AT/AAC

1. AT/AAC Session 6 Strategies to promote social interactions

2. Updates/Questions • Next Class….Last class…June 13th • Article Review is due • You are expected to present your article to the class • 5-10 minutes • Explain the methods & results, then… • Tell us the implications for your practice • Peer Tutoring in Pre-schools??? • Example of study linked on wiki • Discrete Trial Training/Verbal Behavior Approach/ Pivotal Response Training….Will discuss today!

3. More Questions • Access to more devices to see/try out/ look at? • Unfortunately not during this summer session…AT teams unavailable… in the future will look at having parents come in to present…or other creative ideas by you all? • But…. • http://www.otap-oregon.org/Pages/Default.aspx • Try to get involved with AT/AAC team in your district… or whoever is doing it and make a “team” • Proloquo2Go • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKc1Ss5d1Nw&feature=related

4. Review • Overall…then for the quiz

5. Loman et al., 2010

6. External Community Supports Academic Support System: Response to Intervention Social/Behavior Support System: School-wide PBS Context for: Person Centered Planning, Functional Assessment & Wraparound

7. Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) http://www.inclusive-solutions.com/pcplanning.asp

8. Light (1989), Communicative Competence for AAC users made up of: • Linguistic Competence • Operational Competence • Social Competence • Strategic Competence

9. Person/family-centered planning • Summarize student life/learning/cultural background • Identify preferences Identify Potential Communicative Acts Verify communicative functions, Analyze environmental demands Monthly/ Quarterly • Graph learner progress • Modify procedures as necessary • Expand plan as necessary • Select Instructional Procedures • Create opportunities for comm. • Implement relevant procedures • Program generalization & maintenance • Review Assessment Info • Select appropriate • interventions • Write communication goals

10. Communication Ecological Inventory Worksheet (Figure 8-10, p.249, Best, Heller, Bigge, 2005) 1. Ask: Where does the student spend time? (environment, sub-environment, activities) 2. Select Activity: (e.g., ordering food) 3. Observe: (for vocabulary used in activity) • List Expressive Vocabulary used in the activity • List Receptive Vocabulary used in the activity 4. Review listed words and determine which words & skills need to be taught to the student.

11. Functions That Behaviors Serve

12. Design of Functional Analysis Conditions • Individualized according to the functional hypotheses developed by the school professionals. • The functional analyses for all students consist of at least three conditions: control, attention, and escape. • Control Condition: baseline condition in which student has consistently exhibited little or no problem behavior. Reinforcement should be freely available and no demands placed on student • Attention Condition: will involve the contingent provision of attention following occurrence of the problem behavior. • Escape Condition: will examine the function of student behavior through the contingent removal of aversive tasks (e.g., difficult, long, or physically taxing tasks)

13. Competing Behavior Summary Desired Behavior Typical Consequence Summary of Behavior Setting Event Antecedent Problem Behavior Maintaining Consequence Alternate Behavior

14. Essential Characteristics of a Replacement / Alternate Behavior An appropriate Replacement Behavior: Serves the same function as the problem behavior Is easier to do and more efficient than the problem behavior Alternate Behaviors require less physical effort & provide quicker, more reliable access to desired outcome/response than problem behavior Is socially acceptable

15. S E T T Framework The SETT Framework, developed by Joy Zabala (2005), is an organizational instrument to help collaborative teams create student-centered, environmentally useful, and tasks-focused tool systems that foster the educational success of students with disabilities. SETT is an acronym for Student, Environment, Task and Tools. Key questions are asked in each area to in order to guide teams in gathering data and information to support the consideration and implementation of appropriate inclusive technologies. These questions provide a framework and not a protocol, as they guide the discussion and provide a vehicle for the team to collaborate and form a consensus on ‘where to from here’. STUDENT ENVIRONMENT TASK TOOLS

16. STUDENT • What are the student’s current abilities? • What are the student’s special needs? • What are the functional areas of concern? • What are the other students doing that this student needs to be able to do? • What does the student need to be able to do that is difficult or • impossible to accomplish independently at this time?

17. ENVIRONMENT • What activities take place in the environment? • Where will the student participate—classroom, home, community, therapy? • What is the physical arrangement? • What activities do other students do that this student cannot currently participate in? • What assistive technology does the student have access to or currently use?

18. TASK • What specific tasks occur in the environment? • What activities is the student expected to do? • What does success look like?

19. TOOLS • Are the tools being considered on a continuum from • no/low to high-tech? • Are the tools student centered and task oriented and • reflect the student’s current needs? • Are tools being considered because of their features • that are needed rather than brand names? • What is the cognitive load required by the student to use the tool? • What are the training requirements for the student, family and staff?

20. Universally Designed Instruction…Why? National Center on UDL; www.udlcenter.org

21. Developmental vocabulary categories (include from the lists) • Substantive words (i.e., people, places, things) • Relational words (e.g., big, little) • Generic verbs (e.g., give, get, make) • Specific verbs (e.g., eat, drink, sleep) • Emotional state words (e.g., happy, scared) • Affirmation/negation words (e.g., yes, no, not) • Recurrence/discontinuation words (e.g., more, all gone) • Proper names for people first (Mike) and personal pronouns (his) later • Single adjectives first (e.g., hot, dirty) & polar opposites later (e.g., cold, clean) • Relevant colors • Relevant prepositions (e.g., on, over)

22. Core vocabulary • Words & messages that are commonly used by a variety of individuals and occur very frequently. • Sources to identify core vocabulary items • 1. Word lists based on the vocabulary-use patterns of other individuals who successfully use AAC systems (http://aac.unl.edu/vocabulary.html) • 2. Word lists based on the use patterns of the specific individual • 3. Word lists based on the performance of natural speakers or writers in similar contexts. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vib2__BDCXc

23. Steps to setting up peer-tutoring in your classroom (from Who’s on First? Van Norman (2007) • Step 1: Choose the students. • Select students that need structured social opportunities • Tutors selected that are interested in content and can follow instructions • Step 2: Select and write the content. • Age-appropriate & promotes conversation. • Find out what students are interested in • Step 3: Acquire the equipment. • Gathering & organizing tutoring tools • Conversational pieces • AT/AAC to use during sessions • Step 4: Train the tutors. • Make sure they know their role is to encourage & maintain conversation • Emphasize turn-taking & being a friend rather than a teacher! • Step 5: Manage the “game”.

24. Group Quiz • What is the framework commonly used to guide teams in determining AT/AAC needs for students? • Four letters.. • What do these four letters stand for? • How would you acquire info to answer these questions? • Name the 3 principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). • Developmental vocabulary involves a number of categories. Name 3. • Core Vocabulary is…… • What are the 3 sources for identifying core vocabulary for a student • What are the steps to setting up a peer-tutoring in your classroom?

25. [to Bobby] “You don't have what they call "the social skills." That's why you never have any friends, 'ceptfo' yo' mama.” • From Waterboy, 1998 starring Adam Sandler

26. Discussion • Social interactions between students with disabilities and typical peers

27. Infused Skills Grid • Focus on Goals. • Increase Participation

29. Isaac is one of your students in your 4th grade class. He loves music- especially reggae He is a visual learner, likes puzzles, blocks, and riding bike Isaac has very limited verbal language and is learning to use picture exchange communication (PECS) and sign language to communicate with others as well as picture schedules to participate in his general education classes/ activities. Objectives for Isaac: Use picture schedule to follow class routine. Use sign language, PECS to communicate (make requests, label objects) Write words from left to right Correctly identify letters/sounds/words by pointing Engage in reciprocal play (taking turns, sharing objects with others) Count & add numbers up to 30 Use a calculator to perform multiplication, division Case Study :Isaac

31. Lecture • AAC techniques • Functional Routines, Discrete Trials Training (DTT), Pivotal Response Training (PRT) • Verbal Behavioral Approach (VBA)

32. Two types of AAC techniques • Unaided- Do not require any external equipment (i.e. manual signs, facial expressions, gestures) • Aided- Incorporate external devices (i.e., computers, microswitches, or speech-generating devices (SGDs) • Most people use both to communicate in different situations with different people

33. Communication System Combination of all of the techniques used by an individual student

34. Unaided Communication • Teachers need to be attuned to how student communicates • Understand what various gestures, vocalization, and other techniques mean

35. Gesture Dictionary

36. When is unaided communication appropriate? • Used when students have no other way to get their messages across • Must be socially acceptable & intelligible

37. Manual Signs: Pros & Cons • Some people who can hear use manual signs (e.g. ASL) • Advantage: requires no equipment • Disadvantage: Many people do not understand signs, therefore limited communication partners • What are other pros or cons?

38. When to teach signs • Poor prognosis for speech • Signing partners available • Physically able • Adequate cognitive skills • A portable communication system is desirable

39. Symbols for Communication • Real Object Symbols • Photographs & Pictures • Line Drawing Symbols • Textured Symbols • Letters & Words

40. Selecting Symbols—What to look for? • Should make sense to the user & communication partners (assess with range of choices) • Similarity between the symbols & what represents should be obvious • Students sensory modalities should be considered • Symbols introduced gradually building on current communication skills

41. Communication Displays--examples • Velcro board with a few picture symbols that students point to • Plexiglas eye gaze display that a student uses eye to “point” • Communication Book or Wallet

43. Considerations for Designing Displays • Messages: which are needed, in what contexts • Symbols: depending on the individual & messages • How symbols are displayed: booklets, notebooks, wheelchair trays, scanners • Organizing symbols: context specific, how many per page, etc.

44. Graphic arrays • Designing communication boards or communication notebooks • Choosing items • Size of each item • Positioning each item • Accessibility of each item • Perception of each item (both user and communication partner) • Item placement/ordering- groups? Effort in scanning? • Motor involvement in using array- vertical or horizontal?

45. Using Symbols to Promote Participation/Conversation • Calendar/Schedule Systems • Choice Displays • Remnant (e.g. Movie ticket, scraps from activities) Displays • Conversation Displays

46. Hi-Tech: Speech Generating Devices • Devices “talk” when a student touches a symbol on the device • What are advantages/ disadvantages??

47. Types of Electronic Devices • Single-level Devices: deliver a limited number of messages (about 20), simple to program & operate (e.g. BIGmack) • Multi-level Devices: Up to thousands of messages, more difficult to program, multiple symbol displays to program messages on two or more levels. • Comprehensive Devices: “dynamic display” technology

48. Things to Consider with AAC • Mode of communication – Input: how the student receives the message; • Output: means in which the student transmits the messages to others • Mechanism for communication – Gestures, Vocalizations, Graphic • Type of selection - Direct selection, Scanning, Encoding • Physical display - Number of graphic symbols, Spacing and arrangement, Background, Orientation, Fixed or dynamic • Vocabulary selection • Output - Print copy, Speech, Scan display

49. Teaching Communication Skills • General Education Classroom Ideal environment- numerous opportunities to communicate with responsive communicative partners • However, students need specific & systematic instruction to acquire desired skills • Educational Team must develop teaching strategies and implement them consistently

50. What do we choose to teach? Consider: • What to communicate about • Activities/environments used in • People communicate with