Indiana AAC Summit 2023

This is the 8th year for our annual conference, which brings together educators, therapists, administrators, parents, and AAC communicators for networking, sharing resources, celebrating successes, and working through challenges.

A Certificate of Attendance will be provided at the end of the day.

8:00 AM Registration - Register for the 2023 Summit at the IMMI Conference Center

8:30 - 8:45 Welcome - Welcome to the 2023 Indiana AAC Summit by Beth Waite-Lafever and Beth Browning

8:45 - 9:45 Session 1 - Facilitating Friendships with AAC Students: Are we doing enough?

Presented by Dr. Erna Alant, PhD

This presentation highlights the importance of dedicating time to enhance friendship development between and with students who use AAC. The concept of friendship and different types/levels of friendship is linked to the process of meaning-making in interactions. Self-other awareness, empathetic listening and social skills training as well as their pitfalls will be discussed as a backdrop to promoting social closeness in children. Practical guidelines will be provided throughout.

10:00 - 11:00 Session 2 - Welcome to the AAC Jungle! Creating A Communication Ecosystem in School

Presented by Rachel Butler, MS/CCC,SLP, and Leslie Powell, M.Ed CCC-SLP, ASDCS

It’s a jungle out there! How do you take AAC from just speech sessions to classroom use? How do you get buy-in? How do you go from communicating requests to communicating for academics? Where do you even start?! The whole team: SLPs, OTs, PTs, teachers, peers, and parents, need to accept and work together to clear a path through this jungle. This presentation will detail strategies for the student to have a variety of communication opportunities throughout their day highlighted by case studies, examples of co-teaching, and opportunities for peers to be communication partners.

11:15-12:15 Session 3 - Communication Journey for a Student who is Deaf-Blind

Presented by Landra Wedick, BA, and Lily Lannon, MA, CCC-SLP

Elias is a 13-year-old student who was born deaf-blind. When he started middle school he had a very limited co-sign vocabulary and had been introduced to a tactile schedule. Through collaborations with the Indiana Deaf-Blind Project our team is developing and implementing a robust tactile communication system with Elias. We have discovered that every time we raise the bar he meets it and have recognized that as educators we sometimes are the barriers to his communication progress. We will share our experiences, challenges, and successes to support Elias in his journey to be an independent and autonomous communicator.

12:15-1:00 Lunch Break

A box lunch, with gluten-free and vegetarian options, will be served at the IMMI Conference Center. Special dietary needs? You're welcome to bring in your own lunch and drinks.

1:00-2:00 Session 4 - What's the Goal? Supporting Emergent Communicators with Meaningful Goals and Data Collection

Presented by Kim Hurley, MA, CCC-SLP

Emergent and multimodal communicators present unique challenges to school and clinical staff. Developing and tracking meaningful goals can guide therapy and instruction so that the individuals make real, functional, progress towards becoming better communicators. This session will use case studies and discussion to present a variety of assessment and data collection strategies that support developing meaningful goals AND developing SNUG (spontaneous novel utterances).

2:15-3:15 Session 5 - Social Skills Groups: Increasing Community Capacity & Knowledge of AAC

Presented by Conner Edwards, M.A. MPA

While AAC skills are primarily taught in the classroom or clinic to users who are familiar with systems and people who have complex communication needs, how can we expand these users’ access to their greater community? The answer lies in educating the areas that surround these communicators. Join us while we discuss how to build greater community capacity and competence in supporting people with complex communication needs by partnering with local organizations through meaningful social skills groups.

3:15-3:30 PM Closing

Prizes & Goodbyes with Beth Browning and Beth Waite-Lafever