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Welcome to SCAAC-N
Southern California AAC Network
Spring Meeting - April 20, 2010
Hosted by DynaVox Technologies & Villa Esperanza Services
SCAAC-Network Contacts
- Anne Davis (Pasadena Child Development Associates) annevdavis@gmail.com
- Gwendolyn Meier (Villa Esperanza Services) gmeier@villaesperanzaservices.org
- Sharon Rogers (Cal State Fullerton) smrsp@aol.com
6:30-7:00 Meet & Eat
7:00-7:40 Roundtable on needs, goals, mission
7:40-8:00 Interface with colleagues and devices
SCAAC-N Mission
- We are a Special Interest Group (SIG) initiative of CSHA District 7. Our objective is to establish a network and support group for professional development, problem solving, and training in the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to develop communication in non-speaking individuals
Possible Learning Path for SCAAC-N: Implementation across environments
How do I get teachers, parents, nannies to value, use, and love the system??
- Organizational chart for teachers – giving explicit direction (scripts?) for one (or more) daily classroom activities to guide educators and classroom staff to ask and/or do with each student via their device
- Technical difficulties might be the place people get stuck, and can’t get past
- Empowering ourselves and others giving us tools to get the educational teams on board
- Trying to combat the likelihood that we will ever again find the device in the box, in the closet, or unable to be located.
- Hoping we never again hear, “Oh great! Its time for Speech. Now you can use the device.”
SCAAC-N Request of Vendors (web-based) &/or Meeting Topic
“How did they get there?” video examples of success stories and their process
- Showing Day 1 with the device
- Then walking though training and stages toward communicative competence
- Website of success stories with these steps included
- Make it personal, contact information for the treating therapist
Additional Potential Topics, Content, Activities for Future SCAAC-N Meetings
- ASSMT: Mary Ann Abbott & LAUSD’s AAC assessment process
- Includes a ‘pre-interview’ packet to all teachers to cut down on assessment time
- Does not require technology to conduct
- Implementation
- It’s tougher than assessment
- Make & Take Implementation Day, AAC & literacy
- Danberry School: SLP-run language classroom AAC with OH students
§ High School students earning credits to aid in this classroom during language time
§ Open to observation (some)
(CONT.) Additional Potential Topics…
- Conservation of effort – tap the brain of an expert on your specific issues
- Case study presentation, break into groups by topic
Online Training, Skills Development in AAC
- speechpathology.com ($99/year)
- AACinstitute.org
- Self study courses
- Funding info
- Vendor sites
- Language lab - PRC
- Implementation Toolkit –Dynavox
- AAC-RERC.com
- ALS
- Web casts
CAUTION: If it’s not live you’re only allowed 4 independent study CE units per year
Staying Connected – Making the Network accessible to SLPs
- Web X
- Dynavox might be able to set this up
- A controlled ListServ
- Ventura County SELPA has a great one
- would CSHA put one up for us? And manage it?
- post a question
- take a poll on topics (for large or break-out groups) for future meetings
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Southern California Diagnostic Center is developing and will host an AAC certification program in the 2011-2012 school year (from Leslie Comstock)
