Image 1: CoreScanner by PRC.
in mind. While most have a scanning option, the systems were not organized or designed for switch users. The device layout can seem arbitrary; linear scanning can take too long, and row/ column or block scanning can be organized randomly. Our users that cannot see the icons within a group must memorize which words are within each row or block to most effectively navigate through the device to communicate. If the language is not organized in a meaningful way, it can be difficult for users to remember where vocabulary is stored making communication more time-consuming. The Idea As part of a multidisciplinary team, the idea started as a way to figure out how to best support a new AAC user. We started with a student named Corinne, a 10-year-old female with a complex medical history. She’d just received a new communication device and had never used auditory scanning with head switches for access. Her device was an Accent 1200 with CoreScanner (see Image 1) by Prentke Romich Company (www.prentrom.com). We chose CoreScanner as the vocabu- lary because, at the time, it had just been released and was designed with scanners in mind. The speech-language
pathologist, assistive technology professional, and music thera- pists all worked together to come up with a plan for teaching scanning, facilitating language development and helping our student learn the location of the vocabulary within the device. The team determined that since music was highly motivating for this student, and it was a common teaching strategy that
Image 2: BIGmacks with recorded drum and cymbal sounds
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