Talking With Tech AAC Podcast Rachel Madel and Chris Bugaj

This week, we share Rachel's interview with Karina Carter and Nicole Young! Karina Carter is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) at Children’s TheraPlay, where horses are used therapeutically to support children with disabilities and/or unique needs, including complex communicators! Nicole is the mother of TY, an AAC User who is one of Karina’s clients. Karina shares all about equine speech therapy with AAC Users, and Nicole shares about her son’s journey becoming an AAC user and (eventual) horse lover with Karina’s help!
 
Before the interview, Chris shares about his wife's recent completion of a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, and his son, Tucker’s, quest to become a Veterinarian! Congrats Dr. Bugaj and good luck Tucker!
 
Key Ideas this Episode:
 
🔑 When AAC Users started bringing their devices onto the horses, the device would be knocked around and was difficult to use, so the Children’s TheraPlay team developed an adjustable AAC stand that is worn around the horse’s neck!
 
🔑 Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Physical Therapists (PTs) have been using horses for therapy at Children’s TheraPlay for 20 years at TheraPlay, but Karina was the first SLP they hired. She had a lot to learn from PTs and OTs about sensory input and the client’s experience so she could integrate teaching communication with horseback riding.
 
🔑 During speech therapy, Karina works on a variety of language skills (e.g. prepositions) using tools situated throughout the arena, including a mailbox, poles, and rings. This helps create tempting communication opportunities for her clients!
 
Links:
 
Becca Eisenberg’s TWT Episode
 
Becca Eisenberg’s book, All About Core
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!

This week, we share Rachel’s interview with the amazing Occupational Therapist (OT) Elisa Wern! Along with being a school-based OT, Elisa speaks and writes about issues related to AAC and OT, including that OTs can have a critical role in the AAC consideration and implementation process! Elisa shares ideas for supporting students with sensory processing issues, the need for OTs to get involved earlier to support writing at an early age, the importance of teaching AAC Users how to type, and more!
 
Key ideas this week:
 
🔑 OTs are skilled with body and device positioning, environmental control, supporting executive function skills, and teaching students when and how to advocate for themselves. These are all skills that apply to AAC Users. OTs involved in the AAC process can provide greater perspective on many topics that are not as familiar to SLPs. There are things, like the glare from overhead lights, that SLPs may not consider, but OTs are often good at analyzing and making adjustments to positioning of the device and/or the student to reduce glare.
 
🔑 We need to think more about sensory processing concerns when we’re setting up and positioning an AAC device. Some sounds that come from an AAC device can cause sensory dysregulation for people with sensory processing issues, and if they don’t have the language to share their dysregulation, the situation is even more difficult to navigate. If possible, try and teach AAC Users (when they are ready to learn) how to navigate to a page where they can share these dysregulated feelings for themselves.
 
🔑 OTs should make sure they’re involved on the team when they are discussing writing at early IEP meetings. Providing acess to letters and literacy enables students have the ability to create any utterance, not just being forced to choose symbols and words that are not preferred by the AAC User, and it can take a lot of practice to develop alternative pencil or keyboard skills.
 
Links from This Week’s Episode:
 
ASHA, AOTA, and APTA Joint Statement on Interprofessional Collaborative Goals in School-Based Practice
 
Elisa Wern's AT & OT Coaching & Consulting Website
 
Fundamentals of AAC: A Case-Based Approach to Enhancing Communication
 
Visit bit.ly/twtpod for access to previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!
 
We need your help to keep Talking with Tech going! Please support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech

This week, we present Chris’s interview with some of the Fairfax County Public Schools AT Team: Jeff Sisk, Meaghan Tracy, Jennifer Carr, Ashley Kiley, and Colleen Kalamajka! They gather to share about the life of AAC/AT Specialist Jeff Powers, who passed away in 2023. They celebrate some of the many things he brought to his work with AAC, including helping people feel OK even if they don’t know everything, early support for the Specific Language System First Approach, his work sharing AAC on platforms like Youtube, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss the recent addition of automatic transcripts to Apple Podcasts, and some of the previous “behind the scenes” work that was done to provide transcripts for TWT episodes.
 
Key Ideas this Week:
 
🔑 If you are interested in watching Jeff share about AAC, they have some of his videos up at the Fairfax County Public Schools AAC Page: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/academic-overview/special-education-instruction/assistive-technology-services-ats-5
 
🔑 AAC can become more of a tier 1 or 2 support. The most accommodations related to AT are typically visual supports and audio supports, and AAC provides both of those things. Providing AAC to more people also gives us an opportunity to teach a wider group of the community to be communication partners.
 
🔑 Fairfax County Public Schools recently had an “AAC Integration Workshop” with teachers that was all about how to use descriptive teaching to teach about more concepts, with a focus on breaking down academic language into easier language.
 
Links from this week's Episode:
 
Thing Explainer: https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Explainer-Complicated-Stuff-Simple/dp/0544668251
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!

This week, we share Chris’s interview with Dr. Yoosun Chung, former president of USSAAC, activist, professor at George Mason University, and AAC user! Dr. Chung shares about her journey from South Korea to the United States to learn English and pursue higher learning, her first introduction to high-tech AAC as a doctoral student in assistive technology, her work as co-chair of the 2023 ISSAAC conference in Cancun, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel have a fun discussion about suno.com, an AI song generator that creates some incredible songs about AAC - right on the spot! Chris and Rachel talk about how fun the tool is, and Rachel reflects on some of the motivating therapy lessons that she can create with this tool!
 
Key Ideas this Week:
 
🔑 To AAC users, Dr. Chung says: don’t shy away from becoming activists.  It is more than about speaking up, it’s about sharing your lived experiences and pushing towards a world that is inclusive for all. Each story we share, every obstacle we tackle, it expands the realm of understanding and acceptance.
 
🔑 To family members of AAC Users, Dr. Chung says: be a voice for your loved ones, ensuring they are heard in every space. It’s about empowering AAC users and their right to communicate themselves and making their own decisions. It’s crucial to respect and support their preferred method of communicating - this is a deep form of respect that lets them know you see and support them.
 
🔑 To service providers, Dr. Chung says: please listen to AAC users. Implementing AAC for someone needs to be a collaborative journey you embark on together. Involving AAC users in every step of the process is essential. This partnership ensures that AAC solutions are tailored to meet the unique needs of each user, fostering a more effective and empowering communication experience.
 
Links from This Week’s Episode:
 
NAACA Communication Access Video 
 
Suno.com: Online AI Song Generator

This week, we share Rachel’s interview with Chantelle Hutchinson (@dysphagiacommunity)! Chantelle is a Speech-Language Pathologist who works with adults with acquired brain injury and progressive neurological conditions. She shares about some of the factors that make working with clients with acquired brain injuries, like traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke, unique, including: how AAC needs can be different, the impact of frequently changing communication partners, the value of getting to know the client before writing goals, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel chat about why podcasting should be considered and supported more often as a form of professional development. When we make education more engaging, it leads to better outcomes and retention!
 
Key Ideas This Week:
 
🔑 Some people who have a TBI or stroke may not understand that they are communicating differently or their communication partner is not understanding. This can impact buy-in, because the client may not see much need for the device if they are not aware of the communication breakdowns.
 
🔑 We don’t always target building awareness about communication breakdowns for a client with a TBI or stroke. It takes a balance, because if a client is totally unaware, it can impact their ability to know when to use strategies (like AAC), but being highly aware of communication difficulties may lead to lower mental health outcomes overall.
 
🔑 A therapist working with TBI and stroke needs to keep in mind the client’s cognitive profile -  some may never get to the point where they can initiate a conversation, no matter how much you practice the skill. In that situation, try and consider if the client’s needs are being met naturally and how you can best support them given their cognitive profile.
 
Links from This Week’s Episode:
 
Talking Mats: https://www.talkingmats.com/
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!

This week, we share part two of Rachel’s interview with Tiffany Joseph! Tiffany is an autistic mother of three neurodivergent teens, as well as an educator, advocate, and a part-time AAC User with inconsistent verbal speech.  She shares about her experience as a gestalt language processor, how she thinks AAC could help students mitigate their gestalts, her perspective on Spelling to Communicate, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel answer a listener question about “seasoned SLP‘s” in the listener’s school district who said that “high-tech AAC wasn’t appropriate for kids with lots of behaviors.” Chris and Rachel discuss the question, noting that behaviors are often reduced when a student has a device, and they wonder whether those “seasoned” SLPs should reconsider their openness to new ideas.
 
🔑 Chris’s motto  is “education instead of restriction,” meaning we should teach people how to use new things (like AI, etc) rather than just try and restrict or block them in the schools. In his experience, you can restrict a particular app or website but it’s better to teach students to use the tool in a better way.
 
🔑 Tiffany said it would’ve been really helpful for her communication growing up if she could’ve had a device that displayed the first half one of her gestalts, followed by different logical alternative endings that she could choose from to help her mitigate her gestalts.
 
🔑 Tiffany believes that spelling to communicate is a valid form of communication and doesn’t believe it should be  controversial. She feels that, similar to “body doubling,” where the presence of a familiar person can help us regulate and focus, having a familiar partner facilitate communication is really valuable. Tiffany says that having a person there for to help coach the motor plan doesn’t make S2C invalid.
 
Visit talkingwithtech.org to listen to previous episodes, find new resources, and more!
 
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!