Sheldon, E., & Hartmann, A. How to be an AAC supporter - Assis- tiveWare . https://www.assistiveware.com/learn-aac/how-can-i- help-be-an-aac-supporter Karimi, L. (2024, February 9). Erika Fundelius - Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Educa- tion. Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education. https://ecps.educ.ubc.ca/erika-funde- lius/ Light, J., & Mcnaughton, D. (2015). Designing AAC research and intervention to improve outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs. Augmentative and Alternative Commu- nication, 31(2), 85-96. Hayden, N. K., Bradshaw, J., Hayward, S., Murphy, J., Boa, S., Eden, V., Mischo, S., Pampoulo, E., Macrae, A.-M., Reid, J., Darvell, C., Lauer, N., Mundt, I., Clark, L., Nagawa, M., Duner, A., and Talk- ing Mats Research Network (2023). Summary of Talking Mats Studies. Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2015). Social narratives. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spec- trum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Samuelsson, J., Holmer, E., Johnels, J. Å., Palmqvist, L., Heimann, M., Reichenberg, M., & Thunberg, G. (2024). My point of view: Students with intellectual and communicative disabilities ex- press their views on speech and reading using Talking Mats. British Journal of Learning Disabilities , 52, 23–35. https://doi. org/10.1111/bld.12543 Singer, B.D., & Morgensen Jennifer. (2021). Getting students to Self-Advocacy—Step by step. In ASHA LeaderLive. https://doi. org/10.1044/leader.ftr1.26082021.32 Taub, D., Wakeman, S., Saunders, A., Thurlow, M. L., & Lazarus, S. S. (2019). Using the least dangerous assumption in educational decisions (TIPS Series: Tip #6). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, TIES Center. Walker, H. M., Calkins, C., Wehmeyer, M. L., Walker, L., Bacon, A., Palmer, S. B., ... & Johnson, D. R. (2011). A social-ecological ap- proach to promote self-determination. Exceptionality, 19(1), 6-18. Wehmeyer, M. L. (2005). Self-determination and individuals with severe disabilities: Re-examining meanings and misinter- pretations. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Dis- abilities, 30(3), 113-120.
ing big and small moments of the week, and lets us focus on positive changes and actions as opposed to supporting strug- gles. With emphasis on encouragement, staff are more open to receiving feedback, asking questions, and seeking advice when we do use in the moment coaching. It has easily become my favorite time of the week to see how proud someone is of the work they are doing. CONCLUSION: While the above outlines what we are doing to address the need for a comprehensive approach to self advocacy compe- tence, we still experience barriers and find ourselves thinking about where to go from here. We may have found the ticket to empowering our classroom staff to try to use skills in the natural environment but we haven’t yet unlocked that for all communication partners in our students’ broader communica- tion circles. We continue to develop a flexible curriculum that allows us to move with the challenges that present themselves so that we place value on providing meaningful and impact- ful learning opportunities. For our future goals, we look to seek out opportunities to work towards peer to peer interactions, strengthen the message of presumed potential, and create more meaningful opportunities for our students to practice their self advocacy skills. REFERENCES: Brady, N. C., Bruce, S., Goldman, A., Erickson, K., Mineo, B., Ogle- tree, B. T., Paul, D., Romski, M., Sevcik, R., Siegel, E., Schoonover, J., Snell, M., Sylvester, L., & Wilkinson, K. (2016). Communication services and supports for individuals with severe disabilities: Guidance for assessment and intervention. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 121 (2), 121–138. Burkhart, L., Mussel White, C. (2001). Can We Chat? Co-Planned Sequenced Social Scripts. Litchfield Park: Special Communica- tions. Finke, E. H., Davis, J. M., Benedict, M., Goga, L., Kelly, J., Palumbo, L., . . . Waters, S. (2017). Effects of a Least-to-Most Prompting Pro- cedure on Multisymbol Message Production in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Use Augmentative and Alter- native Communication. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 26(1), 81-98. doi:10.1044/2016_ajslp-14-0187 Geist, L., & Erickson, K. (2022). Robust Receptive Vocabulary Instruction for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities Who Use AAC. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 54(4), 296–304.
Hartmann, A & Sheldon, E. (2019). Just Ask: What we can learn from AAC users. [Blog post]
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