SpeakUP
April 2015
The official publication of USSAAC
United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication
SpeakUP is
back!
CMS Update for
Capped
Rentals...pg 2
Chris Klein:
Relationship
Building
Through
AAC...pg 5
AAC Summer
Camps: Find the
best one for
your child...pg 8
USSAAC Board of Directors
Executives
Chris Klein
President
Robert Conti
VP Finance/Treasurer
Lateef McLeod
President Elect
Pat Ourand
Past President
Alisa Brownlee
Office Manager
Yoosun Chung
VP of People who use AAC
Pat Ourand
VP Professional Affairs
Representatives
Chris Klein
President
Gus Estrella
Midwestern Region
Ashley Harmon
New England Region
Wendy Ouach
Western Region
Joseph Novak
Northeastern Region
Rose Sevcik
ISAAC Liasion
Open Position
Mid-Atlantic Region
Lewis Golinker
AAC Advocacy Director
Open Position
East Central Region
Glen Mososo
Southeastern Region
Lisa Timm
Great Lakes Region
Page 1
www.ussaac.org
CMS Update
Everything you need to know about the current state
of the capped rental ruling
What happened in 2014?
AS you may know, the
speech generating device
(SGD) “world” was turned
upside-down in 2014. First,
in February, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) issued what
they called a “coverage
reminder”. This was
supposed to “clarify” the
National Coverage
Determination (NCD) that
since 2001 had allowed for
the coverage of devices with
a variety of non-speech
generating functions (such
as telephone and internet
access) AS LONG AS those
functions were locked at the
time the device was
purchased for the Medicare
beneficiary. In fact, it
represented a drastic
change. The “coverage
reminder” meant that
Medicare would not cover
any devices that would have
non speech-generating
capabilities over the life of
the device, and that
manufacturers would have to
get their devices certified
accordingly. As a result of
an outpouring of alarm and
grassroots advocacy
(including a letter signed by
more than 50 members of
Congress), CMS retracted
the coverage reminder in the
fall and opened a period for
public comment; more than
2000 people provided
www.ussaac.org
comments for CMS’s
consideration as they craft a
new NCD.
Second, as of April 2014,
SGDs became classified as a
category of durable medical
equipment subject to
“capped rental”. That means
that people who typically use
Medicare to fund their device
don’t own the device until
after a thirteen month rental
period has ended. Because
users don’t own it
immediately, manufacturers
have interpreted this as
being unable to offer
unlocking until the conclusion
of the rental period. During
each month of the rental
period, the medical need for
the device and eligibility for
Medicare coverage must be
re-certified. Medicare
beneficiaries who go into
hospice, skilled nursing, or
who have an extended
hospitalization may fall into
the “place of service”
limitations – settings where
Medicare does not provide
any coverage (for any
durable medical equipment,
not just SGDs).
The third blow to the SGD
community was a change in
Medicare reimbursement
practices. Medicare stopped
paying manufacturers for eye
gaze systems, even though
there was no expressed or
written policy change. Some
manufacturers are owed
hundreds of thousands of
dollars for equipment already
delivered to SGD users; their
ability to continue to do
business is jeopardized.
Where are we today?
On January 30, 2015,
Representative Cathy
McMorris Rodgers (R, WA)
introduced legislation known
as H.R. 628, “The Steve
Gleason Act of 2015”, a bill
“to amend title XVIII of the
Social Security Act to provide
Medicare beneficiary access
to eye tracking accessories
for speech generating
devices and to remove the
rental cap for durable
medical equipment under the
Medicare Program with
respect to speech generating
devices.” To read the bill, go
to https://www.govtrack.us/
congress/bills/114/hr628/text
You will note the bill does not
fix all the problems we
encountered in 2014, but it is
a start to an improved CMS
policy. It has been
endorsed by a variety of
professional and consumer
groups, as well as SGD
manufacturers. In the lawmaking process, a
companion bill must also be
introduced in the Senate. On
March 27, 2014, the Senate
Finance Committee majority
member Senator Enzi (on
behalf of the sponsor,
Page 2
Senator Vitter) brought forward the Steve
Gleason Act for a vote to include as an
amendment to the Senate's budget bill.
Senate Amendment 1028 was
unanimously passed. Again, although the
Steve Gleason Act is far from perfect and
it still must pass the Senate and the
House in separate bills, it represents the
best opportunity so far to realistically have
things change with Medicare and CMS.
Just recently, advocates have learned
H.R. 628 may be attached to a much
larger piece of legislation that has to pass
through the Congress within the next few
weeks. That legislation is designed to
reform how physicians are paid through
Medicare. Again, although The Steve
Gleason Act is far from perfect, it
represents the best opportunity so far to
realistically have things change with
Medicare and CMS.
Art through AAC
My name is David
Chapple and I have
quadriplegic cerebral
palsy. I have relied on
the power of an
augmentative and
alternative
communication (AAC)
device for many years.
With the use of AAC I
earned a Bachelor’s
degree in Computer
Science at Cleveland
David Chapple
State University. After
graduating I was hired as a Software Engineer and
Remote Troubleshooter for an AAC device
manufacturer. However, recently I have discovered
two new artistic talents: painting and writing.
On April 2012 I moved to Austin, Texas to be with the
love of my life Kate. After relocating I had the great
privilege of being involved with two organizations,
Opening Minds, Opening Doors, and Imagine Art,
which helped develop my artistic and creative side.
As a proud part of the Opening Minds, Opening
Doors program at VSA Arts Texas, I wrote personal
What you can do?
stories that
promoted selfPlease continue to follow this issue, and
advocacy. I
be ready to contact your elected officials!
present these
Even if the Steve Gleason Act passes,
personal
there will be work to do. When the
stories at
comment period opens for the proposed
conferences
NCD, be ready to submit comments! You
throughout
can follow this issue on
Texas. I am
patientprovidercommunication.org as well
also a
as through the American Speechmember of a
Language-Hearing Association, USSAAC,
community of
and other advocacy groups.
David painting with his headstick
artists with
disabilities at Imagine Art studios. When painting, I
Amy Goldman, MS, CCC/L is a USSAAC member use a specially modified headstick with a paintbrush
and a member of the Medicare Implementation
attached to the end. The Imagine Art staff and other
Team, an ad hoc group of AAC stakeholders,
artists support and provide feedback about my
many of whom have been involved in Medicare’s
artwork. It is there that I have gently crafted my
coverage of SGDs for decades. It is an open
forum for interested parties with primary goals to
uniques artistic abilities.
In addition, we understand that CMS has
a draft of a “new” NCD that is circulating
internally. We don’t yet know what it
says. In any case, when CMS is ready, it
must be open for public comment.
advocate for the rights of people with complex
communication needs to access communication
technologies across environments and to share
information.
Page 3
View artwork or request speaking and writing services from
David at www.speakingartfully.com
www.ussaac.org
USSAAC's New Webinar Series
Funding for SGDs in 2015: Updates and Implications
for the AAC Community
Save the Date:
April 8, 2015 @ 7 p.m. EDT
Presented by: Lewis Golinker, Esq., AAC Advocate
Coordinator: Amy Goldman, M.S. CCC/SLP
USSAAC Committee: Lateef McLeod (Chair), Sarah Blackstone,
Lisa Timm, & Wendy Quach
The AAC community has good reason to be confused about recent shifts to funding policy for
speech generating devices (SGDs) in the United States. Public funding and private insurance are
being impacted by changes in the law and major policy shifts. For example, ongoing confusion in
Medicare policy has created significant harm to Medicare beneficiaries who require access to
SGDs and/or SGD accessories. Changes have occurred in other funding programs as well and are
likely to continue and be impacted by Medicare’s new National Coverage Decision (due out in July,
2015).
This is the first in a series of webinars USSAAC will offer during 2015. We begin with a focus on
funding issues because these concerns affect ALL AAC stakeholders.
The webinar will provide a brief update on Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance funding for
speech generating devices in an effort to help people with complex communication needs, family
members, clinicians, educators, administrators, distributors, etc. understand what is happening.
Part I (April 8th from 7 to 8 p.m. EDT) will focus on the current “state of the practice”. Part II
(sometime in June) will continue the discussion and provide additional updates.
Future USSAAC webinars will focus on other topics of interest to participants in an effort to build
awareness and collaboration among USSAAC members and other AAC stakeholders.
Participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance as well as during the webinar.
Please register as soon as possible. To register, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/
register/2885030915589029634
American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association (ASHA) CEUs in speech-language
pathology and audiology are awarded by the
USSAAC CE Registry upon receipt of the CEU
Participant Form from the ASHA Approved CE
Provider, USSAAC. CEU Participant Forms are
available onsite at Registration. ASHA CEUs are
provided to full registrations. This program is
offered for up to .1 ASHA CEUs (Introductory,
intermediate)
www.ussaac.org
Page 4
YOUR AD
HERE!
Become a corporate member or advertise your company
today!
Contact: Michael O'Leary ([email protected])
Want To Become A USSAAC
Member?
Visit our website for membership information:
www.ussaac.org/memberships.cfm
Page 5
www.ussaac.org
Thank You to Our USSAAC
Corporate Members!
www.ussaac.org
Page 6
How to Build & Maintain
Relationships with AAC
By Chris Klein
This is why it is essential for
speech-language pathologists
(SLP) to give their clients the
tools they need to
communicate.
BUILDING and
maintaining
relationships are
two of the most
crucial skills in
one’s life. It is a
challenging task
for any individual
and yet a
requirement to
function normally
in society.
Communication
allows us to form
delicate personal
relationships,
whether through
Chris Klein
gestures, facial
expressions, spoken word, or
augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC). Neither
a simple friendship nor a longlasting partnership can survive
without healthy and effective
communication between both
parties.
Among the diverse population
in the AAC community we
encounter a wide range of
communication disabilities.
Some individuals, like myself,
have physical limitations;
others may have cognitive
issues. People with Autism
Spectrum Disorder may not
fully understand that
interpersonal communication
can be one of the most
enriching and essential aspects
of life. Nevertheless many
people that use AAC are no
Page 7
different from the rest of
society. They want to build and
maintain relationships.
However impaired
communication skills often
become a major barrier in this
endeavor. Today’s society is
fast-paced and leaves little
room for those who interact at
a slower speed. People with
communication disabilities
have a difficult time initiating
and engaging in conversation
with others. Those with little
exposure to people with these
difficulties may not have the
patience or understanding
required to engage with them
in conversation. When a
person can’t effectively
communicate he or she has no
chance to express their
feelings and ideas, which is the
key to connecting with others.
The first duty of a SLP is to
advocate for and promote the
use of AAC systems and
intervention strategies that aid
the user to communicate to the
best of their abilities. However
the question for AAC support
teams often becomes, “Where
do we go from here?” AAC
users often have many
different obstacles and
influences that affect their
ability to successfully
communicate; such as work,
school, family members, or
other professional services (i.e.
OT, PT, or teachers) Each
vying for input on what they
think should be in the AAC
system (i.e. academic
vocabulary that only targets
curriculum objectives, yet
excluding other vocabulary
useful for communication in
non academic environments).
This is where the influence or
decisions of others rather than
the AAC user becomes the
dictator. These decisions
become the end goal and
suddenly communication
develops into something
different. Communication
changes from being about the
user’s language abilities to
meeting only the educational or
basic functional communication
www.ussaac.org
expectations (i.e. basic
medical requests).
whatever device he or she
decides to use.
The question becomes, “How
do we ensure appropriate and
adequate communication
occurs for AAC users?” Janice
Light describes adequacy of
communication as an
adequate level of
communication skill to function
within a specific environment.
She emphasizes that this does
not imply a total mastery of the
art of communication.
Light further
breaks down
the linguistic
component into
two sections:
micro and
macro skills.
Mastering
language can
be viewed as
an automatic
process
involving these
“micro” and
“macro” skills.
The macro skill
process begins Chris communicating with his AAC device.
with a person
having in his or her mind what
that they may encounter.
they want to say. The brain
then accesses its
The next step is to master
“communication aid” (i.e. the
automaticity for core word
tool used to communicate),
order, known as “core syntax”
and maps out the motor plans
or grammar. Learning how to
for the tongue to physically
put words together requires the
move and produce words. The
experience of combining words
micro-skills relate to the
for communicative purposes.
reading, writing, listening and
Appropriate grammar adds
speaking skills required to
structure to vocabulary
receive or produce the
mastery and allows for the
message
AAC user to clearly state their
thoughts and ideas.
To build operational and
linguistic competence one
From there one masters core
should have automatic access
morphology (Brown, 1973).
to at least one hundred fifty
Core morphology is the access
core vocabulary words. Core
or mastery of different word
Vocabulary is a small set of
forms or endings (i.e. present,
words in a given language that present progressive, past or
is used 80% of the time in
future tense). AAC users that
conversational speech. This
are able to master core
vocabulary consists of about
morphology are able to provide
400 words (pronouns, verbs,
a greater level of meaning to
adjectives, etc.) and is
the listener during a
consistent across ages,
conversation. It allows the
environments, and activities.
user to explain when and to
Access to core vocabulary
what extent something
allows the AAC user to
happened.
produce versatile sentences
Light discusses four
competencies underlying this
definition of adequate
communication: linguistic,
operational, social, and
strategic. She further analyzes
these competencies by placing
them under one of two
components. The first
component is the knowledge
and skill in the use of the tool
(AAC system) which includes
the linguistic and operational
competencies. Light labels the
second as the functional
knowledge and judgment in
interaction that includes the
social and strategic
components.
The linguistic competency is
comprised of form and use., In
my opinion as an AAC user,
linguistic competency is crucial
in developing progress in
communication abilities.
Without simultaneous access
to a broad range of core
words, one is unable to
communicate or develop
adequate language. Given the
most important thing to a
person that uses AAC is to
communicate to his or her best
abilities, we need this linguistic
component to be there on
www.ussaac.org
that can be used in any given
situation. This way they are
prepared for any conversation
Page 8
In addition one must master
core pragmatics, the basic
social interactions that one
uses during a conversation.
This allows the AAC user to
ultimately
develop full
operational and
linguistic
competence.
These
experiences in
building
communication
develop one’s
social
competence in
tandem.
use AAC need access to every
day language.
While core vocabulary is a set
of words common to a given
These four
skills,
automaticity
using core
vocabulary, core
syntax, core
morphology and
core pragmatics,
form an
interconnected
web of abilities
Chris and his wife enjoying a trip to Orlando, FL
all of which are
necessary for effective
language, extended or fringe
communication. Core
vocabulary is typically specific
vocabulary is essential; without to an individual. Fringe
it one cannot begin to develop
vocabulary is the remaining
language skills. As mentioned
20% percent of words that we
developing language skills and use which are specific to a
developing social skills go
conversation or topic. (i.e. the
hand-in-hand. This speaks to
word “molecule” is specific to
the necessity of the use of core science). Unfortunately, in a
vocabulary and the diversity of
large number of instances
language that one is able to
more fringe vocabulary is
produce with it. This is why a
present than core on a user’s
SLP’s should utilize core
AAC device. This causes a
vocabulary in their AAC
major problem and another
evaluations and treatment.
obstacle for the AAC user to
Language, in itself, isn’t the
overcome. Those using the
ultimate goal. The ultimate
devices do not have enough
goal is to take advantage of
access to language critical for
one’s language skills and use
back and forth conversations,
them for social interaction and
which in turn impedes their
writing. As such, people who
ability to foster relationships.
Page 9
So how can teachers or SLPs
incorporate language and
social skills into their teaching?
First, the SLP must ensure that
the AAC device has core
vocabulary accessible in
easy to teach arrangements.
These arrangements need to
be well coordinated with the
morphology and syntax of
the user’s native language.
Next, the SLP must make
sure that the therapy
activities focus on the use of
the AAC system across
multiple environments. For
example, the therapists may
decide to have therapy at a
clinic one session and in the
community on the next. This
allows for the AAC user to
generalize skills across
various settings. Finally, the
SLP must develop activities
during speech therapy that
allows the client to
demonstrate developmentally
appropriate language in
measurable ways. One way
to track progress may be using
Brown’s Morphological Stages
for milestones (Brown, 1973).
Also constant modeling of
morphological and syntactic
structures by the therapists or
teachers can be a powerful for
mastery.
This is the first of a three-part
article currently in preparation for
publication by USSAAC. A
preliminary version of the whole
paper was delivered at ATIA
(Assistive Technology Industry
Association) Conference, 2015.
www.ussaac.org
Make the Most of Summer
AAC summer camps provide opportunities for
social interactions
PITTSBURGH, - The AAC
Institute will host its fifth annual
AAC Summer Camp, a
weekend-long experience for
non-speaking or severely
speech impaired children who
use augmentative and
alternative communication
(AAC) devices to talk. The
camp, which will take place at
the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh
South from July 29-August 1, is
designed to give these children
and their families the
opportunity to interact with
Closing ceremony at the AAC Institute Summer Camp
other children using AAC
systems, while building their
The program will culminate in a Institute Summer Camp was
language skills through fun and fun-filled science excursion to
launched in 2011 and each
entertaining activities..
the Carnegie Science Center in year hosts 20 or more campers
downtown Pittsburgh. Using
with disabilities accompanied
“Children who rely on speechtheir high-tech AAC devices,
by one or more family
generating AAC devices to
the campers will put their
members. The camp is made
communicate rarely get the
science skills to the test and
possible by the support of
chance to interact with other
complete various exciting
dozens of volunteer
children who also use these
experiments.
undergraduate and graduate
devices,” said Katya J. Hill,
speech-language pathology
Ph.D., executive director of the According to Dr. Hill, “Children students, AAC professionals
ICAN Talk Clinic/AAC Institute with communication challenges and generous sponsors and
in Pittsburgh. “Our camp
are part of the community and
donor contributions.
promotes their ability to
need to develop the language
communicate effectively with
skills and confidence to talk to
The AAC Institute is a national
their peers and non-AAC users people using their AAC
organization that offers many
in a safe and welcoming
systems wherever they go in a free and low cost resources to
environment.”
variety of situations.”
users and AAC professionals to
support achieving high
The theme of this year’s
ICAN™ Clinic will staff the
performance communication
summer camp is: “Under the
event for the AAC Institute.
with AAC devices.
Microscope” with a focus on
ICAN™ Talk is headquartered
language and AAC skills for
in Pittsburgh and is a not-forFor more information, visit us
learning and enjoying science. profit outpatient clinic
on www.icantalkclinic.com or
All camp activities will enhance specializing in providing speech Facebook www.facebook.com/
the participants’ speech and
and language therapy to
pages/AAC-InstituteICAN-Talklanguage skills to explore
children and adults who rely on Clinics/
science, technology,
augmentative and alternative
engineering and math (STEM). communication. The AAC
www.ussaac.org
Page 10
2015 AAC Summer Camps
Camp Jabber Jaw
Authentic Voices of America
When: June 1-5
Where: Mississippi State, MS
Mississippi State University, T.K. Martin Center
for Technology and Disability
Contact: Laurie Craig
Phone: 662-325-1028
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.tkmartin.msstate.edu/projects/
jabberjaw.php
When: July 19-23
Where: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Campus, Whitewater, WI
Ages: 12-21 years
Contact: Dan Price, Camp Administrator
Phone: (262) 472-3169
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.uww.edu/ce/camps/othercamps-events/authentic-voices
Camp ImpAACt
AAC Institute/ICAN™ Talk Clinic Camp
When: July 6-10, 2015
Where: Ellis School of Atlanta
Ages: 5-14
Contact: Jennifer Kelley
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ellisschoolatlanta.org/
camp-impaact/
Building Bridges Camp & Training
Institute
When: July 10-15
Where: Boulder Creek, CA
Ages: 5-17 years
Phone: (650) 696-7295
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.bridgeschool.org/camp
Talking with Technology Camp 2015
When: July 19-24
Where: Colorado Easter Seal Society's Rocky
Mountain Village, Empire, CO
Contact Felicia Hardney
Email:[email protected]
Fax: Attn: Felicia Hardney (720) 777-7169
Website: http://www.childrenscolorado.org/
events-community/events/talking-withtechnology-camp-2015
Page 11
When: July 29- August 1
Where: Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South
Ages: 5-21 years
Contact: Evelyn Meinert
Phone: 412-402-0900
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.icantalkclinic.com
Camp Alec
When: August 9-15
Where: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Contact: Gina Cunningham
Email: [email protected]
Camp Chatterbox
When: August 16-22
Where: Camp OakhurstMonmouth County, NJ
Contact: Joan Bruno
Phone: (908) 301-5451
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.campchatterbox.org
www.ussaac.org
My AAC Story
How AAC gave me a voice and career
By Yoosun Chung
entered my
doctoral
program, I
unfortunately
never knew that
AAC devices
even existed. I
came to
understand that
promoting
awareness in the
public is a very
important issue
in the field of
AAC. I feel very
fortunate that I
can teach
classes using my
AAC device and
have been
invited as a guest
speaker in other
classes and
various
organizations to
promote AT,
Dr. Yoosun Chung
including AAC, to
share my knowledge and
MY NAME IS Yoosun Chung experiences.
and I am an assistant
professor of special education I was born with cerebral palsy
at George Mason University
which affects my verbal speech
(GMU). I teach several
and mobility. I have always had
graduate special education
difficulty speaking with my own
courses mostly related to
voice, especially in English. I
Assistive Technology (AT). On am originally from South Korea
top of that I am also benefiting and I lived there until I moved
from AT as I am an
to the United States for college
Augmentative and Alternative
and better career opportunities.
Communication (AAC) user.
As one who uses English as a
second language there is no
I have a bumper sticker that
doubt that I am much more
reads “Silence is not golden;
fluent in Korean. However
silence is unnecessary”. It is
when I find myself in stressful
absolutely true. Before I
situations it is difficult for me to
www.ussaac.org
speak to others regardless of
the language.
Before I entered the AT field in
my doctoral program I studied
computer science for both my
bachelor’s and master’s
degrees. In the midst of
selecting my doctoral career
path I decided to change my
major to AT because I’ve
always had a desire to make
an impact in the disability
community. Prior to using my
AAC device I was very quiet in
school. I essentially kept my
mouth closed for the entirety of
my undergraduate and
graduate years. I began to
accept this common situation
as my destiny. I told myself
that destiny cannot be
changed, so there was nothing
I could do, but accept it.
However, after using my AAC
device, I realized that my
destiny can change through
strong willpower and a little
help from my AAC device.
I intially had an internal
dilemma about whether or not
to use an AAC device. In
previous decades some
professionals claimed that
children would opt for the “lazy”
method of communication and
would not push themselves to
learn speech once AAC was
provided. At the time this was
also my thought which sparked
an unnecessary personal
dilemma. I feared I would
never be able or have the
courage to speak in public with
Page 12
my own voice if I relied too
much on my AAC device.
Because of these concerns I
was not sure whether using
AAC was the ultimate solution
to overcome my speech
deficits. Thankfully my thoughts
and fears were misguided, as
several current theoretical and
applied research findings have
shown that successful
experiences with AAC can be a
great motivation for the use of
natural speech. This motivation
is exactly what happended to
me! I became more confident
communicating while using my
AAC device in addition to my
own voice. I would like to
emphasize that as speech is
one of many communication
methods, using AAC is an
important alternative for people
who have difficulty speaking
naturally.
When I was offered a teaching
position after earning my Ph.D,
I hesitated whether I would
choose to accept. I thought,
“How could I teach students at
the collegiate level? I know that
when I am nervous I cannot
speak a single word.” As my
decision neared, I reassured
myself that I have a strong
educational background, I have
my AAC device, and I am
proficient in using presentation
tools like PowerPoint. That’s
when I came to the conclusion
that I do have the confidence
and ability to successfully
teach. I thought about Dr.
Stephen Hawking. He
completely lost his verbal
speech abilities, but because
he has effectively used AT and
AAC, he is able to present and
give lectures all over the world.
Of course I do not claim to be
smarter than him but I thought,
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“If he can do it, I can too.” With
this mentality, I have now
educated countless students at
GMU for many rewarding
years.
The history of my experience
with AAC began at the Closing
The Gap conference in 2000.
This conference focuses on AT
for people with various abilities
and it is held in Minnesota
every October. This was my
critical for me. The Closing The
Gap conference, gave me an
actual hands-on opportunity to
try the various types of AAC
devices. Luckily for me, I found
an AAC device that fit all of my
needs.
I chose an alphabet based AAC
software program because I
could type what I wanted to say
at a fairly rapid speed.
Basically, the program transfers
Dr. Yoosun Chung teaching students at George Mason University
first time attending a national
conference and I was amazed
by the AAC devices available. It
was then that an idea flashed in
my mind, “I might find a useful
device to meet my
communication needs!” From
the start of my doctoral
program I struggled with
acclimating myself into my new
career path. Studying in the
education field was a brand
new endeavor. Not only did I
have to present final projects,
but I needed to contribute my
own personal interpretations of
topics in class discussions. I
had to find a way to thrive in the
doctoral program which is why
using an AAC device was so
all of my typed words into
synthesized (computer
generated) speech. For my
face-to-face classes, I would
type all of my lectures in the .txt
format prior to my 2 hour and
40 minute classes (sometimes
even for all day classes). Once
I prepared the “teaching script”
for each class session, my
lectures become the same as
any other college professor’s.
The only difference is that
instead of using my natural
speech, my AAC device did all
the talking for me along with my
PowerPoint slides.
My AAC device has two
additional features, “side talk”
www.ussaac.org
and “instant phrase”, aside from
reading aloud my prepared
“teaching script”. In the event
that a student asks me a
question or if I have something
additional to say, the “side talk”
feature allows me to type
sentences on the fly. “Instant
phrase” allows me to save
phrases that I most often use in
class. The phrases include
“Let’s get started.”, “Any
Dr. Chung receiving her PhD.
questions or comments?”, or “I
knew somebody would ask this
question, so I prepared in
advance.”, etc. Another instant
phrase which I do not want to
use, but sometimes have to is
“Technology is great only if it
works!” I use this sentence
when an unexpected
technology problem occurs in
class due to the nature of my
AT-related courses.
www.ussaac.org
I want to strongly emphasize
that my AAC system, is perfect
for teaching classes and
presenting at conferences.
However, it is not practical for
small meetings or instant
conversations because I first,
need to get out my heavy
laptop, then turn it on, and
finally load the program. This
process definitely takes some
time. I always wanted a
portable and
ready-to-use
communication
device. I tried
several different
types of PDA
style
communication
systems.
However, after
trialing them, I
gave up,
because my
hand was not
functional
enough to
manage the
small buttons.
just bring my iPad. However, I
must confess that I do prefer
using an external Bluetooth
keyboard because it is much
faster for me to type with than
the onscreen iPad keyboard.
Based on my personal and
professional experiences
working in the AT field, I would
like to assert that AT, including
AAC, can make impossible
things a reality. Who could
have imagined that I would
become a professor who
teaches graduate courses in
English at a university in
America? It could not have
been possible without my AAC
device. Nobody, including
myself, would have thought that
I would be able to thrive in this
now wonderful situation that I
have created. Without
hesitation I can say that I have
everything: lovely people
surrounding me, a Ph.D.,
communication, a rewarding
career, good health, and even a
disability.
After the iPad
Photos by: Craig Bisacre, George
was released I
Mason University
finally found
something that I
could effectively
use as a portable
communication
system. The iPad
has larger keys, compared to
earlier PDA communication
systems allowing me to operate
it accurately. I utilize several
AAC apps that allow me to
type-and-talk. With them, I
simply type what I want to say,
and talk instantly. Also, the app
saves my most frequently used
sentences. It makes me so
happy to not have to lug my
heavy laptop around. Instead,
when I attend a small meeting, I
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www.ussaac.org
Upcoming Conferences
2015 Clinical AAC Research Conference
When: October 9-10, 2015
Where: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Website: http://www.aacinstitute.org/CAAC/index.html
Closing The Gap
When: October 14-16, 2015
Preconference Workshops Oct. 12-13, 2015
Where: Bloomington, MN
Website: www.closingthegap.com
Phone: 952-835-7800
2015 ASHA Convention
When: November 12-14, 2015
Where: Denver, Colorado
Website: http://www.asha.org/events/convention/
ATIA 2016
When: February 2-Febuary 6, 2016
Where: Orlando, Florida
Website: http://www.atia.org
Toll-Free: 877-OUR-ATIA (687-2842)
E-mail: [email protected]
www.ussaac.org
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