The Take AACtion Podcast

Welcome back to another episode of the Take AACtion Podcast ! This week, Lauren is joined by Ashley, a speech-language pathologist, mom of three, and owner of Speech at the Beach . With over 13 years of experience, she’s passionate about making communication accessible for all kids. Today, she’s sharing the journey of completing her project — bringing 11 AAC communication boards to parks and playg...

This week, Lauren is flying solo to dive into how to run an effective AAC trial. She kicks things off by explaining what an AAC device trial is (1:41), then explores why trials are important before recommending a system. She also shares how trials can look different based on setting or insurance requirements (5:58), and offers tips for sourcing devices (13:58). ✨ Take AACtion: Try out the Take AA...

Welcome back to The Take AACtion Podcast ! This week, we’re joined by Allyse—SLP-turned-stay-at-home mom and our podcast’s virtual assistant—to chat about building a strong AAC system using lite-, mid-, and high-tech supports. Allyse starts by defining what an AAC system really includes (7:47), then busts some common myths about lite-tech supports (11:50). We dive into how to integrate AAC into un...

🎙️ New Episode: Take AACtion Q&A! This week, Lauren is answering your questions from Instagram! 👏✨ ⏩ Topics covered: 🗂️ Grid size considerations for AAC users (4:24) 📋 Where to find poster-sized lite-tech communication boards (10:11) 🧠 How Lauren learns multiple devices & vocab systems (11:10) 🕒 How long AAC evaluations typically take (14:13) ✅ Take AACtion Challenge: Check in on this week’...

Welcome back for another episode of the Take AACtion podcast! This week, we are joined by Hailea, a nurse, disability advocate, and host of the Brewed Differently Podcast , where she explores disability-related topics and promotes the message that different is good. Hailea and her husband, both nurses, homeschool their daughter Bella, who is autistic and has TNRC6B, a rare genetic disorder, along...

Welcome back! If you're just joining us in Season Two, Lauren takes a moment to reintroduce herself and share the focus of the Take AACtion Podcast. (1:50) She gives us a sneak peek into the upcoming episodes for the season and explains how the podcast will evolve in this new chapter. (5:56) Next, Lauren breaks down a blog post from OpenAAC , which explores key developments in the field of AAC ove...

Welcome to the end of 2024, and the end of season one! This season has brought us episodes on parent coaching, AAC evals, app info, gathering support from various sources, and we are so grateful to the guests who have shared those stories. This episode is a thank you and a recap of all we have accomplished, and a sneak preview into the exciting changes coming in 2025. To pay forward the gratitude...

Rebekah is an early intervention speech-language pathologist who has been working in rural Western North Carolina for over 6 years. She supports families and their children with a variety of communication and feeding outcomes, as well as her colleagues on a primary service provider (PSP) team. Rebekah is passionate about helping families and early interventionists consider how AAC can be used to i...

This week we are joined by Megan, a speech/language pathologist with over 20 years of experience, most of which have been spent serving students with complex communication needs within various settings, including early intervention, home health, hippotherapy, and preschool and elementary school. With extensive knowledge regarding various forms of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) fr...

This week, Lauren is flying solo to chat with us about the AAC evaluation process. (2:59) She shares how the setting in which an evaluation takes place can shape the evaluation process, giving an overview of each. (9:04) Lauren then describes how our own clinical experience can impact an AAC evaluation, and how we can grow our knowledge to strengthen the process. (15:48) Lastly, she discusses how...

This week, Lauren is joined by Nicole, a speech-language pathologist at a private practice. Her undergraduate degree is in Human Development with an emphasis on health services from California State University San Marcos. After completing her bachelor‘s degree, she obtained her Master’s in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from New York University. Upon completing her Master’s program, Nicole’s...

Welcome back to the Take AACtion Podcast! This week we are joined by Nikki, a proud mom of three from New Jersey and the owner of Schultz Speech Therapy, a small practice dedicated to providing neurodiversity-affirming care. With a passion for the DIRFloortime® approach, Nikki focuses on supporting gestalt language processors and AAC users, empowering children to communicate in ways that work best...

This week, Lauren is joined by Vidya, a mom to an eighteen year old son on the spectrum. Her son is non-verbal and uses AAC to communicate. She is on a mission to help fellow Autism parents to help their children with Autism without overwhelm through her blog, podcast and social media. (1:05) Vidya introduces herself by sharing the pathway she and her son have followed, leading them to their curre...

Welcome back to the Take AACtion Podcast! This week, (2:25) Lauren hosts a solo episode guiding us on how to have successful conversations about AAC. (4:42) She reminds us that goals and needs are set by AAC users, not practitioners, (5:33) which drives how we can go into challenging conversations about AAC use. (13:18) We are given three steps designed to have productive discussions and expand pe...

This week we are joined by Melissa, who is both mom to an AAC user and SLP! She has been practicing for 14 years across various settings. (1:13) She walks us through her deep dive into AAC learning, as well as (2:22) her journey in pursuing services and supports for her son. (6:14) She then shares with us how she balances having her professional brain turned on while still needing to have her pare...

This week we are joined by Anna, who describes her experiences with AAC implementation as a recent graduate. Anna is a first-year speech-language pathologist in Northeast Ohio, completing her CFY, (clinical fellowship year) in a pediatric clinical setting. She primarily works with autistic individuals and AAC users. Anna kicks off our episode (1:20) by describing her unique education pathway, wher...

This week we are joined by Laura, who shares her first-hand experience of how AAC can improve quality of life for users and their families. Laura is the parent of Ethan, a non-speaking, Autistic little boy who has been using AAC for about 6 months now. Ethan is the happiest little boy & a whizz with technology - at times it can feel like communicating via an AAC device was made for him. *Episode r...

Raise your hand if you've ever felt overwhelmed by modeling without expectations 🙋 This week's solo episode is here to help reframe what that looks like so that, no matter your experience level, you can be a confident communication partner to an AAC user. By tuning in, you will learn (1:27) basic definitions around modeling, as well as (6:29) how to reframe modeling without expectations and (9:58...

< This week we are joined by Shelley, who is a music therapist who works closely with AAC! She shares about all things music, collaboration, and learning AAC. As an intern she started to dive into the world of AAC and now it is an integral part of her professional mission. She provides practical tips and ideas for working with music and incorporating it into AAC implementation! Time Stamps: (1:00)...

This week we are joined by Christina to talk about cultural considerations with AAC. During the episode we talk about we can move culture to the forefront of the AAC process by included families from the start and feature matching. We discuss the different customization options that are available and how to navigate more challenging cultural considerations. Enjoy! Time stamps: (2:37) Intro to Chri...

Welcome back to another episode! This week were are here with Laura Hayes an SLP with a ton of experience with AAC. We are talking about "stimming" on AAC devices. Laura comes to this discussion with a ton of great examples and practical tips to change the narrative and better support our AAC users. She breaks down "stimming" into 4 main categories and then provides supports for each of these cate...

This week we go through my AAC Essentials Framework. It is the essence for supporting AAC and preventing device abandonment. It looks at the steps and supports that need to be in place at the foundation to have successful AAC use and more! The steps are: device, mindset, environment, learn, talk, support, and achieve. Each step is guided by the AAC user and essential in creating an environment whe...

In this episode we sit down with Sara, a fellow speech therapist with a personal connection to the AAC community. Sara shares her journey into speech therapy, heavily influenced by her siblings. Sara discusses her experiences growing up in a family involved in AAC, reflecting on the challenges and successes of integrating AAC into daily life. The conversation touches on the evolution of AAC tools,...

This week we talk with advocate and AAC mama, Courtney! She shares her personal and professional story with us as they navigated AAC in their life. We talk about the history of AAC, current IEP must haves, and what to do when you can't get the support you are looking for. It is a great episode for both parents and professionals. Today we talk about: (1:03) Intro (1:58) AAC Journey (6:50) Challenge...

Join us today as we talk about the status of AAC in Early Intervention. Laura and I share about our experiences and an exciting learning opportunity. We talk about the need for more education and support surrounding high tech AAC options and also discuss some of the barriers at play. Today we talk about: (1:04) About Laura (5:41) AAC in EI (10:00) IFSP and goals (12:08) Lite/no-tech (21:17) Integr...