Ramblings From a Neurodiverse Gal CW: mental health, self harm, suicidal ideation From the time I can remember, I have always been different than my peers. I can recall being in elementary school and being so overpowered with anxiety that I would stash my most prized possessions in backpacks in my closet just in case […]
Read more "Guest Blogger: Allie O’Mara – Ramblings From a Neurodiverse Gal"OT Belongs in AAC Occupational therapists (OTs) should be involved in the fitting, trialing, and training of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. What? You heard that right. But let’s take a step back first… A lot goes into the process of obtaining an AAC device for an individual, including deciding what type of AAC […]
Read more "Guest Blogger: Kylee Hooper, OTD, OTR/L"“No matter the abilities of those with communication differences, there is something out there for everyone. The world of communication is nearly endless. With the help of progressing technology and innovative professionals, every individual should be able to exercise their personal right to communicate. I encourage you to advocate for those who do not yet […]
Read more "Guest Blogger: Emily Husney"My life as an SLP has really changed a lot in the last few years. The organization I work for, Bridgeway Academy, has grown dramatically since I started working there in the 2006-2007 school year. At Bridgeway Academy I’ve had the opportunity to develop my skills and knowledge base in the area of AAC and […]
Read more "Torch Passing"Years ago a brilliant little girl changed the way I viewed AAC. Amber was four years old, preliterate and nonverbal. She came to speech therapy with a AAC device that she carried like a briefcase. She always had wonderful and clever things to say but one day she stopped me in my tracks. She came […]
Read more "Listen: Chalk Let"For the last few years the month of April has become increasingly plaguing to me. Autism Awareness/Acceptance month creates an uncomfortable rift for me as an interventionist and as a friend. The autism and autistic communities are split and put at odds with each other. The autism community (mostly made up of parents and […]
Read more "April and Neurodiversity"With the growing body of evidence of the effectiveness of speech-generating devices (SGDs) on the communication development of children with autism and other developmental disabilities, more and more school-based speech-language pathologists and teachers are finding themselves part of an AAC team. Among the challenges associated with effective AAC teaching, achieving and maintaining buy-in from the […]
Read more "Achieving and Maintaining AAC Team Buy-In"hello my name is brandon williamson. I am an the Prentke Romich Company ambassador. i am 24. i am attending in theater its called shopworks. our next production is wizard of neverland. i am playing screw and lost boy. i enjoying with shopworks. I got my first Vantage in September 2004. I used to use […]
Read more "Guest Blogger: Brandon Williamson"The Immersive AAC Classroom that my colleague Sam Lyle and I have developed and taught has been one of the most rewarding experiences from a therapeutic and research standpoint. Merging what we know about language learning, motor planning, novelty and joy enhancing neuroplasticity and aided language input to teach language skills in a classroom setting […]
Read more "Our AAC Research Story"My world has been rocked. I have worked in the special education arena for twelve years and a series of revelations have disheartened me to the point where I’m taking career quizzes online. “Helping kids” has always been the clichéd ultimate goal for me and my peers but the social injustices toward our students and […]
Read more "The special education we really need"