This week, Chris and Rachel interview Bob Sagoo! Bob is the father of Harchie, an 18-year-old young man with cerebral palsy who uses an AAC device with eye tracking to communicate (along with other modalities). Bob shares about Harchie’s AAC journey, Bob’s work to get Harchie mainstreamed in school, Harchie going to college, and more!   Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about delivering fun experiences while teaching about language with AAC! They share about why we need to bring playfulness and a playful energy, and some ideas for ways we can bring the fun, like humor, music, dr ..read more

This week, we hear Chris’s interview with Beth Moulam and Joanna Holmes! Beth is a master student, former Paraolympian, a Trustee of Communication Matters (a branch of ISSAC), and patron of a charity called One Voice. She is a multi modal communicator who often uses AAC devices to communicate. Joanna (@mummyvsaac on Instagram) is the mother of Lucy, a 9-year-old multimodal communicator with a complex medical history that includes a genetic component. They share about Beth’s AAC journey, the importance of a language rich environment on AAC development, the multimodal nature of communication, an ..read more

This week, Chris interviews Daniel O’Conner and Bradley Haven of All Access Life! All Access Life is a nonprofit that showcases the latest trends and movements in adaptive products and assistive technologies on their website allaccesslife.org. Daniel & Bradley share about how they met when Daniel was Bradley's Aide in high school (Bradley has nonverbal Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy), how they came to decide to create a nonprofit together, and how they developed their mission to share information about adaptive products. They also discuss Bradley’s AAC journey and how the technology has progres ..read more

This week, we share Rachel’s interview with Breea Rosas! Breea is a school psychologist who works with educators on how they can implement neurodiversity affirming practices and neurodiversity affirming psychoeducation! Breea shares about the neurodiversity affirming approach and three key areas she works with educators and practitioners to address: 1) What assessments are we choosing; 2) How are we writing assessments; and 3) What are we communicating to the families in meetings?   Before the interview, Chris shares his discomfort with using descriptions that label people as “typical” wh ..read more

This week, Rachel interviews Heidi Rabe, an SLP who specializes in supporting AAC users with complex bodies who use switches and scanning to communicate! Heidi shares a wealth of information about scanning and switches, including how to evaluate if a student needs a switch, working with PT/OT to find the right switch spot, using partner-assisted scanning, and more!   Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss a question from a listener about a student who is “adding random words” (and how the least dangerous assumption is that it’s purposeful and meaningful, and we should get to the b ..read more

This week, Chris has a discussion with Caitlin Armstrong, an SLP in New Hampshire who contacted Chris asking about writing up an AAC Initiative proposal for her K-5 school district! Chris breaks down how she should approach the mission statement, ideas for making a more persuasive argument, and things to avoid (e.g. too much research up front).   Before the interview, Chris and Rachel talk about the AI Reading Coach at coach.microsoft.com. It is similar to the Reading Coach that is part of the Immersive Reader tool embedded in Microsoft Word, and allows people to practice reading with som ..read more

This week, we share Part 1 of Chris and Rachel’s recap of their recent trip to ATIA 2024! Chris and Rachel discuss a recent change to ATIA’s venue, share resources and takeaways from the conference, talk about what they covered in their own sessions, and more!   Key Ideas this week:   ? A lot of discussion at ATIA was about “Assistive Technology Myths and Facts” from the Office of Special Education Programs and the National Educational Technology Plan for 2024. They could be helpful as tools to demonstrate what you are sharing about AAC is supported by the federal government. &n ..read more

This week, we share our interview with Mercy Wolverton! Mercy is a student at George Mason University who learned how to use her 3D printer in high school during a senior project seeking to solve real world problems! Mercy shares some of the websites and resources that she used to learn how to print in 3D, and how you can get started as quickly and inexpensively as possible!   Before the interview, Chris and Rachel briefly tease takeaways from their time at ATIA, and talk about a recent email from Brian Whitmer about a google form about the state of AAC in 2024.   Key Ideas this Week ..read more

Trigger Warning: This week’s banter includes some descriptions of trauma. If you would prefer to only listen to this week’s interview, please skip ahead to 27:19.   This week, Chris interviews Aaron Marsters, an Assistive Technology Instructional Systems Specialist for Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)! Aaron shares about his role supporting the assistive technology needs of students on military bases across Europe, in his case, particularly in Germany. He shares ideas about AI and AAC, ways they collaborate to share implementation across Europe, and how they have adopted t ..read more

This week, we share TWT's 300th Episode/1 Million Downloads Celebration! The whole TWT team (Rachel, Chris, Luke Padgett, Michaela Ball, and Monica Halchishick) gathered virtually with some of the coolest people we know (i.e. listeners and previous guests) to chat with us about AAC as we celebrate our our recent 1 millionth download! The TWT team and listeners share memories of making the podcast, stories of how the podcast has influenced their life, favorite strategies, possible future episode topics, and more ..read more