Talking With Tech AAC Podcast

This week, Rachel interviews the artist behind the Instagram account @drawntoaac, Jennifer Hyles! Along with being an amazing artist, Jennifer is also an SLP who specializes in supporting AAC users! Jennifer and Rachel talk all about Jennifer’s journey getting started creating Drawn to AAC, why Jennifer was motivated to create clip art that depicts diverse AAC users in a variety of settings, and m...

This week, Rachel interviews Dr. Laura Clarke, a special educator, teacher, and parent of a person with complex communication needs. Dr. Clarke who has created her own free website, Reading & Writing 4 All , that provides a variety of free resources to support literacy for emerging readers. Dr. Clarke shares about her journey as the parent of Dan, an emerging reader, and why she was motivated to p...

This week, Rachel interviews Chloe Rothschild, an autistic advocate, author, teacher, and speaker who uses AAC to communicate part-time. Chloe currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Arc, a disability advocacy group, as well as working with the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence. Chloe joins the podcast to share her amazing insights into using different communication modalities de...

This week, Chris and Rachel host a lively session of Talking with Tech Live with members of Colorado’s State Wide Assistive Technology, Augmentative &  Alternative Communication (SWAAAC) group! SWAAAC teams are interdisciplinary groups (e.g. SLPs, OTs, PTs) that provide Assistive Technology services in Colorado schools. As with previous episodes of Talking with Tech Live, Chris and Rachel facilita...

This week, we present Chris’s interview with Brian Schobel, a District Resource Teacher for Transition in Albuquerque, NM. Brian has worked for years supporting transition and employment for people with special needs. Brian reached out to interview Chris about inclusion and how technology can help students of different abilities gain meaningful employment. During the interview, Brian and Chris dis...

This week, Chris and Rachel have asked the amazing Chris Klein and Lance McLemore to “take over” the Talking with Tech podcast! Chris and Lance are experienced AAC users and board members of the nonprofit, ImpAACt Voices ( https://www.impaactvoices.org/ ). Lance and Chris share some of the goals and objectives for ImpAACt Voices, and also relate some of their takeaways from the recent First Annual...

This week, we present Part 2 of Chris and Rachel's interview with Marge Blanc and Alexandria Zachos, two SLPs who have written and presented about the Natural Language Acquisition framework (NLA) and Gestalt Language Processing. The NLA framework looks at the different ways that people, especially people with autism, develop language. One important aspect of this is “gestalts”which are strings of...

This week, we present Part 1 of Chris and Rachel’s interview with Marge Blanc and Alexandria Zachos. Alexandria and Marge are two SLPs who have written and presented nationally on the Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) framework and Gestalt Language Processing. The NLA framework looks at the different ways that people, especially people with autism, develop language. One important aspect of this i...

This week on TWT, Rachel interviews SLP and AAC Specialist Becca Eisenberg about her work with older AAC users, including why she created her own YouTube Channel for video modeling called Life Skills to Learn! Becca shares ideas for motivating AAC users, including giving AAC users the freedom to direct therapy in new, more directions that are more interesting to the AAC user.    Before the intervi...

This week, we share Chris’s interview with Dr. Cheri Dodge Chin, an AAC researcher, blogger, and professor who recently has done research into the effectiveness of caregiver AAC training via online video chat. She shares valuable strategies for Her results showed that many caregivers were able to learn modeling strategies for shared reading during online video chat in as little as an hour!   Befor...

This week, we present Part 2 of Chris and Rachels’ discussion with Joanna Holmes (@mummyvsaac), the mother of Lucy, an AAC user with Emanuel Syndrome. Emanuel Syndrome is a chromosomal disorder that disrupts normal development and affects many parts of the body, including the speech mechanism. In Part 2, Chris, Rachel, and Joanna share ideas surrounding the Open AAC movement ( openaac.org ), inclu...

This week, Chris and Rachel interview Joanna Holmes (@mummyvsaac on Instagram), the parent of an AAC user with Emanuel Syndrome. Emanuel Syndrome is a chromosomal disorder that disrupts normal development and affects many parts of the body, including the speech mechanism. Joanna has lots to share about her experience as the parent of an AAC user, including the journey to find the right access meth...

This week, we share the recording of Chris and Rachel’s recent webinar with aaccessible.org in which they answer questions related to AAC assessment, the benefits of a team-based approach to assessment, selecting motivating assessment materials, and more!   Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss Chris’s recent discovery that a student he worked with who was very important for him professio...

This week, Chris interviews Daniel Parker, Kathy White, and Stacy Duffy, individuals behind the creation of Assistive Technology Forward , a group that created a statewide “community of practice” to support Wisconsin assistive technology. ATF has recently begun a free program that provides “microcredentials” that are focused on a particular area of practice within assistive technology.  Learn more...

This week, we have the privilege of interviewing Hank Poore, an AAC user and Tobi Dynavox ambassador who has his own foundation, hankpoorefoundation.org . Hank shares about becoming a proficient AAC communicator, the AAC journey Hank took to come to his current eye gaze system, advice for looking for a job as an AAC user, work Hank does with his foundation, and more!    Before the interview, Rache...

This week, Chris interviews Ken Hackbarth, Christine Baudin, and Micheal Dicpinigaitis about 3D printing custom items related to assistive technology, including keyguards! Ken, Christine, and Michael share about discuss Ken’s website volksswitch.org , which has resources for how to create files for 3D printers that tell it to build a keyguard that fits an iPad with AAC apps perfectly.    Before th...

This week, Rachel invites Gemma White back to TWT to talk about personal safety awareness and self advocacy for AAC users. Gemma recently gave a presentation at AAC in the Cloud, “Where is the Penis?: Equipping AAC Users to Discuss Personal Safety Awareness with Personal Safety Curriculum”. Gemma talks about this presentation, why words like “penis” and “vagina” should be in AAC users devices, way...

This week, Chris interviews Tami Altschuler, a medical-based SLP and graduate instructor who focuses on supporting AAC and communication in the hospital setting. She shares about her journey helping the doctors and nurses understand that communication is a medical necessity, and the patient and employee satisfaction improvements that have come from better supporting communication and AAC access fo...

  This week, we share Part 2 of TWT Live from Oregon! This week, Rachel and Chris talk with their audience about a range of topics, including getting buy in from teachers and staff and choosing which core words to start teaching!   Before the interview, Chris and Rachel answer a listener question, “Is putting a big poster with AAC symbols on the wall a good idea?” They point out the benefits of pu...

This week, we share Part 1 of a previously recorded Talking with Tech Live show with listeners from Oregon. This week, the listeners ask several questions related to conducting language and AAC assessments virtually, including how to make them more effective.   Before the interview, Chris and Rachel have a lively discussion about Gestalt Language Processing and how we can support AAC users who scr...

This week, we present Part 2 of Chris and Rachel’s interview with Sean Sweeney! Sean is a Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of SpeechTechie.com , a website that focuses on the intersection of speech therapy and technology. This week, he discusses his “FIVES” pneumonic to help evaluate if a resource (e.g. an app) is a worthwhile investment of time and money.    Before the interview, Chris and...

This week, we present Part 1 of Chris’s interview with Sean Sweeney! Sean is a Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of SpeechTechie.com , a website that focuses on the intersection of speech therapy and technology.  In Part 1 of this interview, Sean discusses his recent appearance on the game show Jeopardy and some of the insider information he got as a contestant!   Before the interview, Chris...

This week, we present Part 2 of Chris’s conversation with Kim Hurley and Jessica Conrad about the Specific Language System First Approach! Kim Hurley is an SLP and AAC Specialist who is considering moving her district to the Specific Language System First Approach . Jessica Conrad is an SLP and AAC Specialist who works for the Indiana PATINS project supporting AAC users and their circle of support...

This week, we present Part 1 of Chris’s conversation with Kim Hurley and Jessica Conrad about the Specific Language System First Approach! Kim Hurley is an SLP and AAC Specialist who is considering moving her district to the Specific Language System First Approach . Jessica Conrad is an SLP and AAC Specialist who works for the Indiana PATINS project supporting AAC users and their circle of support...

This week, we share Part 2 of Rachel's interview with Vicki Haddix and Janine Peca! Vicki Haddix is an AAC Specialist and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Memphis who teaches their course on AAC for the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. Janine Peca is an autistic adult who recently went through Memphis’s CSD program and is now an SLP. Janice shares about a recent prese...