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Dr. Caroline Ramsey Musselwhite

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

iHope School in NYC Needs a Director of Speech & Hearing!

What:  iHope is a highly specialized brain injury school in New York City

Here is an excerpt from their ad:
Director of Speech, Language and Hearing - Job Description
Position and Responsibilities
The Director of Speech, Language and Hearing will be responsible for managing
(hiring and evaluating) a team of full-time therapists including Speech-Language
Pathologists and Hearing Educators. The candidate is required to have clinical
experience with pediatric acquired brain injury and will be responsible for ensuring
the highest level of care evaluating the speech, language, oral motor and pediatric
dysphagia, while implementing comprehensive, evidence based treatment to an
assigned patient caseload. The ability to work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary
team including teachers, service providers, and administrators.

Where:  Download the job description and information form using this link:
iHope Speech & Hearing Director

Monday, November 6, 2017

AAC in the Desert Workshops! Linda Burkhart & Caroline Musselwhite, March 1 & 2, 2018!

WHAT:  The exciting AAC in the Desert Event is back!  This year it's a bit scaled down, with two 1-day workshops.  We will not have an Exhibit Hall or Hands On Stations, but we will have a pizza party & singalong (hopefully featuring Snoopi Botten - more about that later!)

WHO & WHEN:  Speakers include:
March 1, 2018:  Linda J Burkhart will present from 8:30 - 4:30 on Multi-Modal Communication and Learning Strategies for Children Who Face Significant Disabilities.
She will cover:

-       What We Know about Brain Function
-       Multimodal & Learning Strategies
-       Aided Language Stimulation
-       Goal Setting and Data Selection
-       Visual Challenges
-       Beginning Implementation:  Tips & Tricks for Making It Easy


March 2, 2018:  Dr. Caroline Ramsey Musselwhite will present from 8:30 - 4:30 on Communication All Day Long:  Communication Circles, Social Scripts, and MORE!
Topics include:

-       Debunking the Myths of AAC
-       Supporting Aided Language Input During Shared Reading
-       Setting Up Communication Circles (typical peers learn to model & interact using AAC)
-       Using Social Scripts (for quick, highly successful interactions)

More information about speakers is available at:  www.gompers.org/AAC2018

WHERE:    This workshop will be held at the beautiful Ability 360 Center in Phoenix, AZ, in the Nina Pulliam Conference Center.  A continental breakfast and buffet lunch will be provided each day.

HOW TO REGISTER:  Go to this site to register!  Super Early Bird date is November 15, 2017.
AAC in the Desert Registration

Download the Flyer:  

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Columbus, OH, 11-30-17 Supporting Literacy for All Children Workshop

What:  Full day workshop!
This session will enhance and support teachers in
providing effective literacy instruction for students of all
ages with significant disabilities and limited language
skills. Topics to be addressed include strategies and
resources that support literacy instruction, creating
engaging opportunities for children to explore and
understand text, designing age respectful learning
opportunities and strategies for assessment and progress monitoring of literacy skills. Light and high
tech supports and resources for literacy will be
presented.

Where & When:  
Educational Service Center of Central Ohio
2080 Citygate Drive,
Columbus, OH 43219

Thursday, November 30, 9am - 4pm


Who:  
 This workshop is sponsored by  the State Support Team, and is a project of the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio

How & How Much:
No cost for Ohio residents.
For more info:  Contact Leslie Barrett at 614.753.4694 or  Leslie.Barrett@escco.org
Download the flyer here:  Literacy For All Flyer

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Animals ABC Book - CVI Supports by Gretchen!

WHAT:  This book was originally posted in Tarheel Reader.  Gretchen downloaded it and made changes to support students with CVI.  We are sharing it so everyone can enjoy it!



WHO:  The book was written by Jessica Mattison and posted at Tarheel Reader:
- www.tarheelreader.org

It was modified by Dr. Gretchen Hanser.


HOW:  Gretchen made the following changes to support students with CVI:
1) Added a black background to each slide so that the pictures would 'pop'
2) Added a yellow background to each text box, so that the words would also 'pop'
3) Made the font larger, bolder, and added 3 spaces between each word to support print tracking
4) Added a bold transition so that students will definitely notice page turning (note:  it is called 'Box' in the current version of Powerpoint)
5) Added a sound effect for each animal (resources listed on cover page)

NOTE:  You might need to 'tweak' this further to match the needs of your students, but this is a great place to start!!

WHERE:  Get the revised and CVI-friendly version of ABC Animals using the click below:
ABC Animals CVI-Friendly Book

Friday, October 20, 2017

Independent Self Selected Reading for iPad Switch Users

WHAT:  Closing the Gap Handout

WHO:  Laurel Buell, Gretchen Hanser, Caroline Musselwhite, Deanna Wagner

WHERE:
Independent Self Selected Switch 




Where Oh Where are the Books for Students with Cortical Vision Impairment?

Where Oh Where are the Books for Students with Cortical Vision Impairment?


Closing the Gap, Bloomington, Minnesota, October 20, 2017

Gretchen Hanser PhD, gretchen@gretchenhanser.com
Caroline Musselwhite EdD, www.aacintervention.com
Deanna K Wagner MS, CCC-SLP, deannawagner@mac.com
 

Thursday, October 19, 2017

The Power of Music For Students Who Use AAC

WHAT:  The Power of Music for Students Who Use AAC:  High Tech & Light Tech - a Closing the Gap 2017 presentation

WHO:  This workshop was presented by Snoopi Botten & Caroline Musselwhite

The Flame of Hope

WHERE:  Get the handout by clicking on the link below:
Power of Music CTG 17 Handout


Thursday, October 5, 2017

AAC AWARENESS WEEK - Communication Bill of Rights

October is AAC Awareness month - the perfect time to share . . . and implement  the Communication Bill of Rights!

WHO:  National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities (NJC)  Member Organizations of the NJC
• The Committee consists of members from the following organizations:
• American Association on INtellectual and Developmental Disabilities
• American Occupational Therapy Association
• American Physical Therapy Association
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Association of Assistive Technology Art Programs
• Council for Exceptional Children Division for Communicative Disabilities and Deafness
• TASH
• United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication

WHAT:  This joint statement shares 15 fundamental communication rights

WHERE:  Link to the National Joint Committee 

Link to a downloadable version of the Bill of Rights:
Communication Bill of Rights

HOW:  Please truly read this document.  Choose at least one item to highlight each week during AAC Awareness Month.  Let's light up social media with ideas of truly living this bill of rights!




Sunday, August 27, 2017

AAC After Work!! Live Webinars

WHAT:  This round of AAC After Work will present 10 live webinars, plus between-session activities.  These webinars are provided by national and international speakers. 


WHEN:  September 18 - 22, with 2 webinars each day.

WHO:  This AAC summit is sponsored by:
- Yapp Guru
- AAC Intervention
- Speech Science

Check out the list of Power Presenters!!

HOW MUCH?  These webinars are FREE if you catch them live.  After that time, they will be archived and available to watch for a fee.

HOW TO SIGN UP?  Go to this link to sign up:
www.aacsummit.com

Enjoy!!

Friday, July 7, 2017

Social Communication and Storytelling (Thoughts for the ASF Conference, July 2017)



Social Communication: Adolescents & Adults Developing/Expanding Communication Skills
Part 2: Storytelling
by Deanna K. Wagner, MS/CCC-SLP
for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation Biennial Conference, July 2017


Summary:

Learning to tell a story, even if it is someone else’s story, helps build discourse skills. Using personal photos as the context, we can encourage/shape communicative functions of commenting, describing, and labeling in addition to information transfer.  Use fun apps to add pictures, videos and/or sounds.  Include videos in “About Me” books, including idiosyncratic communication.  This session will include demonstrations and discussion of features of fun apps for telling stories.

Objectives:

1.     Participants will define basic elements of story-telling for emerging communicators
2.     Participants will describe how idiosyncratic and non-symbolic behaviors can be used when co-constructing a personal story/narrative
3.     Participants will describe at least 3 reasons for sharing personal stories.

Session Highlights:

Storytelling can be used as a means of information transfer while developing social closeness and beginning discourse skills.  This session will provide ideas/strategies to expand on narrative and storytelling skills that help the emerging communicator establish and/or maintain relationships.  Using personal photos as the context, we can encourage/shape communicative functions of commenting, describing, and labeling in addition to information transfer.

Good “About Me” books contrast what is special about the individual while encouraging comparisons with others.  “I have blue eyes” can draw others into conversation about who else has blue eyes, or “What color eyes does mommy have?”  Use stories to teach others how to interact with the individual, identifying and describing how this person uses body language or idiosyncratic forms of communication to indicate agreement/enjoyment vs. rejection/negation.  Consider co-construction of an “I say ‘yes’ like this” book.  Make recordings and videos to share with others how and why we use the word “yes.”

Narratives describe events across time (Soto, 2006).  The ability to participate in sharing a full narrative develops over time out of experiences with basic discourse experiences (conversations, play, shared readings).  “My Day” narratives can be used to share information about events across the school day.  With scaffolds in place such as visual schedules, students can be involved in co-constructing narratives that can give interpretive meaning (e.g., art = good, fun).  These can be quickly recorded into a communicative system with a page for “my news” (Zangari, 2013). 

Finally, learning to tell a story, even if it is someone else’s story, helps build discourse skills.  Learn how to pause and then move to the next line in the story.  Use fun apps to add pictures, videos and/or sounds (Musselwhite et al., 2012).  This session will include demonstrations and discussion of features of some fun apps for telling stories.   Check out this section on our SPEDAPPS2 WIKI for some inspiring ways to publish writing. 

During this session I will spend time demonstrating/exploring/discussing how to make stories, starting with the basics of using www.tarheelreader.org and Pictello, and moving on to ways to incorporate videos from Explain Everything into GoTalk NOW books.  Readers may be interested in the #4 Tip of the Month 2016 on Caroline Musselwhite’s website, aacintervention.com, for using GoTalk NOW to launch books in TarheelReader.

Here are a few of the highlights:
Using the iPad Camera Roll for Quick on the Fly Books
*      Take pictures using the iPad OR screenshots
*      Select photos in your camera roll and use the sharing icon (arrow jumping out of a box)
*      Make a new photo album and put pictures in it
*      Turn Switch Control ON, launch “Turn Pages” recipe to look through photos and decide if some need to be edited / cropped.
Read a book on the Tarheel Reader website (on the iPad) with “Turn Pages” recipe (speech option can be turned on at the first page)
*      Download your Tarheel Reader book as an ePub book from the Tarheel Reader website on the iPad and it opens in the iBook app. 
*      iBook app also works with “Turn Pages” recipe, or swipe on the screen
*      Add a Shortcut to the Home Screen, they think they are launching an app
Create a Tarheel Reader Account if you want to upload your own stories
*      Upload Photos, or search for images
*      Enter one short sentence for each page
*      Check back to see how others have rated your story
What words should we use? Text Matters…
*      Emergent Readers  -- use more words to provide enriched vocabulary
*      About me, My day, Kid in Story
*      Transitional texts often use repeated lines, consider using core words
*      Early Conventional texts – less words while readers are learning
*      Controlled vocabulary - Noun, verb, or adjective book
*      Beware of focusing too much on fringe vocab
Check out the Angelman Syndrome Foundation Communication Training Series Webinars
*      #14. Reading as Communication: Selecting Books with Caroline Musselwhite and Erin Sheldon
*      #27. Independent Reading: Text Types, Paper Books, and Digital with Caroline Musselwhite
About Me Books
*      Contrast what is special about the individual while encouraging comparisons with others. 
*      “I have blue eyes” can draw others into conversation about who else has blue eyes, or “What color eyes does mommy have?” 
*      Use stories to teach others how to interact with the individual
*       Describe how this person uses body language or idiosyncratic forms of communication to indicate agreement/enjoyment vs. rejection/negation. 
*      Consider co-construction of an “I say ‘yes’ like this” book. 
*      Make recordings and videos to share with others how and why we use the word “yes.”
*      Here is a fun “Hello” example by Jane Farrell.
About My Day
*      Narratives describe events across time (Soto, 2006). 
*      The ability to participate in sharing a full narrative develops over time out of experiences with basic discourse experiences (conversations, play, shared readings). 
*      “My Day” narratives can be used to share information about events across the school day.
*       With scaffolds in place such as visual schedules, students can be involved in co-constructing narratives that can give interpretive meaning (e.g., art = good, fun).  These can be quickly recorded into a communicative system with a page for “my news” (Zangari, 2013). 
Pictello works much like TarheelReader, only you can create stories without the need for an internet connection.  And you don’t need to worry about sharing personal photos with the whole world.  To create a story, just add a photo and 1 or 2 lines of text.  You also have the option to add a recording instead of text to speech.  Share your stories.  Here are some great examples we used at Angelman Camp last year that started out on Tarheel Reader and were converted:
      Noses 6439-4987
      Extreme ironing 5955-8938
      Blizzard 2239-9179
      Wheeling 4861-7652
      Who Did It 8185-9177
      Get Set For a Pet 5226-8770

      Lost Dog 2016-2049
Have some more fun saying “hi” with GoTalk NOW
*      Random greetings (use symbol that looks like a pole between messages)
*      Action = Jump to Page (e.g., jump to People)
*      Action = Play a Video
*      Use screencasting to add recordings, multiple images, highlight details
*      Save the video to your camera roll; add button action (multimedia) to play the video in GoTalkNOW
*      Save the video to YouTube; share link or add the shortcut to the iPad desktop
*      Upload an entire PPT and then mark up the images and/or add recordings
Start off easy, think about using predictable texts (repeated lines).  Here is a link from Dr. Gretchen Hanser for Predictable Chart Writing to get you started. 
You can also find many different stories on www.tarheelreader.org with repeated lines.  If you search for “I like” books, you can find a great mix of personal stories and some funny rhyming ones like this one from Jane Farrel. 
What do you like?
-------------------------------------------
Session References:
Musselwhite, Wagner, Buell, & Wilcoxon, 2012.  Cool Tricks with New Apps - AAC Intervention.com   http://spedapps2.wikispaces.com/
Soto, G. (2006). Narratives of Children who
Need AAC: Assessment and Intervention
Considerations. ASHA Convention. Miami.
Zangari (2013). Narrative Skills for People with AAC Needs. http://praacticalaac.org/strategy/narrative-skills-for-people-with-aac-needs/


Session Resources:

Beukelman, D. with Fager, S. and Ball, L. (2006). Use of AAC to enhance social participation of adults with neurological conditions. AAC-RERC State of Science Conference. www.aac~rerc.com.

Beukelman, D. and Mirenda, P. (2005). Message management: Vocabulary, small talk, and storytelling. In D. Beukelman & P. Mirenda. Augmentative & Alternative Communication: Supporting Children & Adults with Complex Communication Needs. Third Edition. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 15 – 34.

DeCoste, D. (1997). The role of literacy in augmentative and alternative communication. In S. Glennen and D. DeCoste, Handbook of Augmentative and Alternative Communication. San Diego: Singular Publishing Group, Inc., 283-333.

Dietz, A., McKelvey, M. and Beukelman, D. (2006). Visual scene displays (VSD): New AAC interfaces for persons with aphasia. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 15 (1), 13 – 17.

Garrett, K. and Lasker, J. (2005). Adults with severe aphasia. In D. Beukelman & P. Mirenda, Augmentative & Alternative Communication: Supporting Children & Adults with Complex Communication Needs. Third Edition. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 467 – 504.

Lasker, J. and Beukelman, D. (1999). Peers’ perceptions of storytelling by an adult with aphasia. Aphasiology, 13 (9-11), 857 – 869.
Light, J. and Binger, C. (1998). Building Communicative Competence with Individuals Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

Musselwhite, C. and Hanser, G. (2003). Write to Talk-Talk to Write! Second Edition. Litchfield Park, AZ: Special Communications/Life Skills & Technology for Independence.

Musselwhite, C. and Wagner, D. (2006). Poetry Power! Jump-Starting Language, Literacy, & Life. Litchfield Park, AZ: Special Communications/Life Skills & Technology for Independence.

O’Mara, D. & Waller, A. (2001). Joke telling as an introduction and a motivator to a narrative-based communication system for people with severe communication disorders. Computers and Fun-The 2nd British HCI Group One Day Meeting. http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/projects/writetalk/yorkfinalversion.asp.

O’Mara, D., Waller, A., Tait, L., Hood, H., Booth, L. and Brophy-Arnott, B. (2000). Developing personal identity through story telling. Write:Talk web site. http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/projects/writetalk/finalieepaper.asp

Rush, E. (2005). Supporting communication through shared reading. Part 2. Enabling Devices Newsletter #7 (Sept. 2005). http://enablingdevices.com/newsletter_7.aspx.

Schlosser, R. and Lloyd, L. (1993). Effects of initial element teaching in a story-telling context on Blissymbol acquisition and generalization. Jnl. of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 979-995.

Senner, J. E. (June/July 2001). Emergent writing activities for dynamic display AAC systems. Closing the Gap, 20(2), 6-7.

Shane, H. (2006). Using visual scene displays to improve communication and communication instruction in persons with autism spectrum disorders. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 15 (1), 8 – 13.

Shank, R. (1990). Tell Me a Story: A New Look at Real and Artificial Memory. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Stuart, S. (2000). Understanding the storytelling of older adults for AAC system design. Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 16 (1). 1 – 12.

Soto, G. (2005). Narrative skills of children who use AAC: Assessment and intervention considerations. AAC by the Bay. San Francisco, CA.
Stuart, S., Vanderhoof, D., and Beukelman, D. (1993). Topic and vocabulary use patterns of elderly women. Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 9 (2), 95-110.

Waller, A., O’Mara, D., Tait, L., Booth, L., Brophy-Arnott, B. and Hood, H. (2001). Using written stories to support the use of narrative in conversational interactions: Case study. Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 17 (4), 221-232.

L. Meyer, Approaching Communicative Competence Through Storytelling T/TAC Conference June 2006

Books by AAC Users:
Bauby, J-D. (1997). The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death. New York: Vintage Books.
Jean-Dominique Bauby tells his own story (written by using an alphabet board and eye blinks) of having locked-in syndrome after suffering a massive stroke at age 43.
Brown, Christy. (1982). My Left Foot. Cambridge, MA: Applewood.
Brown eloquently describes his difficult birth, the hopelessness of his doctors, and the persistent love of his family, especially of his mother. He relates in detail that profound moment when, at age five, he inexplicably grabbed a piece of chalk from his sister's hand with his left foot and, with great difficulty and incredulity, traced the letter A on a piece of slate. For the first time, his family knew for sure that his intellect was intact. And for the first time, he could start to communicate with them.
Fried-Oken, M. & Bersani, H. (2000). Speaking Up and Spelling It Out: Personal Essays on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
A collection of first-person accounts of how living with AAC has affected the lives of people with disabilities – includes essays, poems, and interviews.
Koppenhaver, D., Erickson, K. and Yoder, D. (Eds.). (2005) Waves of Words: Augmented Communicators Read and Write. Toronto: ISAAC Press.
An international collection of stories of people achieving literacy despite the challenges of their complex communication needs.
Sienkiewicz-Mercer, R. & Kaplan, S. (1989). I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes. Houghton Mifflin.
Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer was born in 1950. She has never spoken a word; never walked, never fed herself, never combed her own hair. Trapped in a body that is functionally useless, her mind works perfectly. This is her story.
Tavalaro, J. & Tayson, R. (1997). Look Up for Yes. Kodansha America.
A memoir of Julia Tavalaro who opened her eyes after spending seven months in a coma. Nobody in the hospital ward to which she had been consigned even noticed that she was alert. Paralyzed and unable to speak, Tavalaro had no way of making them take notice. She spent the next six years languishing in her bed, and although able to hear everything around her, she was unable to communicate. Tavalaro is able to recall her past in minute detail and weaves her memoir from threads of the past, her present, and her poems that transcend the two. Look Up for Yes is the courageous story of a woman struggling to find her voice and make it heard.