Related Services IEP:

I am creating a course that will be available in March via SpeechTherapyPD, Ethical AI in Speech Therapy: Harnessing the Future with Responsibility, and am including an extensive handout of helpful resources. This includes ChatGPT prompts.

Are you using ChatGPT to assist with lesson planning, report writing, goal creation, emails, etc? 

Would you be willing to share a few favorite and most effective prompts and I will share them in the handout?  - with credit to you of course!

I'm so curious to see how we are using this innovative and exciting platform!

Share your info here: https://forms.gle/qZQe69aVUwR1D8xA6

It's time for another Praxis Prep Question!

Define "least restrictive environment" as outlined in IDEA.
a) Providing minimal support for students with disabilities
b) Placing students in a segregated special education environment
c) Ensuring students with disabilities have access to general education settings
d) Restricting access to educational resources for students with disabilities

Teachers and school administrators want more tech support to meet the needs of students with disabilities, according to a survey from digital learning platform Clever.

Sixty-eight percent of teachers and 51 percent of administrators said they would like more tech support for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans, which provides accommodations and other services to eligible students with disabilities. Those findings are from an online survey conducted between April and June of about 1,000 teachers and 500 administrators who are Clever users.

https://www.edweek.org/technology/teachers-want-more-tech-support-for-students-with-ieps-and-504-plans/2023/09

Environmental Influence on AAC Device Use and Research Insights

AAC devices aren't just about tech; the environment and personal interactions matter a lot, too.

Vocabulary Limits: Many AAC devices focus on nouns, missing out on other essential words. This restricts conversations to basic functions such as requests and leaves out vital functions such as refusing or asking questions. Also, in standard English, creating a grammatically correct and clear sentence using only nouns in the positions of subject, verb, and object is challenging, if not impossible, without resorting to creative or non-standard interpretations. Crafting full sentences with a heavy noun emphasis, therefore, becomes tricky -- if not impossible.

Latency Time: Sometimes, users need a bit more time to find the right words on their device. However, this can sometimes disrupt the flow of a conversation, leading to potential awkward pauses -- which can sometimes cause a partner to interpret, non verbally, what a user might be trying to say.

Helpful, but...: Occasionally, people might step in to assist AAC users finish their thoughts. While the intent is kind, it can unintentionally overshadow what the AAC user is trying to express.

Ways to Improve:

Tweak the Device: Make it user-friendly. With faster word-finding, conversations become more fluid.

Broaden Word Choices: AAC devices should include a variety of core and fringe vocabulary — not just nouns but also verbs, adjectives, and more. Remember: you can rarely create sentences with only nouns, which are often fringe vocabulary words (e.g. YouTube). A diverse word selection paves the way for richer conversations.

Training for Friends & Family: Educating familiar conversation partners to be patient and allow the AAC user to lead can foster a more inclusive communication environment. When a new AAC user starts school, both their family and the school staff should receive training on how to use, model, and respond to the device in relevant situations.

Research Validates This...

There's strong research supporting these points. Works by Beukelman and Mirenda shed light on AAC's nuances, emphasizing the importance of a vast vocabulary and nurturing conversations. Many clinicians concur: understanding and addressing these aspects are pivotal for AAC users to engage in successful conversations.

Happy belated Juneteenth! For those who aren't familiar with the holiday, Juneteenth is otherwise known as the "Black Independence Day," when slaves in Texas learned about their freedom TWO YEARS after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

For those who are interested in discussing this topic in pediatric speech therapy, I included a mini book with Wh- questions to get you started! You can download it for FREE here: tinyurl.com/juneteenthminibook. Be sure to share with your SLP friends!