Issue 12 | October 2024
Special Education Technology
Center
Inclusive Insights & Access Tips
Celebrating AAC Awareness Month
As we kick off October, AAC Awareness Month, it’s the perfect time to shine a spotlight on the critical role Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) plays in supporting students with communication challenges. AAC empowers non-speaking and minimally speaking students to express themselves, breaking down barriers and opening doors to full participation in inclusive educational settings.
In this issue
- Celebrating AAC Awareness month
- Mark your calendar
- AI in action
- Highlight reel
- Access for all
- Book nook
It reinforces the idea that every student, regardless of how they communicate, has the right to engage actively in their learning, social interactions, and pursuit of knowledge. At the Special Education Technology Center (SETC), we offer a wide range of AAC tools through our lending library, along with training resources like webinars, consultations, and our all-new monthly “AAC Collaboration Corner”. These resources are designed to help educators and families seamlessly integrate AAC strategies into classrooms. By embedding AAC within Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), we not only support students with disabilities but also foster an inclusive environment that promotes empathy, understanding, and acceptance among peers. AAC enriches the classroom experience for all, ensuring every voice is valued and heard. SETC is here to help you harness the power of AAC to promote inclusivity and engagement for all students!
Mark your calendar
Classes & Series
- 10/9, 10/23, 11/6 : Communication for students with complex needs: The key to success (Deaf-blind focus)
- 10/3,11/7: AAC collaboration corner: AAC 101, Leading AAC training
- 10/8: Communication workgroup: Blending perspectives on vision, speech & motor
- 11/5: UDL leadership: Professional
learning and coaching
Webinars
- 10/7: Cultivating the orientation of cultural humility
- 10/9: Empowering all learners: Unlocking writing potential with Book Creator’s accessibility and language features
- 10/10: Technology tools for STEM to reach all learners
- 10/15: Efficiency unleashed: Leveraging ChatGPT for special education teachers
- 10/16: AT chatter: Myth-busting- AT Devices & Services
- 10/17: Study skills apps
- 10/22: Vision accommodations for state testing: SBAC and WA-AIM testing
- 11/1: Team collaboration for Clicker
implementation - 11/5: Facilitating equity and inclusion
with culturally responsive practices
Book Study
- 10/10, 10/24: The Shift to Student Led
Conferences
- Artificial Intelligence Innovation Summit
10/16-18- Seatac and 10/17-19- Spokane - 10/29 and 10/30: Inclusive Learning
Summit (Lynnwood)
AI in action
Highlight reel
Ruby Bridges, one of WA’s 11 Inclusionary
Practice Demo Sites, is a model for how AAC can
support all learners. Students engage with peers in
gen ed settings, where universal communication
supports are embedded school-wide. Check out
the webinar to see these AAC supports in action
and learn about their impact! Visit the IP Demo
Site website for details.
Access for all
Access to AAC is arguably the most important and
straightforward strategy to support AAC users. By
ensuring communication devices are always within
reach, we empower users to express themselves
anytime, anywhere. This promotes independence,
fosters communication, and builds confidence—
helping users engage fully in their environments.
Book nook
A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond. This
beautifully written book gives a peek into the perceptions of an autistic child. It shares the
unique tools that help him to communicate.
Let’s Go Play by Shelby McCarthy. This book focuses primarily on kids’ play and secondarily focuses on some AT Tools and how particular kids use them in play. It also effectively uses rhyming and repetitive phrases to support Comprehensive Literacy for All.