AAC & AT and Vision, Equity

This is a series of podcasts that will each cover a process of teaching Literacy and inclusionary practices. The podcasts are pre-recorded and edited for on-demand/Asynchronous viewing.

Each podcast is about an hour and has 15 minutes of homework. The homework is a survey of thoughtful questions about the learning experience. This is a 1:1 at your own pace, 1 hour of training for 1 clock hour. An Evidence of Learning survey is required for each hour of training. 

Description: 

Many students who need AAC to communicate may also be blind or low-vision learners. What considerations do teams need to know about when determining AT and AAC for these students? Who is involved in making these decisions? Join Brenda and Sarah as they talk with therapists, families, and experts who share their experiences that create awe and wonder in unique ways. Participants will hear first-hand accounts from people supporting students with complex needs and from AAC users themselves. We can’t know where we’re going unless we know where we come from. Assistive Technology (AT), Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), and vision will be discussed, but as always, human connection is highlighted throughout part 5 of this engaging series.

Learning Objectives: 

Participants will:

• Experience multiple perspectives of people who support kids with complex learning needs. 

• Examine myths and reframe assumptions about educating students with disabilities who are blind and/or have low vision.

• Gain skills for collaborating within multidisciplinary teams

• Identify resources on vision and AT/AAC for blind and low-vision learners

Audience: K-12 educators, special educators, administrators, parents

interview title:

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E1 Vision and AT: Luis Perez

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Amanda Soper

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Tanna Neufeld  

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Ting Siu

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Marci Revelli

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Emma Packard and Kathee Scoggin

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Lynn Elko

 Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Whitney VanKlinken

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Krista Wilkinson

Ten online homework questions are required for the completion of each hour of training. Look for the Evidence of Learning Survey on the SETC website.

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Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E1 Vision and AT: Luis Perez

Luis Peréz is the Disability & Digital Inclusion Lead for CAST where he promotes the creation, delivery and use of high quality accessible educational materials and technologies to support equitable learning opportunities for all students. In this episode Luis references resources available from CAST, but also shares his own lived experience of having low vision, urging people to challenge assumptions around disability and be proactive in how we provide supports to low vision and blind students.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Amanda Soper

Amanda Soper is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and Teacher of the Vison Impaired (TVI) in Washington D.C. In this podcast she discusses cerebral vision impairment and characteristics or visual behaviors you might notice in children. Amanda also explains how she uses semantic compaction language systems like Unity to support students with low vision.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Tanna Neufeld  

In this episode of the Awe and Wonder AAC & AT podcast Tanna Neufleld, SLP, discusses which students may be at risk for vision involvement and behaviors parents and practitioners can look for that might give clues that vision is impacted, and about using a student’s preferred sensory modality. Tanna also talks about how her own vision diagnosis plays a role in her life and about the technology supports she uses in various settings.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Ting Siu

Ting is a Teacher of Blind and Low Vision Students (TVI) and coordinates the Northwest Center for Assistive Technology Training (CATT-NW) at the WA State School for the Blind (WSSB). In this episode Ting cautions about the ableist perspective of prioritizing vision with students and instead asking ourselves what the student can still do with their sensory access. Ting also stresses the importance of introducing technology- any tools or systems that help people access and engage with information better- as soon as students are seeking and needing access to their environment.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Marci Revelli

Marci Revelli is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) who has completed numerous AAC evaluations for kids with complex needs including vision. In this episode she talks about questions SLPs can ask families that give clues about the student’s vision and shares stories of AAC evaluations with students who have low vision or CVI. Marci shares that pulling in all team members (especially family), taking AAC evaluations/trials slow, and trialing AAC systems in different settings with different people are key to finding the right AAC system for a child with low vision/CVI.with students and instead asking ourselves what the student can still do with their sensory access. Ting also stresses the importance of introducing technology- any tools or systems that help people access and engage with information better- as soon as students are seeking and needing access to their environment.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Emma Packard and Kathee Scoggin

Kathee Scoggin and Emma Packard both work with students who have combined vision and hearing loss including deaf-blindness and support the Washington DeafBlind Program. 

In this episode of the podcast Kathee and Emma share stories from their numerous experiences working with students who have combined vision and hearing loss. These stories call out important tips for working with this population, including: considerations for starting tactile symbols, what a good relationship between adults and students can do to improve communication skills, and what adults can learn when they provide adequate wait time for students with combined vision and hearing loss.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Lynn Elko

Lynn and her daughter Emma struggled to find a way for Emma, who has Cortical Vision Impairment (CVI), to have access to a robust vocabulary. Together, working through page setup, navigation methods and symbol representation, they figured out what worked for Emma and called it See CVI, Speak AAC.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Whitney VanKlinken

Whitney Van Klinken is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) at Yakima Children’s Village-Multicare. She talks about her experiences working with children and adults doing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) evaluations, including for those with vision impairments. She and Brenda discuss considerations when evaluating communication systems for students who are blind or have low vision or CVI. Together they share stories of using switches with students, observing vision behaviors and examples of the power of presuming competence.

Awe and Wonder Podcast S5 E2 Vision and AT: Krista Wilkinson

Dr. Krista Wilkinson published an article on evidence-based approach to AAC design for individuals with cortical visual impairment (CVI) based on the experience of Emma, a young woman with CVI. In this episode Krista explains the three pillars of an evidence-based practice approach (service providers, researchers, and families/clients) and describes three domains that are important considerations for AAC users with CVI: skills brought by the individual, responsibilities of the communication partner, and design choices for the AAC system.

https://specialedtechcenter.com/awe-and-wonder-podcast/