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You can click here to register! What:This webinar will present augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies and devices appropriate for people with communication impairments resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Survivors of TBI may have cognitive, linguistic, and motor speech impairments that may affect their use of AAC strategies and devices. Appropriate AAC strategies and devices will be discussed as well as assessment and intervention techniques across rehabilitation and recovery stages.    Learner Outcomes: 1. Participants will explain the importance of using AAC during early stages of rehabilitation from TBI.2. Participants will describe two applications of AAC suitable for the early stages of rehabilitation from TBI.3. Participants will describe one appropriate AAC strategy or device for each TBI recovery stage.  Webinar begins at 9:00am Pacific time, 10:00am Mountain time, 11:00am Central time, 12:00pm Eastern time.  Session sign in begins at 15 minutes prior to start time. This session requires you to call in to access the audio. When:February 23, 201210:00 am - 11:00 am MTContact:AblenetPhone: 1-800-843-9166

In the title of this post I’ve linked autism and AAC for a specific reason. A lot of the points here are equally applicable to people who have a different disability but my argument in this particular post is for ALL autistic people to have access to AAC, regardless of whether they can speak. More on that later. If you make it to the end of the post I’ve got some news about price drops for two very good AAC apps and a giveaway for one of them.

This session will offer an overview of the resources offered by AAC TechConnect to assist in AAC evaluations in the following ways: An overview of the unique "ACES Module and Toolkit Approach" will offer ideas for low-cost toolkits which can be assembled and used for effective AAC evaluations One-of-a-kind online clinical resources will be demonstrated for locating info at www.aacTechConnect.com for pictures/flyers/comparison charts for most AAC devices Descriptions of locale workshops including AAC Vendor Forums which are being scheduled nationally by AAC TechConnect/ATIA and hosted by local AT centers.

Jane Farrall has constructed a great table listing all the important features about all the known assistive/adaptive communication (AAC) applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. She’s actively updating the table in response to feedback, this is a great resource for those looking for information about AAC out there.

As you probably know, there are an increasing number of iPhone/iPod touch/iPad Apps for AAC available on the iTunes store.  So many that I’m having trouble keeping them straight in my own head – so I thought a blog was in order as that would be something for us all to refer to. I have listed all the AAC Apps I am aware of below – along with some salient features. Keeping in tune with the idea of user ratings encouraged by iTunes, I have also added my own rating column from one to three stars. I have also put the Apps into three groups – Apps with symbols/pictures only, Apps with symbols/pictures and text-to-speech and Apps with text-to-speech only. It has ended up being a long table – but I hope you find it useful.

Meet new friends and learn with others at an AAC Summer Camp! Improve your literacy skills and participate in language-building activities. The following camps provide unique learning experiences for AAC device users and families.

Webinar - All About Apps for Education: Just the Apps and Nothing but the Apps Thursday, May 5, 2011, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mountain – Web-Based Training, register Discover the wonderful world of apps for education. This webinar will help you navigate and maximize your use of the iPod/iPad. The presenters will take you on an app adventure and share a variety of apps in such categories as early childhood, literacy, autism, communication, organization, and more. Funding for this webinar is made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education. The source of funding is from federal award, Grants to States-Special Education CFDA 84.027, P.L. 108-446 Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Basic Vocabulary Organization in PRC Devices Monday, May 16, 2011, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register This free workshop is for parents and professionals to learn more about Unity vocabulary organization included in all Prentke Romich Company PRC Communication or AAC Devices.  Participants will be introduced to the vocabulary options available.  This workshop will be held in the PACER computer lab where participants can bring their own device or use computer emulation software (Vantage Lite PASS software version 5.02).  The training will include hands-on experience to become familiar with how Unity supports creation of spontaneous novel communication, and to teach basic device operations such as customizing messages, changing icons, hiding keys, and backing up the device. The presenter is PRC Regional Consultant Helen Canfield.  The workshop is limited to 20 participants. Classroom Suite Version 4 Foundations Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who are new to (or have limited experience with) Classroom Suite V.4. The goal of the Foundation Workshop for Classroom Suite V.4 is to enable educators to use Classroom Suite to teach early concepts, reading, writing, and math to students struggling because of learning difficulties or access issues. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225. Kurzweil 3000 Version 11 Foundations Thursday, May 19, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who support students with learning disabilities and are new to (or have limited experience with) Kurzweil 3000. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225.00. Putting LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) to Work: AAC Strategies to Promote Communication Friday, May 20, 2011, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) is a therapeutic approach based on neurological and motor learning principles.  The goal is to give individuals who are nonverbal or have limited verbal abilities or speech a method to independently and spontaneously express themselves.  This workshop is for parents, professionals, and SLPs and will give an overview of the LAMP treatment approach, discussion of the components of LAMP and how and why children with autism would benefit from using a voice output AAC device, and discussion of features that are beneficial for teaching language to children with autism and other disabilities.  Lunch will not be provided.  A one hour lunch break will be taken and maps to area restaurants will be provided.  This free workshop will offer 0.5 ASHA CEUs.

Jennifer MacDonald-Peltier shows us what she likes and does not like about some of the more creative AAC apps such as EZSpeech, TalkRocket, TalkforMe, Expressionist, Locabulary, Fat Cat Pirate Chat, and Fuctional Communication System Lite. (The recording starts a bit abruptly with EZSpeech.) A handout with products, prices, and links is at http://atcoalition.org/files/Unusual Apps.pdf.

Jennifer MacDonald-Peltier shows us what she likes and does not like about some of the more creative AAC apps such as EZSpeech, TalkRocket, TalkforMe, Expressionist, Locabulary, Fat Cat Pirate Chat, and Fuctional Communication System Lite. (The recording starts a bit abruptly with EZSpeech.) A handout with products, prices, and links is at http://atcoalition.org/files/Unusual Apps.pdf. Category Education License Standard YouTube License