Presenting

By Krista Howard, PRC-Saltillo Blogger

I love to present at conferences. It gives me purpose in my life.    Conferences make me build my confidence to be a great SLPA (speech-language pathology assistant) some day.  Everyone knows me after my presentations so I get other presentations and consulting jobs in the future so I can develop more  job opportunities. Therefore, conferences are also marketing for me!   

I have presented at conferences  like  Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA), Closing the Gap (CTG), and many more. I love to go to conferences.   I am also going to the ISAAC conference  (International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication) in July 2023. I am going to present three sessions and develop friendships.  I present many examples of my life.  For example, writing is hard for me because I  have a learning disability.  In addition, I  didn’t get great  instruction in writing while I was  in school.  I explain about my struggles when I do presentations. 

I want to be better everyday. That is another reason why I do  the sessions at conferences.  I am teaching educators to model, model, model!  I talk about how I  model and help speech therapists with their sessions.  For example, I support literacy groups using the Readtopia curriculum.  We teach  reading, writing, and communication.   I am also talking about volunteering at Out & About. It is a group of AAC users and their families.  We go places like the mall or a park.  Finally, I describe how I am consulting with a few school districts.   

I prepare notebooks for the sessions and presentations.   I create notebooks such as: My  AAC Life, Big Support AAC, Then and Now.  I also have my game notebooks like Words That Match, Treasure Hunt, and Find This. I use them with my clients.  It is easier and faster for everyone for long conversations.  I also create slides for the presentation so I can keep track of my many notebooks.  

When I present, I make a difference in people's lives.  It also motivates me to reach my own goals and dreams. People look up to me for advice and opinions. My life is not perfect but presenting about my life makes me stronger.   

AAC helps me express my feelings and thoughts and lets me have a voice so I can impact the world. You can do this too.  AAC helps you become a successful person!  Conferences can  help you in your career paths.