There is a wealth of information and materials for you on our website, so you may be asking yourself, "Where in the world do I start?" No worries, we've got you! This is the first stop in your training! In this unit we will be answering some primary questions to get you started!
Our specialized training hub dedicated to supporting communication success in Early Intervention in the home and our preschool classrooms
AAC Partner Strategy Kits are engaging posters/handouts, descriptions and short videos explaining and modeling techniques for you to use to help your student be willing, and able to communicate using their AAC system!
5 steps to move from training to talking, give you a clear path for you and your student learner. Learning to communicate is a shared journey between the learner and their partners, and that makes sense! Communication is a shared activity between two people. It is the means for us to make connections, meet our needs, engage socially, participate in shared experiences, and bridge the gap between our experiences and sharing these their partners.
TD Snap is a user-friendly AAC app designed to help people with communication challenges express themselves. It offers a variety of tools for both symbol-based and text-based communication, making it flexible for different needs. The app is highly customizable, so users can personalize their communication grids just the way they want. With support for touch, switch, and eye gaze access, TD Snap is accessible to everyone. It's all about boosting communication skills, promoting independence, and improving the quality of life for people with speech and language difficulties.
TD Snap is an application by Tobii Dynavox which is available as a Windows or iOS (iPad) application. You can purchase it on the Apple App Store to load onto any iPad or purchase a dedicated speech generating device which has this application on it. Some examples dedicated devices with TD Snap are the Tobii Dynavox Navio, i110, or i-Series eye gaze devices. You'll also find some third party manufacturers who have loaded TD Snap on their iPads being funded as speech generating devices (Forbes Rehab devices, Ablenet Quicktalker Freestyle devices).
If you are an SLP or a special education teacher working with student who use TD Snap, you can create a "professional account" with Tobii Dynavox to get a free copy of TD Snap to use on your classroom iPad, or a Windows computer (Smartboard!!). This a great option so that you can model and speak AAC in your classroom for visual supports for communication and language development
Here are a few short videos to share the basics of how to work with TD Snap!
Each of our robust communication systems has it's own way of organizing the words and messages on the different pages. In this training we are looking at each of the more common AAC applications and exploring how the words and messages are categorized so you can easily find them!
Electronic Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems with Dynamic Displays come in a wide variety of hardware options, with several different operating systems and a plethora of applications! These are the "high tech" systems you've heard of, typically offering thousands of words on hundreds of pages with many different means of organizing vocabulary.
A robust AAC system is designed to facilitate effective communication for individuals with speech and language disabilities. An "effective" system is one in which the communicator can say anything they want to, to anyone at any time! Most often, a single button or a picture book just isn't enough. In this session we are discussing the key features of a robust AAC system and how you can ensure that your student has all of the language they need!
In the session we are going to be talking about what’s inside an AAC application, not which box we should pick! We’re taking a look at some of the most popular AAC apps and exploring the different ways they organize and present language to us.
On our AAC applications we have the choice of using single words for creative message generation and the use of complete phrases for quick communication. Generative language is the term we use to describe a person putting individual words together and adding word endings to say a novel sentence of their own. Pre-stored message are those messages, typically complete phrases or sentences, which require the person using AAC to simply access one button to speak an entire message.
This debate is has a lot of nuances which we will explore in our session. We are considering the question, is AAC more important for immediate participation in our environment or to allow our student to develop language skills to allow autonomous, unlimited communication over time, or do we need a little of both? (HINT: we need both!!)
Everyone needs to be able to talk about their favorite people, places, topics and activities. Our students using AAC are no exception! Let's talk about why and how we give them access to these favorites!
AVAZ AAC is an easy-to-use app that helps people with speech and language difficulties communicate better. With customizable vocabulary options, it lets users communicate using pictures and text. The app supports many languages and includes features like voice output, predictive text, and simple navigation, making it great for both kids and adults. AVAZ AAC is designed to boost communication skills, encourage independence, and improve the quality of life by providing accessible and personalized ways to communicate.
You’ve undoubtedly heard us talk about multi-modal communication, and today we are investigating the tools that makeup the variety of AAC methods we use to supplement or replace speech!
Our students need access to their communication system at all times, and there are often multiple partners who need to make changes. In this training we are ensuring the communication device is backed up and shared with all relevant team members!
In this training, we will review the development of the AAC Implementation Plan which includes details about the student's AAC system, customization and training to help the team successfully implement a new AAC system.
TD Snap is a user-friendly AAC app designed to help people with communication challenges express themselves.