Applying AAC StrategiesNight 3

Everett Public Schools Discovery Ridge

Barb Lark, SLP, ATP3/24, 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)

Low Tech Object displays

Picture boards

Low Tech

Alphabet board

Context Setting Board

Communication Notebook

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

Visual Scene Displays

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

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

High Tech

Computer-based Dynamic Display

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.

ResourcesPrentke 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.