SCAAC-Network, Orange County!

We're expanding the Network of AAC-interested professionals and parents to Orange County, CA! 

Upcoming meetings will (tentatively) be held on 3rd Thursdays for 2015, 6:00pm-8:00pm

Spring 2015 - Thursday, April 16, 2015

     Topic: 

• Margaret Vento-Wilson, SLP, will present a research brief on her study,"The Effect of Training on AAC Use in Acute Care."
• Margaret Perkins, SLP, will share the stories of 2 complex communicators on her caseload as well as insights and ideas she gains from attending ATIA 2015 in Orlando.
• Announcements & advocacy update

Summer 2015 - Thursday, July 16, 2015

     Topic: TBD

Fall 2015 - Thursday, October 15, 2015

     Topic: TBD

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Additional Orange County info will be posted on the "Quarterly Meetings - OC" tab (above).

Meeting Notes from the Inaugural Meeting, Thursday, 1/15/15 at ATEC in Santa Ana - Thursday's planning meeting was a rousing success! We were sorry to have to keep our numbers small, but glad to get the networking going in Orange County. Twelve minds came together and settled on a plan of action. I hope you will weigh in via the 3-question survey (LINK here and below) and forward this email to other AAC-interested professionals on your Contacts list.

The agenda included:

1. Introductions
2. Announcements

• Paul Richard shared this excerpt from Ed Code (LINK) on the provision of assistive technology related services. It's remarkable how broad the list of qualified providers stretches!
• Rani Wasano shared this AAC job announcements for OC and LA counties (LINK)
• Margaret Vento-Wilson invited all to participate in the first ever AAC Luncheon at the annual California Speech and Hearing Convention in Long Beach (March 5-8). Day and location TBA.

3. Review of SCAAC-N L.A. activities, meetings, and topics 2010-present
4. Logistics for the O.C. branch

• Quarterly, evening meetings in January, April, July, October. Day-of-the-week TBD. Please participate in this 3-question survey to weigh in on your preferences (LINK)
• Meeting location: OC Department of Ed (thank you, Paul!) based on space allowance (20+)
• All volunteer (site, snacks, participation), no $$

Topic ideas for future OC meetings: 

(person responsible in parentheses where applicable)

• Presentation of challenging questions in order to get input from colleagues. Use of a standard framework for such case presentations (P. Richard).
• Compare and contrast tools that have worked for your clients/students (beyond a checklist: how it was introduced, how the learner became familiar, use by the team, use across settings), 
• Implementation and getting the team on board with AAC
• AAC in hospitals, clinics, and other non-school settings
• Policy and advocacy news - a quarterly report (M. Perkins)
• Current research in AAC - quarterly report on recent published data (M. Vento-Wilson)
• Offering CEUs for participating in Network events (K. Tan)
• Inclusion of AAC parents in future activities
• Collaborating with CSHA District 8 on future training events
• Possible full-day AAC workshop(s), mini-conferences regionally in the future
• Resource sharing (G. Eberhard alluded to support docs from San Diego USD's AT Team, LINK here)

Next OC meeting:

• 3rd week of April 2015 (day TBD, please participate in the survey), 6:00-8:00 pm.
• Location: OC Department of Ed, 200 Kalmus Drive, Costa Mesa, 92626

April 2015 Topics:

• Margaret Vento-Wilson, SLP, will present a research brief on her study, "The Effect of Training on AAC Use in Acute Care."
• Margaret Perkins, SLP, will share the stories of 2 complex communicators on her caseload as well as insights and ideas she gains from attending ATIA 2015 in Orlando.
• Announcement & advocacy update

FREE as always! Please invite an AAC-interested colleague.