Thanksgiving AT Tools - from Star Training

www.StarTraining.org  November, 2012 Happy Thanksgiving   For individuals with disabilities, preparing and eating the Thanksgiving dinner can be difficult without the right assistive technology (AT) tools.    Difficulty with chewing and swallowing can result in choking, aspirating, and other medical complications; therefore it is critical consult with a medical professional if chewing and swallowing are challenging. An occupational therapist or speech-language pathologist can assist with determining what AT may aid with self-feeding, eating, and swallowing.    Assistive Technology Tools   Food Prep: One-Handed Cutting Board * Nails hold food in place  * Corner guards keep food from sliding Utensils: Universal Cuff * Built up foam makes it easier to grasp   * Velcro strap keeps securely in place Dinnerware: Freedom  Dinnerware * Suction base prevents bowl from moving if accidentally bumped or hit     * Deeper side makes it easier to scoop Drinking: Nosey Cup * Cut-out for nose to allow for drinking without tipping your head   * Helps to maintain proper positioning  Funding provided by: 1-800-782-7656 Content created by: (256) 859-8300

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Autism Speaks AT Series: FREE Webinar December 6!

Thursday, December 6th 4:00 Pacific (7PM EST)
Jennifer Leighton, M.A., CCC-SLP
From Pictures to Technology: Creating an Environment for Language Learning, Communication, and Independence
Join us for a webinar hosted by Jennifer Leighton, M.A., CCC-SLP to learn how to create an environment for language learning, communication, and independence.
Register today!
Jennifer joined the Cotting Consulting team at the Cotting School, in Lexington, Massachusetts, in May 2012. As part of this program Jennifer goes out to schools to teach strategies and best practices for technology integration and implementation, increasing staff comfort with higher-tech options. She provides staff education and therapeutic interventions.

Archived Webinars on AT in ASD from Autism Speaks:

How to Use Technology to Enhance Learning for People with ASD
Mark Mautone, Special Education Teacher 

On October 2nd, Mark Mautone's webinar covered the ways technology is being used to improve the life of people with autism spectrum disorder.
Mark has extensive knowledge in assistive technology that includes adapting curriculum, creating individualized technological curriculum using iWorks and iLife, and effectively harnessing standard curriculum with iPad/iPod Touch applications to create a seamless learning experience.
Didn't get a chance to see it? You can watch Mark's Webinar here!(you'll be asked for your email address. Mac users may need to install a player)
Click here to see the webinar overview.
Click here to see the webinar slides.
 
Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), Evaluation and Treatment
Kate Grandbois, MS, CCC-SLP 
On November 14, Kate Grandbois, MS, CCC-SLP,  covered the different technologies that can help people with autism and how to request a Technology Assessment.
Kate is a certified and licensed speech and language pathologist who serves children and adults with developmental disabilities. Kate specializes in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), autism and related neurological disorders, speech and language disorders, and social skills development.
 Didn't get a chance to see it? You can watch Kate's Webinar here! (you'll be asked for your email address. Mac users may need to install a player)

Click here to see the webinar slides.
Click here to see a list of key words for AAC Evaluations.

PRC Consultant Corner

PRC Solutions for Successful AAC   New!  Accent™1200, Accent™1000, and Accent™700 With changes in technology and equipment, access has become extremely important for success with AAC.  The Accent™ family of PRC devices ( Accent™1200 and Accent™ 1000 and Accent™ 700) will feature capacitive touch-screens.  This means they can be controlled with a very light touch of a finger.  Capacitive touch-screens are commonly found on many cell phones and tablet computers.  Individuals who are accustomed to the light touch required to activate a capacitive touch-screen will appreciate the ease-of-use of this new feature.  Individuals who are accustomed to resistive touch-screens, such as those on PRC's legacy devices (i.e. SpringBoard™, Vantage™, and ECO™) know that they require a slightly higher level of pressure to activate than the new capacitive touch-screens.  Fortunately, a slight setting adjustment in the Accent devices can help make the screen less sensitive.  To adjust the capacitive screen: Go to the Toolbox Choose the Access Method Menu Change Acceptance Time to .20 This adjustment will make the Accent's screen feel more like that of a SpringBoard, Vantage, or ECO.  If your touch-screen is still too sensitive, you can try increasing the acceptance time until you reach a level that works best for the device user.  This small adjustment can make all the difference in assessing the Accent.  If the device user has difficulty with accidentally activating the same key twice, the Release Time function can also be adjusted.  Here's how: Go to the Toolbox Choose the Access Method Menu Increase the Release Time (increase up to .5 or higher), and the key will not be activated again due to a secondary selection right after the first. Another suggestion is to try a TouchGuide™, as well, as it can increase accuracy in pushing the desired key, and provides some tactile feedback when finding the desired key. If you have any questions or would like to explore the variety of access methods offered in PRC devices, please contact me.  I am extremely knowledgeable in regards to both language and access and can assist you in getting things as close to perfect as possible. New!  PRC Online Order Status Center Want to check the status of your order online?  Now you can at prentrom.com/sales.  The Online Order Status Center provides 24/7 access to order information simply by entering your Sales Order Number, Customer Number, or Last Name and Zip Code.  Try it today! New! PRC Trainings Available in Your Area Unity Language for LifeDate:  November 14, 2012 Time:  9:00am - 3:30pm Facility:  Assistive Technology Exchange Center Location:  Santa Ana, CAAttend This Training This course will focus on the features of Unity for Unity 60, 84, and 144 (Accent, ECO, or Vantage Lite devices). Participant will review overlays and icon features/functions, Unity Pattern 1 (verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs) and Unity Pattern 2 (pronouns). You will also learn Unity Pattern 3 (pronoun phrases), Unity Pattern 4 (noun categories), Unity Pattern 5 (closed class categories), and strategies for teaching Unity vocabularies. Devices for this training are not required. If you choose to bring a device or laptop computer, please bring a Vantage Lite/Vantage/Vanguard with software version 5.06 or higher; ECO with software version 2.07 or higher; Accent 1200 with software version 1.02 or higher; or laptop computer pre-loaded with the appropriate PASS Software. Julie Dunbar, M.S., Ed. Email:  jad.cons@prentrom.com Phone:  (800) 262-1984 Ext. 445 Website:  prentrom.com

Re-Post: Force Quit an App in iOS

Re-Posted from OSXDaily (Click HERE to link to the original)

iOS is generally very stable but every once in a while you’ll encounter a third party app that isn’t. Apps can freeze or become stuck, you’ll usually know instantly because the iPad or iPhone becomes unresponsive to touch behavior or something within the app is clearly running amuck. When this happens the best thing to do is to force quit the app.

Force Quit an App in iOS

This will be the same on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch:

1. Hold down the Power button at the top of the device until the “Slide to Power Off” message appears and then release the power button
2. Now hold the Home button at the base of the screen until the app forcibly quits, this can take several seconds

You’ll know force quitting was successful because the app will close and you will be returned to your home screen and icons.
iPhone and iPad apps should rarely freeze, if you continuously encounter stability issues you may want to backup and then reset to factory defaults or restore to try and resolve the problems.

QR Codes - An Introduction

They've been popping up for years, and I've been wondering why to care about QR Codes, aka. Quick Response Codes.  This two-dimensional bar code was originally created by a Japanese company (of course) in 1994 for use in the Automotive industry for tracking parts and high-speed data decoding.  In recent years, QR codes have made their way into the education field's broad and sometimes overwhelming category of emerging technologies, and while this post does not directly relate to AAC, I think these little guys are worth knowing about.

QR codes consist of black squares of varying sizes arranged on a white background and in our modern advertising world are intended to be scanned into your mobile device from a billboard, bus ad, poster or magazine page in order to get more information, a special coupon, etc. With an app such as Scan by QR Code City on your mobile device and WiFi service, you aim, your device locks onto and scans the QR code frame, and then (most often) takes you to a web site.

A QR code can store all kinds of information. Here are some common uses:  

• Text
• Web Addresses /  URLs
• Phone Numbers
• Numeric Code, Part Numbers: Up to 7,089 Characters
• Alphanumeric: Up to 4,296 Characters
• GPS Data / Coordinates
• Contact Information / Business Card Info / Vcard Data
• Wi-Fi Network Info

Sean Sweeney, SLP, of SpeechTechie suggests creating a QR code yourself that a client can use their mobile device to scan in order to be taken to:

• A word with a target sound
• A vocab word or definition
• Contextual info
• Or a strategy you want the student to use

From Sweeney: QR codes lend themselves to be used in scavenger hunts in which a child locates the codes you have hidden around the classroom, therapy center, or wherever. They also lend themselves to story mapping, as a story can be broken down into text elements and printed as QR codes, one for character/setting, one for kickoff, and so on.(CLICK HERE to go to an example of Sweeney's story grammar marker QR codes)

 

Here is a QR code I created on a free website called Kaywa. Open your QR scanner app, point, scan, and your device will procede to a URL for my post of the 46 ASHA Convention 2012 sessions on AAC (poster sessions excluded).

 

A little more about QR codes from Sean Sweeney is available on the ASHAsphere (ASHA's official blog)... So what about QR codes is applicable to us as SLPs and educators? First of all, they are extremely easy to create and print for use in sessions (though again, you need to have access to [a mobile device], or a computer with a webcam in order to read them). Secondly, they are an instant attention-grabber for kids, and constitute a kind of high-tech hide and seek. Rather than giving kids a piece of paper that serves as a stimulus (word or picture), you can present (or hide!) a QR Code they can scan in order to read a text message or see an image, website or video. Students from Kindergarten to High School are engaged by this little hook, which adds the process of discovery to any of your sessions.

 

 

From Patrick Black via Teaching All Students blog (scan the code I created for this URL, at left, and read the blog on your device): QR Codes are everywhere, and I've started using them in my classroom.  One use I have been trying, is attaching them to homework for students.  Typically I'll print them out on an address label and the code will link to a screencast or video explanation of the homework activity... great way to share information with parents, and help students remember what they need to do on worksheets.  Nothing special but an easy way to incorporate multiple representations in an activity. 

 

Read Sean Sweeney's Part 2 on creating your own QR codes, posted on ASHAsphere. He describes in detail how to create various kinds of QR codes, apps to use to scan them, and lesson ideas for you to try out right away! 

 

 

Online CEUs - Rett Syndrome (T. Bartolotta)

SpeechPathology.com offers unlimited online CEUs for a one-year subscription of $99! This course on Rett's looks right up our alley...


Rett Syndrome: Communication Assessment and Intervention – Part II
Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 9:00 am PST

CEUs/Hours Offered: ASHA/0.1 Intermediate, Professional; CASLPA/1.0

Live Webinar Course: #5600 · Duration: 1 hour

Cost: Included in $99 unlimited CEU package Learn More

This course is the second of a two-part series that will provide a comprehensive introduction to Rett syndrome for the practicing clinician. This course will review the best evidence on assessment and treatment of communication skills in individuals with Rett syndrome and provide practical strategies for design and implementation of intervention programs with this complex population. The use of augmentative and alternative communication strategies, from low-tech options to electronic eyetracking systems, will be discussed. The course will include description and demonstration of a communication coaching model that can be implemented in schools and in the home with a variety of communication partners. 

 

Theresa Bartolotta, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Theresa E. Bartolotta earned her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Queens College of the City University of New York and her Ph.D. from Seton Hall University. She is Associate Professor of Speech-Language Pathology and Director of Assessment in the Office of the Provost at Seton Hall. Her primary research interests are in communication impairment in autism spectrum disorders, including Rett syndrome. She has published articles and presented widely on Rett syndrome and communication intervention in this population.
 

iPad Dog Commands - TouchChat

Another great story, referred by Terry Kappe, SLP!

The folks at TouchChat have put their app to work for a young girl with autism and two trusty dogs. Personalized with pics/words, this TouchChat vocabulary can be used to allow the child to give these pups commands using her iPad. 

Ricochet and Rina have been learning how to take voice cues from the synthesized voice (Laura) from an electronic device. Watch a training session video HERE. Technology creates learning curves for all beings (not just the human kind).  Alternatively, the programmer could have also used the Button Action called "Play Audio" so that the app can play digitized speech of an actual person delivering the verbal command with proper inflection.

Please LIKE TouchChat's Facebook page!