Date/Location:

February 2-4, 2021, Virtual

Description:

The focus of this 3-day virtual seminar will be to provide learners with a theoretical and practical foundation for the use of core vocabulary as it pertains to language and vocabulary development for augmented communicators as well as how to integrate the use of core vocabulary as a primary strategy for targeting communication and language in home and academic settings.  Our guest speaker will present on strategies to analyze language development for individuals who use AAC.  The mantra of “Model, Model, Model” has become a powerful call-to-action to anyone working in AAC. However, as an individual becomes more proficient at independent communicating, the modelling can stop, and the focus can turn more to the enrichment of language as a means of personal expression. Deciding when to decrease the amount of modelling can be helped by looking for “evidence of brilliance,” those unexpected flashes of creative language use that suggest that a client is becoming much more independent.  In this presentation, the speaker will discuss how to look for evidential data that is observable, measurable, and actionable, which can then help in the creation of goals and action plans. By adopting a strategy of “measure, measure, measure” it becomes possible to move on from “model, model, model.” There will be a focus on using the Realize Language data logging analysis tool, which works with all PRC-Saltillo devices, but we’ll also look at more general data collection and analysis tools and strategies.

Speakers:

Deborah Laurent Witkowski, MA, CCC-SLP

Tracy M. Kovach, PhD, CCC-SLP

Russell Cross

Learning Outcomes:

Explain why core vocabulary, not extended vocabulary, should be emphasized in AAC intervention.

Describe the relationship between the use of core vocabulary and normal language development.

Describe the difference between a needs-based communication display and a language-based communication display.

Identify the challenges with using a page-based system in an AAC device.

Discuss the impact of motor automaticity in the successful use of AAC devices.

Identify 4 levels of measurementDescribe how to copy data from the Realize Language™ website and paste into word processor and/or spreadsheet software programs.

Quantify data related to AAC samples with regard to words, morphology, and syntax.

Identify two key differences between referential and descriptive teaching strategies.

Generate linguistically oriented IEP goals and objectives for students who use AAC.

Discuss strategies that enable students who use AAC to demonstrate learning to demonstrate learning within the components of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

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CEUs: