aac conf from apraxia network digest

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Posted by: " Spreen, Alba " alba.spreen@... albaspreen

Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:57 pm (PST)

Achieving Communicative Competence in AAC Series

Focus on Social and Strategic Competence

Course Description:

Do these scenarios sound familiar?

never initiates. What can I do to help her?--

It is hard for me to tell if is paying attention to me, trying to

put together a message, or just " playing " --on her device. I know she is

really smart but it is hard to see that sometimes when you talk with

her.

Sophie really likes her peers and they include her in everything. She

usually just sits and smiles while her --friends chat. I wish she would

share too.

Every time uses his communication device it takes a long, long

time. He doesn't seem to --understand that he is taking so long or that

his listeners are impatient.

If so, you are not alone. Just like many augmentative and alternative

communication (AAC) users, all of these individuals are struggling with

social or strategic competence. During this session we will present a

framework for identifying social and strategic competence needs. Next,

we will discuss specific goals to target these needs at all

communication ability levels. We will look closely at these goals to

identify not only the component skills needed to meet them but also the

specific strategies or techniques for successful teaching. Activities,

discussion, case studies, and planning tools (the Dynamic AAC Goal Grid)

will be utilized to help attendees personalize the goals and strategies

and then determine how to implement them with their AAC users.

Learning Objectives:

Define social and strategic competence skills at 1. all communication

ability levels

Identify 1-2 goals to address social and strategic 2. competency with a

specific AAC user

Describe the two additional areas of 3. communicative competence

according to Light (1989) and how they are related to social and

strategic competence

Target Audience:

SLPs*

Parents/family members General educators*

Special educators*

OTs*

ATP/ATS*

Para-professionals*

Others involved in the lives of individuals who * use AAC

Implementation Workshops are presented by speech-language pathologists

employed by DynaVox. Our Implementation Specialists have practical

experience working with a variety of augmentative and alternative

communication users. They also have a passion for teaching others how to

support AAC users!

DATE: March 5, 2009

TIME: 9:30 am - 4 pm

*New Location: HOLIDAY INN HOTEL 1 Route, 46 West

Totowa, NJ 07512

Contact: Alba Spreen: alba.spreen@... -or- 908-342-4830

Registration: www.dynavoxtech.com/training

Cost: $75

For more details and complete agendas, visit

www.dynavoxtech.com/training.

This course is offered for 0.5 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate level,

Professional area).

Alba Spreen

Sales Consultant

DynaVox and Mayer-

alba.spreen@...

908-342-4830 cell

www.dynavoxtech.com <http://www.dynavoxtech.com> ; www.mayer-johnson.com

<http://www.mayer-johnson.com