Talking With Tech AAC Podcast Rachel Madel and Chris Bugaj

This week, Chris is interviewed by Benjamin Gibbs! Benjamin is a student at George Mason University studying Assistive Technology who is completing a school project interviewing Chris, and Chris asked if the conversation could go on the podcast! Ben has cerebral palsy that affects his walking gait and verbal speech. He uses a combination of verbal speech and AAC to communicate, depending on his communication partner and the context. Benjamin interviews Chris about evaluating students for AT, the importance of sharing AAC concepts with everyone at a young age, Benjamin’s lived experience as an AAC user, and more!
 
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss a listener question about adding a student who is adding words to his device without much consideration for where those words should be long term. Chris and Rachel discuss why we usually don’t need to lock a student out of editing their device, and ways that we can teach and shape the desire to add words  into something positive!
 
Key Ideas this Episode:
 
🔑 We shouldn’t password protect a device just because a student is adding words in an unexpected or “incorrect” way. Rather, we should shape and teach that the student should think through adding a symbol and where the word would best go. We shouldn’t treat a student adding buttons like a problem, we should be celebrating the student’s skills!
 
🔑 When we are evaluating a student for AT, it is really important to think about the environment, because the environment can be changed. You can change the instruction, furniture, etc to help support a student. For example, why give a student with dyslexia read pencil and paper when they could be given digital assignments that work better with text-to-speech apps. Let’s provide it digitally so everyone can benefit!
 
🔑 If you give an adolescent an AT tool that makes them stand out (e.g. a reader pen), they may abandon it to avoid standing out. However, if you provide technology tools to everyone (e.g., digital materials and built in text-to-speech), then the AT tools can be used by anyone without feeling different.
 
🔑 Chris believes “high-tech” and “low-tech” designations for AAC are not very helpful; whatever gets the job done is the tool, and it doesn’t need to be “high-tech” or “low-tech”. Many AAC users are forced to demonstrate low tech AAC skills before they are allowed access to high tech AAC, which has been a huge barrier to accessing the tools they need.
 
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 Chris’s interview with Amy Mayer! Amy is the founder and CEO of friEdTech (https://friedtechnology.com/), a company that provides educational technology (EdTech) professional development for educators. Amy talks about her recent book, Beyond Worksheets, which provides resources for teachers to utilize EdTech tools and to inclusively redesign education for everyone! She and Chris discuss the impact of AI on education and writing, ideas for creating meaningful professional learning experiences, and more!
 
Before the interview, Rachel updates Chris about one of her clients, including how a fun collaborative creative writing exercise led to improvements in both his writing and spoken language! 
 
Key Ideas This Episode:
 
🔑  AI tools can be helpful for new writers trying to get feedback about their work, including reviewing for spelling and grammar. However, having a real person read and provide feedback about your writing may provide feedback from a broader view that current AI tools can’t provide.
 
🔑  Amy knows that educators often do not choose to come to a PD, but friEd Tech gets educators invested by designing learning experiences to solve problems that people actually have. Then, once people have talked about the problems they have, the group works together collaboratively to figure out how to solve those problems.
 
🔑  We need to have bigger conversations with students about the ethical use of AI tools. For example, some students never use AI tools because of ethical concerns, even though some AI tools could be used ethically to improve their learning.
 
Amy's recent book: Beyond Worksheets: Creative Ways to Engage Students 
 
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 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