AAC Around Town

06/03/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Db2XM8JGM/

05/03/2025

https://autismspectrumnews.org/can-being-denied-augmentative-and-alternative-communication-aac-cause-lifelong-trauma/

Being denied AAC impacts nonspeaking autistic individuals, leading to trauma, isolation, and barriers to communication and inclusion.

10/02/2025

Following different disabled/AAC users I am able to be proactive by learning from their experiences and creating protective communication boundries with my son. Following self-advocates allows me a perspective that I do not get from educators or professionals. Self-advocates are able to support caregivers in ways that others may not be able to just from life experience.
https://ballastexistenz.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/communication-page-i-used-to-handle-that-invasive-woman-i-met/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIWHIdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWIed6zQzXLJKpWRRaJlKuxIcpK2CIZB9Wy6r_Fo1VUwtXvm4XqguPRRXw_aem_wTi6qGf-U7ypLuB3s-2-Zw

It’s been quite some time since I posted my letter to the woman who accosted me on my way to the para transit van. But I wanted to update people on how I handled the situation when she approa…

11/12/2024

https://youtu.be/QPYx2EkTkIM?si=xcjX5SLTuzdwOzEh
On my soap box again! I want parents and others to learn from our experiences so that when your child/student is 20 and using AAC, your not where we are. I know research is still evolving however, I think it is changing people's attitudes/belief systems about AAC users that are the most difficult. Let's gift every AAC user the power of potential.
Matching the object sock to the button sock for example in the device via discrete trials just won't cut it. That is not communicaton and does not help with building language.
Also, teaching "excuse me" is nice and all, but self-advocacy skills like "no" "stop" "I don't want it/want to" "help", "I have something to say", I need something different", etc. should be prioritized from a young age.
I am very lucky to have many parents before me with older disabled adult children paving the way. I hope I can play a small part by contributing the knowledge and experiences as the mom to an AAC user for other parents with younger children. Even if it is just to pass on information.

Speech Language Pathology: Continuing Education Courses by SLP NerdcastCourse Title: Literacy Development for AAC UsersGet .1 ASHA CEU and view the full cour...

02/12/2024

https://specialedtechcenter.com/AT-Resources/

Best Practices in Assistive Technology The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued new guidance, expressing expectations and best practices for how to promote more inclusive learning experiences for all children and youth with disabilities. Myths and Facts Surrounding Assistive Technology Devic...

30/11/2024

Many AAC users are subjected to ABA practices either with or without consent and assent.

30/11/2024

Worth the read. Many AAC users are subjected to ABA practices either with or without consent and assent.

This article discusses the prevalence of ASD with specific regard to the most ubiquitous current treatment, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). A discussion of some of the issues with the underlying t...

30/11/2024

Need some ideas for AAC Goals? Check out the following site.

26/11/2024

Let’s talk about in MA:

what qualifies a student AAC user in the school setting to receive the services of a SLP and or AAC/tech specialist

AAC types of progress monitoring and who should do this

how a school team decides when SLP services are decreased or additional minutes are added to the IEP

how a school team decides when a students AAC user is moved to a SLP consult model

finally, how a school team decides when a student AAC user is discharged from school SLP services

Any professionals and caregivers want to chime in with any information or experiences they want to share?

I’m curious if there’s similarities or differences in settings (public versus out of district), age of AAC user, disability, presence of specific evidences based practices/methods used in a classroom/school, location of a setting or anything else that make contribute to an AAC user’s access to SLPs in the school setting.

Let us know what state you’re in please if you comment.

04/11/2024

https://www.assistiveware.com/blog/assumptions-about-autism-and-aac

The most dangerous mistake isn't an inaccurate autism diagnosis. It's the "so you shouldn't expect much" that too often comes attached. Kit looks at assumptions made about autism and communication.