both low and high tech. Over the past year the Tango, a speech generating device, has been providing many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) the support to begin communicating more effectively at home and in school. The Tango’s unique Communication First language organization is providing children with the opportunity for increased communication and engagement, which in turn is leading to longer and more gratifying interactions, as well as greater opportunities for increased learning. This session will look at various children who present with ASD and review the Tango’s multiple communication modes that support their communication and language learning.

This session will emphasize six key elements that are required for successful AAC interventions, regardless of an individual's age or disability. These include involving people who use AAC as active partners in decision-making and research, designing interventions that are truly individualized and that support social relationships, and evaluating AAC outcomes in socially valid ways. The relationship between AAC, self-determination, and quality of life will be highlighted. Participants will be able to: (a) identify key elements of AAC that are essential for successful implementation and (b) describe the relationship between AAC, self-determination, and quality of life.

This presentation will enhance the ability of participants to design and implement research-based AAC supports for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and problem behavior. The session will begin with a rationale for the use of AAC in this regard, followed by examples of augmented input supports that include visual schedules and contingency maps. Augmented output interventions such as functional communication training using AAC and choice-making supports will also be described, with case study examples. Participants will be able to: 1. Explain the relationship between communication and problem behavior 2. Describe essential elements in the design of visual schedule and contingency map interventions 3. Describe four essential elements of functional communication training 4. Give an example of the use of AAC for choice-making as a solution for problem behavior.

This presentation will enhance the ability of participants to design and implement research-based AAC supports for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and problem behavior. The session will begin with a rationale for the use of AAC in this regard, followed by examples of augmented input supports that include visual schedules and contingency maps. Augmented output interventions such as functional communication training using AAC and choice-making supports will also be described, with case study examples. Participants will be able to: 1. Explain the relationship between communication and problem behavior 2. Describe essential elements in the design of visual schedule and contingency map interventions 3. Describe four essential elements of functional communication training 4. Give an example of the use of AAC for choice-making as a solution for problem behavior.