By Jack McGraw, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador   I am the sort of person who prefers being busy over having nothing to do. Although I love the relaxation that summer provides me with, I tend to become bored easily having little to no work to do in the summer. This summer, I was hoping to do my internship but no such l...

By Jack McGraw, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  My AAC device has opened a world full of independence and opportunities for me. Because of my cerebral palsy, I can hardly control my speech to talk understandably, and cannot control my hands and arms to write and use a computer the typical ways that abled-bodied people do. Fo...

by Darryl Porter, PRC_Saltillo blogger  My Accent 1400, my constant companion A device that enables me to communicate without barrier It helps me express my thoughts, my opinions It bridges the gap between me and the world It empowers me to celebrate my disability with pride, To honor my uniqueness and to embrace ...

By Morgan Smoker, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  Hey everyone, my name is Morgan Smoker. I am known as an infamous Ambassador and the World’s Greatest Photographer! I was born with a rare genetic disorder called Glutaric Aciduria. I have been in a wheelchair since I was four, but I am still so full of life. I have bee...

by Maragaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  July is Disability Pride Month, a national celebration of the disability community’s achievements, history, and experiences, and also an acknowledgment of the challenges faced by disabled individuals each day while navigating life and the world. It is relatively new i...

by Catlaina Vrana, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Trailblazers Using AAC in public is interesting. I have a lot of complicated feelings surrounding this topic. I imagine every user will have different experiences in this area, and perspectives that have probably changed over time. As a teenager, I didn’t really like to us...

By Kerri Adamic, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador and AAC Toastmaster's member I gave a speech for the Toastmaster’s AAC Group recently. PRC-Saltillo hosts this Toastmaster’s group of AAC Users and PRC-Saltillo employees. Toastmasters is an education program that focuses on helping individuals develop skills in various ...

By Nicole (Nikki) Kary, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  I love going into the community with my AAC Device. Not only does it lets me meet new people and they can see how intelligent I am but it also makes people realize that people with disabilities can have thoughts and feelings and that we can have normal conversations. Go...

By Anthony Arnold, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador I’m Anthony Arnold, an augmentative and alternative communicator from San Tan Valley, Arizona. For almost my entire life, I have had episodes with my allergies and asthma. Sometimes, it has been manageable, and other times it has been problematic.  On May 16, 2024, my ...

By Kristy Lipe, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Hello everybody! My name is Kristy Lipe and I'm originally from Memphis, Tennessee but I’ve moved down here to Long Beach, Mississippi with my parents recently . I’m 33 and I have cerebral palsy but that doesn't even stop me from doing much! I've been the Tennessee PRC Am...

By Fadel Rah, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  When I first meet and talk to people in public with my device the reaction is “WOW”, “How does he do that?” and the discussion starts about how I use my device. The excitement becomes even bigger when they know that I am using my eyes to control the device...

By Nikki Kary, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador   Sometimes it can be frustrating to use an AAC Device outside, especially when it's sunny. I am an eye tracking user so I can see my screen, but the camera can't always track my eyes. One of the solutions I've tried is going under a tree with some shade. Also, I have put an...

By Danny Gonsalves, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador   Hey bloggers, I want to tell you what happened to me at Six Flags Over Georgia. I was able to ride all of the rides regardless of my disability. I am happy with this right and I didn’t have to pick a fight. Because I have been to Universal Studios, Disney World ...

By Wayne Roupp, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador    I would like to write a Blog about living at my home. I get to go on only one trip a month. There are 82 residents living at the home. This month (May) we had a dinner dance outside. It is usually a Disney theme. I thought they wouldn't have the Dinner Dance because it h...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  When I was in school, most of the time I was working in a regular education classroom, so I didn't have time to work on life skills. So during the summer, my parents and school team wanted me to learn all of the important life skills. My school aide trained my summer helper on ...

By Kip Porter, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What's worst thing to a soul; Be silent; that's like a voice is in a prison. The gifts Nova Chat and TouchChatHD have come; Gave angelic voice to silent souls. It's like the sweetest sound of the Earth. Set their thoughts free; gifts put their thoughts Into words. Their words cou...

by Matt Huggins, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador In my town there are hundreds of miles of nature trails.  My town got some government funding to pave a small part of one of the nature trails.  Recently some people are opposed to paving because they said it would harm the environment.  I was interviewed for my town ...

by Lyle Bahe, a PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  This is an interview with Lyle and his SLP to discuss the April theme of joking or telling funny stories. Enjoy! SLP: What are ways do you make people laugh?Lyle: sarcasm and teasing SLP: When you are talking to people, do you think you are very serious?Lyle: no SLP: What do...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador There are many times I have felt lucky to have AAC to advocate for myself. I feel lucky to have a way to communicate with my big family and care team using a speech-generating device. I can ask for what I want and need. I can communicate what I am thinking, how I feel, and get...

By Matt Huggins, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador I do believe in luck.  (I am a gambler.) I mainly bet on horse racing.  I went to the casinos a couple of times.  I believe in luck and I am kind of lucky because almost every time I am down to my last bet I win.  And I do feel fortunate I live in this time ...

By: Johnny Scheider, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  I’m so glad that I have a speech device that will talk for me because I have a hard time talking. I learned that using the icons on my speech device is faster compared to typing everything out. You can program any word on your speech device. I learned from my local c...

By: Lyle Bahe, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador This is a conversation between Lyle and his SLP. In what ways do you communicate your feelings to others? Lyle: I talk people. SLP: If you were frustrated at staff, would you tell that staff or would you only tell me?Lyle: You. SLP: How would she ever know about your frustrations...

By: Stefanie Olson, M.S., CCC-SLP         Interview Responses: Catlaina Vrana, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Imagine sitting in a house with a tin roof, in a rainstorm, and being asked to isolate the sound of a single raindrop. What a challenge that would be!  This is the experience some individuals...

By: Matt Huggins, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  As ambassadors and communication device users, we are asked about the ways we express our feelings. I have always communicated my thoughts and my feelings to my family and my caregivers, and to my friends by using my communication device.  I remember one time I told my m...

By: Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Happy New Year! As we embark on 2024, many goals are on my agenda. Being a new author with a debut disability memoir Bold, Brave, and Breathless: Reveling in Childhood’s Splendiferous Glories While Facing Disability and Loss, my biggest goal is to go on a book tour. Since the ...

By: Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It is a new year already, it is time for setting goals for this year. No matter who you are and where you are in life, everyone should have goals to work on during the year. Goals aren't just for school, therapy, or an adult service plan, you can have goals about anything. You can have...

By: Johnny Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger We had our PRC-Saltillo Christmas party at the police station Sunday December 3rd. We had a great turnout. Jennifer invited a music therapist who played Christmas songs. She did great! I asked my dad to take pictures at the party.  My grandma and sister made Christmas cookies...

By: Kristy Lipe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger This is PRC Ambassador Kristy Lipe again! I hope you had an awesome 2023 just like I had! As we’re coming into the Christmas season here are some of my favorite things my family does! We love the Christmas movies such as Home Alone , Grinch with Jim Carry, The Santa Claus and Pol...

By: Ami Profeta, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hanukkah, we celebrate for eight nights.  We light the menorah each night and we recite the blessings. We eat potato lakas as potato pancakes and Doughnuts during Hanukkah. Each child receives a gift each night from their parents and they open it after they light the candles. ...

By: Rigoberto Gaona My name is Rigoberto Gaona. I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I'm also non verbal. I never givin' up on my dreams and my goals. When I moved from Mexico to L.A. I've achieved all my goals so far. From the strength God has givin' me. Some of these goals were my Marathon Racing and working out. Moving out t...

By: Kerri Adamic, PRC-Saltillo Blogger During the month of November, it is time to be grateful for because it is so important for us to think how thankful we are for. Thanksgiving is coming up, so think about one thing to be thankful for.   I know I am grateful for this company who designs these communicati...

By: Wes Burson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Introduction  In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of responsibilities, stress, and the never-ending pursuit of goals and dreams. Sometimes, we forget to take a step back and appreciate the things that truly matter. Gratitude is ...

By: Lyle Bahe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What does it mean to be included to you?   Lyle: It means I can talk to people and I can work. It means people care about me and what I have to say. I have good thoughts and opinions. When people talk about me to each other and don't keep me in the conversation, I get mad and ...

By: Johnny Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One day Jennifer asked me to work at a conference with her and I said I would help. I met a college professor from a college called Athens University and he was nice and asked me questions about my device. I helped with passing out AAC bags to the people who walked out of the conf...

By: Wes Burson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Introduction  As the summer sun slowly fades away and the leaves begin to transform into a vibrant mosaic of red, orange, and gold, the MLB baseball season is ending. there's a palpable sense of anticipation in the air. Fall, with its crisp breeze and cozy atmosphere, is a beloved...

By: Cat Vrana, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hollow Knight is a game made in 2017 by Team Cherry. You play as a cute little bug with horns. Equipped with nothing but an old nail to use as a sword, you explore the underground expanses of Hallownest, gaining abilities, discovering treasures, and fighting other bugs in boss battles. ...

By: Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As the summer draws to a close, I am so looking forward to and preparing for the new, enthralling season of personal and professional milestones set to begin this fall. I am excited to be working with PRC-Saltillo at their 2023 American Speech–Language–Hearing Associatio...

By: Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger   In special education and assistive technology, we have our own language. Families might not understand the language and our sayings. One of them is called descriptive teaching. Now you might be asking yourself what is that and how do we use this with AAC Communicators? Good que...

By: Chris Klein, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It was my freshman year at Hope College and I was in psychology class.  I have met the professor before classes started, but when he asked the first question of the class, he was surprised my foot shot up into the air.  He immediately called on me.  He waited for me to p...

By: Kerri Adamic, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Do you want your child, who is an AAC User, to enjoy the new school year? Here are some of my suggestions for you as a parent, a teacher, or a personal attendant. It’s so important for the child to have the communication device to be charged up in the mornings to take to school ...

By Shannon Pedigo, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is Shannon Pedigo. I’m using an Accent 1400. I have Cerebral Palsy that means that I can’t communicate with people but I found my voice with for years, I had many devices though they didn’t work for me. I found that the Accent 1400 is more compatible then th...

By: Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Wow, it is already time to start thinking about the fall. You know what that means, school is starting soon again. I first wrote this blog three years ago, but I thought that I would reshare this information again. Plus I have some new thoughts and ideas for you to use.   Thirt...

By: Cat Vrana, PRC-Saltillo Blogger “Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a po...

By Johnny Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I thought of having an ice cream social because I like to see how people interact with people that use communication devices -- and everyone loves ice cream!!   My favorite flavor is s’mores.   Jennifer, my local AAC consultant from PRC-Saltillo, contacted t...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In today’s world, so much of society uses video creation for marketing, promotion, and simply entertainment. During my undergraduate and graduate English/creative writing studies at Fairfield University, I learned how an essay, a poem, and all other literary works can take the ...

By Kristy Lipe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello again everybody! This is PRC Ambassador Kristy Lipe from Memphis, Tennessee! A lot of you may have read the blog post I wrote in February about my personal health and fitness journey . But it’s May and I know school is going to get out for summer soon! So I wanted to write a...

By Carrie Elliot, M.A., CCC-SLP My name is Carrie Elliot. I am both an Assistive Technology Specialist and a Speech-Language Pathologist at Seattle Public Schools. I am a cisgender able-bodied white woman and my pronouns are she/her/hers. Power and Privilege Acknowledgement: I recognize my privilege and power as a cisge...

By Daniel Gonsalves, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My bff Campbell and I went to Six Flags Over Georgia and have the best time we could ever had going on some crazy rides.  We got to 6 flags and got on the tram to go to the front, once we were in, we went to get the disability pass for the rides, then we were off hitting eve...

By Lyle Bahe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is AllieJane and I am an SLP. I have worked with Lyle on and off for about 5 years, always seeing him at his DTA (day program). Lyle has eagerly been searching for ways to work and interact with others and tell people about his device. Today, we were talking about his device, some...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Growing up in a family that didn’t believe in letting my Cerebral Palsy stand in the way of my enjoyment and pursuit of life’s extraordinary experiences, I have participated in many unique endeavors. I am a para athlete, using my walker to run road races, triathlons, and ...

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 job...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Camp is coming up next weekend and I'm excited about it. The Kyle Pease Foundation sets it up. The camp is in Winder, Georgia. It's called Camp Wheel Away because we all ride bikes together. That makes it different from other camps. The camp is kind of back in the woods. There are cabi...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger April is National Poetry Month. As a writer who earned my Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction and poetry writing, I traditionally find myself giving public readings of my original poems during this season. As opposed to a prose narrative, poetry calls for specific rhyth...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Anyone that knows me, knows that I love animals. Animals help us and we help them. An example is Tux a horse. I helped him and he helped me. I met Tux at the barn where I rode for therapy. I rode for years and years and he was my horse the whole time. He was a big, white, beautiful the...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I love birthdays. My mom always makes sure mine is the best. My favorite birthday memory is when I had a Harry Potter birthday party. I was fifteen. It started in the bathroom when I got up. It was written on the bathroom mirror that “the birthday chamber has been opened.” ...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger April is the start of the baseball season and nicer weather in Wisconsin. It is also Autism Awareness month and I have been celebrating it since 2009. I have cerebral palsy and use AAC, I don't have any family members who have autism. You might be wondering why I celebrate it? I could h...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What are some things that bother me when I am using my device to talk to somebody?  The one thing I would like people to know is that most computer users don't like it when people don’t let them finish what they are typing before they start guessing what the user is saying.&n...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Another job I would like to do is to be a food critic. I would like to go all over the world and taste different food, rate it and write about it. I could combine all my favorite things like food, travel, and eating out. I could even do this job without traveling very far. I could comp...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In my last article, I discussed chairing and presenting on conference panels using my AAC device. There is an additional aspect of the conference session to navigate after the presentation itself—the question-and-answer portion. I have devised a process that enables me to effic...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Another thing I do with my computer is I have these meetings with people all over the country. We meet once or twice a month on Zoom. We all use computers to communicate. We talk at the meeting about anything. My friend John, who I have talked about before, told me about it. We all use...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Let's talk about road trips. Road trips can be fun and sometimes not so fun. A bad road trip to me is when you find nothing to do except stop for food. A good road trip is when you find places to stop or other fun things to do on the way to your destination. I have had both. My family ...

By Himani Hitendra, PRC-Saltillo Blogger On 4th and 5th March, I attended my first Student Rights Initiative training held by COPAA (Council of Parent, Attorneys, and Advocates) in San Francisco. COPAA is a national peer-to-peer network dedicated to protecting the civil rights of students with disabilities and their parent...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One thing I love to do is watch movies. My favorite movies are the Harry Potter movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Pinocchio. Let me tell you why. I like Harry Potter because I like Ron Weasly and the magic world is so fun. When I was little, my mom and I used to read the book...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Teamwork is really important to me because people can help me do stuff. When you work together, like when I run or play basketball, everybody helps each other and we all get active and get out there. It's also more fun working and playing with others. That way you can share memories and...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My friend John was always outgoing, and his smile was so contagious.  He was always happy.  We met over 10 years ago at a day camp called Camp Team, which was an outside camp.  One summer, his mom was sending him off to overnight camp for the first time, and my mom told m...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I like to bring AAC into my church congregation. I use my AAC device to read scripture on Fridays during Mass. I started doing this a couple of years ago after asking my mom about it. It is a fun way to use your device with a lot of people in your own community.  When I...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I started using my device by just playing with it. My mom called the speech therapist and said, "she is not using it, she is just playing with it." The therapist said, "she is playing with it to see how to use it." The first real thing I said was "fox." My mom asked, "what are you talki...

By John Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, my name is John Schnieder. One day my brother Jacob got us tickets to go to see Josh Blue. Josh is a stand up comedian and I saw him on TV. My brother hadn’t seen him before and he liked him. Josh has the same condition as me, cerebral palsy. I think it’s cool to s...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In mid-February, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, the world’s largest conference on writing, rhetoric, and composition, will take place. This international convention is typically attended by around four thousand graduate students and professors. I have ...

By Parr Burton, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I like sports. I have tried many sports like baseball, basketball, soccer, sled hockey, dance, running races, and horseback riding. Then my friend Matt told me about snow skiing and I gave it a shot. I went to Park City, Utah with my family. I was excited about going. I skied with some...

My presentation went wonderfully! These are some of the questions I got asked.   I would like to thank you for providing me with these very thoughtful questions! I have been speaking to various university classes for years, and these are some of my better questions, and I’m truly impressed. It was my pleasu...

Hello everybody! My name is Kristy Lipe and I'm one of the PRC Ambassadors for Tennessee! I'm in my early thirties and loving every minute of it. I have cerebral palsy but I don't let that stop me at all! I did taekwondo for eight years and I'm a 3rd degree black belt and three time world champion in A T A. And I had the ca...

I think girl talk is important We girls talk about stuff that guys don't deal with. Sometimes we share stuff that's serious and sometimes we share stuff that's silly. Without my computer I couldn't talk and share. I have two cousins, Claire and Chloe. We get together to go to the beach in the summer and at Christmas. At ni...

Hello! My name is Parr Burton, and I will be writing blogs for the AAC Language Lab for the next semester. I’m 21 and a student at Kennesaw State in Marietta, GA.   I have a job at an animal rescue. It's called Mostly Mutts. It's near my school. I work there three to four times a week. My counselor Sarah fr...

‘Tis the season, and it strikes me how many diverse ways that my AAC device has enabled me to partake in classic and unique holiday festivities. Of course, my Accent 1000 helps me to converse with others at gatherings. I love the fact that the device comes with preprogrammed holiday greetings such as “Happy Hol...

In July, I celebrated my graduation from Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. Along with taking those last few workshops and seminars alongside others in the program at our nine-day residency, my fellow graduating students and I each delivered presentations and readings from our thes...

One day my friend invited me to go to her job’s Halloween dance! I got to meet a boy who had a speech device like mine. We became friends at the end of the night! I love to see other people use their device. People can understand me better.

Make Practice Time Fun with Your AAC Learner Score points with the AAC learners in your life with implementation ideas that make practicing with speech-generating devices fun and engaging! Our fan favorite online resources AAC Language Lab® and ChatCorner will help you plan your implementation strategies for success wi...

Forever in Our Hearts as a Friend, Colleague, and Champion for the AAC Community  Passionate. Joyful. Artistic. Fun. Caring. These are just some of the words that are consistently top of mind for Jane’s closest friends and colleagues as they reflect on her life and legacy. Words somehow don’t seem sufficie...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Now that things are more open after COVID-19 closures, I made an AAC summer bucket list with fun activities you can do with your family and friends while using your communication device. Try to get them all checked off and enjoy the sunshine! AAC Summer Bucket List: Go on a p...

By Mindy Thomas, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Using a communication device can be tricky!  Using it on a phone call takes it to a whole new dimension!   Several factors come into play when making a call with a communication device.  For example, does the person getting the call know that the user talks differen...

By Carson Covey- PRC-Saltillo Blogger Since it is summer now and the world is a little bit more open post Covid,kind of, I recommend that you should take this opportunity to meet new people! We all know that our population has a harder time to get friendships going let’s face it. What I found since 2005 is people do ...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger The day before Mother’s Day, my boyfriend Brian and I got a phone call from Brian’s dad, saying that Brian’s Brother Dave had suffered a stroke and was headed to the hospital.  They had found Dave unconscious in his home. It turned out that he’d had several st...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In late May, I presented at Computers and Writing Conference, a national conference that showcases innovations in using technology and digital tools for composition. Though it is typically attended by graduate students and faculty, I started receiving acceptances to present in my fir...

By Jamie Leopard, M.S., CCC-SLP & Melissa Malani, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL Do any of these situations sound familiar? “We are going on vacation to the beach but are not taking the device with us because we don’t want something to happen to it.” “I forgot to charge my device, what can we do in th...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger First of all, I wanted to do this topic for a while. I wanted to wait until school ends. I have been fighting with the school systems in the state of  Colorado because the school systems will not put kids with high tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices in a gener...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Life looks very different in the summer than it does during the academic year. Relaxation, no structure, and summer activities replace formal learning and structured activities, which can result in regression, especially for individuals with AAC needs. Goals and activities that have bu...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I will be graduating from Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program this summer, and I am now in the home stretch of my thesis semester. I think this semester best exemplifies how to take advantage of many of the unique features of my Accent 1000 AA...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I think of the many challenges and frustrations I have to deal with, employment is probably at the top of my list. It is the source of so many other problems. Having a good well-paying job is connected to positive outcomes in so many areas of our lives: more access to better hea...

By - Heather Prenovost, M.S., CCC-SLP & Melissa Hoy, ClinScD, CCC-SLP, PRC-Saltillo AAC Consultants If you have not had a chance to check out the 2022 calendar, it is not too late! In fact, the calendar activities can be used at any time and in any order. PRC-Saltillo's calendar most closely supports the WordPower voca...

By Keagen Sweeney, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Keagen wrote this poem about her favorite snack.  It was sent to Frito-Lay.  They loved it so much, they gifted her with a years supply of Doritos!    Doritos We are friends You greet me You meet me Right where I'm at Salty, spicy, skinny or fat I'm a girl ...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Have you noticed how many disability advocates are there with actual disabilities??? News flash for you guys— there are not many. There is not many even less people that use speech generated devices. There are three different types of disability advocacy. There is self-advocacy...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger For some people, getting back to normal after two years of pandemic isolation means returning to work in the office again, going out to dinner, going to concerts or attending sports events. I like all those things too, but for me, what really matters is that I get to go to an AAC conferen...

Experience PRC-Saltillo’s new AAC Learning Journey website and discover a great variety of resources including eLearning classes and live online instructor-led trainings. From parents looking for ways to help their augmentative communicator to clinicians, educators and other professionals committed to expanding their ...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It seems that autism awareness month is upon us again. I guess I’m being my usual sour contrarian self, because I can’t help but feel a little skeptical and cynical about the whole thing. It seems like a month-long high school pep rally, but I wonder, what exactly gets ac...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger The world is big and not one person can possibly navigate it alone. We all need someone to guide us and show us the way - that person is often referred to as a “mentor”. When we talk about mentorship in the world of AAC, we are often referring to individuals who are success...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger On Monday, April 11th, I was presented with this year’s Fairfield University College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Service Award, an award that recognizes a graduate student who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to and enhancement of a specific program, project, o...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I love to hang out with my big family.  Besides my mom and my dad, I have 3 sisters, 2 brother-in-laws, 6 nieces, and 1 nephew.  Having a big family is fun.  I live with some of my family members in Grove City, Ohio, which is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.  I liv...

By Kym Heine, PRC Consultant, Mississippi Wind-up toys are a fun and silly way to engage your AAC learners with a variety of communicative functions.  Here’s how to get started! Order a 24 pack of assorted wind-up toys from Amazon. Group and store two to three toys in snack size baggies according to the ac...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Happy Spring! Every spring I do AAC cleaning! That consists of looking at every icon and see if I want the same icons, delete pages that I do not use anymore, and the most important, update your personal pages! First of all, you do not have to clean up your device, but I recommend...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger A few weeks ago, I delivered a presentation on disability accessibility and accommodation at the virtual Conference on College Composition and Communication, the world’s largest conference on writing, rhetoric, and composition. This was my fourth time presenting at this confere...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It would have probably been better to write this for Autism Awareness Month, but as usual, my timing is off. I find that it’s better to write out an idea as soon as I have it. I would like to talk about the language surrounding autism and autistic people. Many people believe th...

By Emily Gabrielle, Liberator Ltd Encanto fever has swept our house of late (seriously we’re listening to the soundtrack every day!). We love all the characters – but especially Bruno, the family member no-one talks about due to his misunderstood powers and the perceived havoc they can wreak. As I was writing ...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger How do you view people who have disabilities? How about those who have complex communication needs and use AAC on a daily basis? How do you feel when you see others praising people with disabilities for doing “normal” daily activities? The term “inspiration porn&rdq...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I was in a disabled social group and I filled out a form to meet new friends.  The process took about two years before I was able to receive the letter, because I moved several times and they didn’t know how to contact me. Then, out of nowhere on February 10th 1998, I got a le...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As a now-twenty-five-year-old with no cognitive impairments, I communicate with all of my medical providers myself and even monitor the exchanges between my insurance company and my assistive technology suppliers independently. There are specific steps that I take to ensure that I ca...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Since school is in full swing, this is a perfect opportunity for you to put a goal in your IEP for the use of your AAC! You might be thinking that is work and you are right.  First of all, have you even read your IEP! Here is a thing that I recommend: When you put the AAC goal in...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What is day to day life like for someone who uses AAC? How different is it from daily life for anyone else? What kind of exciting things do we get to do every day to avoid boredom? I think it is a common perception of society in general that people with disabilities, and especially th...

By His Royal Highness Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m often asked the following question: what is the greatest challenge you face as an AAC user? There are many things that makes AAC difficult. There is one thing that I still struggle with after all these years: using an AAC device with multiple communicatio...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi there.  My name is Kim Vuong, and I’m from Long Beach, Calif. Some of you know me already from my role as an ambassador for PRC, which I’ve been doing for the past 10 years. I’ve written blogs for AAC in the past, but now I’m going to be doing it on a more ...

By: Brittany Toney, MA, CCC-SLP, PRC-Saltillo Regional Consultant Behavior. A hot button issue in the field of AAC and speech-language pathology. An SLP myself, that worked in an ABA center for most of my career, I have often wondered why it is such a tumultuous topic. I highly respect my BCBA colleagues, and although we d...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Wheelchair and scooter users: Are you tired of the wait for your manufacturer to fix your chair etc? For those of you guys in Colorado, Georgia, Texas, Ohio,  Michigan, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, Oregon, and California there is the Motor Vehicle ' Right to Repair Act that a...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Most people understand that AAC enables users to participate in social activities and gatherings. So many individuals, though, don’t realize that this technology makes it possible for users to be involved in leading these events. Growing up, I held various leadership positions ...

By Veda Ritchie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger, 5th grader What up my homies, my name is Veda Ritchie. I am 11 years old and I am in 5th grade. My school is really old, it is 94 years old. I love learning new things in social studies and literacy. But, my favorite class is P.E. I enjoy spending my free time with my friends. My frie...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Some of you all might be familiar with Special Books by Special Kids. It’s a series created by Chris Ulmer. He travels around interviewing children and adults who live with various disabilities, and then he posts the interviews on YouTube. I personally find those videos interes...

by Danny Gonsalves, PRC-Saltillo Blogger hey blogs, I’m excited because I have a new communication device and mount which make me happy. I love it better than my last one because I can move the communication device however, I need it to be and where I want it. I am going to go back to school in January and hopefully...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Growing up is a natural occurrence of life that is necessary. However, the necessity of growth brings change which is good yet difficult and, at times, emotional. If you have been around for the past year or so, you know that I have experienced a lot of changes in my life, both persona...

By Wylanta Jones, M.A., CCC-SLP I’m Wylanta, a school based SLP from Arizona and California. Love the 2022 PRC Saltillo Literacy planners! Can’t wait to dive in with some beloved stories about animals and explore the core vocabulary with my students. Some of the books (e.g. Dear Zoo) is a favorite and already i...

By Connie McCafferty, M.A., CCC-SLP, PRC-Saltillo Consultant During one of my recent school team trainings for a young teen with a new AAC device I came across the opportunity to demonstrate the difference between referential and descriptive teaching. For those of you who are not familiar, referential teaching simply refer...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It's a great thing to talk to others. When I have long stories or messages that I want to tell to other people, I program a custom icon under a page set called “my pages.” I use an Accent 1000 with Unity 84 Sequenced, so I keep the personalized “my pages” ...

By Kim, Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger 2021 has been a difficult and frustrating year for so many of us. But as we approach the beginning of 2022, I think it’s important for all of us to remember all the things that we have accomplished this past year, despite the difficult challenge of the pandemic. For example, I&rsq...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I hope that you had a wonderful 2021! Happy new year! This is the perfect time to reset yourself! We all need to grow on our devices yes, even for seasoned users. I am going on my 17th year using AAC and yes, I am literally growing on my device as we speak. I am far away from perfect. ...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of the common assumptions that people make about my use of AAC is that it limits the types of activities and discussions that I participate in. They surmise that I will not want to partake in events that require me to speak for a prolonged period or compose spontaneous responses ...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I think this will probably be the most difficult post I’ve written so far. As I write these words, I have no idea if I will have the courage to submit it for publication. I want to talk about the isolation that many AAC users experience and the accompanying loneliness. I’...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador We are nearing the end of the year and as I reflect on the year’s happenings, I am amazed at how quick the past twelve months have gone by. Time goes slowly when you are experiencing life and its adventures (and challenges), but when you take a moment to look back, it seems as...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello friends, I cannot believe that Thanksgiving has already flown by. Do you want more activities for Hanukkah and Christmas? For those of you who celebrate Hanukkah, have your kids program preprogrammed buttons that say what they want to eat for the 8 nights of dinner. If they can,...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger While we’ve often heard it said that actions speak louder than words. But language can shape attitudes and viewpoints that lead to action.  In the past, the words that society has used to  describe people with disabilities has had the effect of separating them from the com...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As we head into this Thanksgiving week, I’m reminded of my first few years of using AAC as an elementary school student in the early 2000s. School and extracurricular activities—Girl Scouts, sports, church, and more—were always full of conversation about plans for t...

By Michelle Retzlaff, M.A., CCC-SLP The holidays are approaching.  During this time, we find ourselves surrounded by family and friends …and maybe some presents.  Catching up with family and friends means that we may: Say “hello” and “goodbye” a bit more Ask questions to connect...

Recess. Is there any other time at school that children like as much as time spent playing? Children who use AAC, however, face a unique challenge. When playing outside with their classmates, taking an AAC device with them means the device can get broken or lost. But without it, there is no way for the child to communicate...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger At this point, I think I’ve lost track of all the things I’ve written. I’ll probably touch on something I’ve written about before, but it’s probably not exactly the same. Some things are important enough to be repeated. What is real communication? For me...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger There are many false facts about the augmentative alternative communication community  that may interfere with students getting what they need.  One  AAC false fact that always bugs me as an AAC  communicator is all AAC Communicators have a cognitive disability. Mmm,...

By Chesney Ballantyne, M.A., CCC-SLP In my second to last internship during Graduate School to become a Speech Language Pathologist, my supervisor told me, “If you are bored with what you are doing, your students will be bored with it too.” The simplicity and reality of this statement stuck with me and I have ...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Since it is November, family and friends might be coming in for the holidays.  Take this chance to wear out your social pages. What I mean by that  is to start programming your yearly review answers.  For example, what was your favorite part of the year, despite the Covi...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have been mainstreamed since preschool. Classes always involve students reading aloud from course material and their own work. As an AAC user, I never had an efficient way of doing this—if I knew that I would be expected to read my work aloud when I was composing my assignmen...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger For much of our nation’s history, people with disabilities didn’t have the right and the opportunity to live independently and have control of their own lives. The early colonies, in fact, actually tried to discourage people with disabilities from coming to America at all.&nbs...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m not going to pretend to be unbiased here. I have strong opinions on this subject. However, I know in the field of AAC there are few absolutes and no one-size-fits-all solutions. What might be true and applicable to my situation is not necessarily true and applicable to anot...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Right now, I mostly use my device to talk with my parents and close family, like my sisters, brothers-in-law and my nieces and nephew. I use my device to talk with the staff and my friends at my day program called All-R-Friends, and I talk with my therapists, my doctor, and close...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As people experience the many phases that life naturally presents, they grow in ways and learn things that they would not otherwise.  They also meet people who may or may not have a significant impact on who they are and their life forever, even after that specific chapter of thei...

By Johana Schwartz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In foreign language classrooms or study groups, I found allies among the natural communicators. They were interested in my modes of communication. Minspeak, my communication device's vocabulary system, sparked their interest. They approached my natural speech as an ac...

New from PRC-Saltillo: AAC Group Coaching! What is AAC Group Coaching?AAC Group Coaching is an informal, interactive, fun way to improve your communication partner skills by learning along with other parents of children who use AAC. Your AAC Group Coach will lead your small group (generally consisting of 6 parents) through...

by Patrick Fothergill, Ontario AAC Consultant & SLP As an AAC-focused SLP with connections to Quebec and northern & eastern Ontario, among other places, I often hear from people seeking French speech-generating devices (SGDs).  And while they exist, until recently I didn’t think there was anything for fo...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger With back-to-school season in full swing, I’m reminded of the pearls of knowledge about AAC that I gained in elementary school. Receiving my first device in preschool—20 years ago—I learned very quickly that it took me a while to type what I would like to say and th...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger First of all, This blog is not about technology. This is about preprograming sayings if you will. I ran into a heated talk with some people at my step sister’s wedding on July 17th. Long story short some people crashed my sister’s wedding after party. These people talked to...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As someone with a disability who had to learn how to be an advocate for myself, I know how important it is for disabled people to have a voice in society. We’ve had to struggle to be heard by fully-abled people, who may not understand the challenges we face. And ...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My family has had a lot of dogs from yorkies to labs. I’ll be honest i like big dogs better, however my family had a dog named Henry (yes, I named him Henry when I was like a little annoying 6 year old and it actually stuck, surprisingly.) Henry was an interesting little fella. He ...

By Maria Rivera M.S., CCC-SLP & Kirk Behnke, M.Ed., ATP Back to school is such an exciting time for both kids and teachers! Some kids will feel nervous or even a little scared because of all the new changes: new teachers, new friends, and maybe even a new school! However, some kids may feel even more anxieties because ...

By Beth Browning, Jennifer Herzog, Megan Kunz, Morgan Mayfield, Samantha Strong, Jenny Vallier, and Nicole Wingate Communication partners play an integral piece of the success of the AAC communicator.  Awareness of the features of a communicator’s AAC system makes it possible to share new language information to...

By Lance McLemore These terms have troubled me for a long time. I’ve done a cursory search to try to understand what they mean. I haven’t been able to find precise definitions, but I think I can definitely see a pattern. It seems to me that a person is considered high or low functioning depending upon how clos...

Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Are any of you looking for employment? Have you thought about actually getting a job? Yes, even those of us who use speech generating devices can be a productive member of society. The world needs our population to be working. I don’t know about you all, but recently I have been us...

By Johnny Schneider In my neighborhood the city is doing a new playground I emailed them asking if they can put In a adaptive swing for me! They order the swing . Every day I go over there to check out the park process. They’re doing a good job! They said the park process is taking longer than expected.

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger From the time I received my first AAC device at four years old—about 20 years ago now—I have continuously sought ways to optimize my efficiency for using my device for communication and, as I grew older, for working on the Windows side of the device. Certain functions of...

By Danny Gonzalez, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It’s Danny G.  The pass few months been rough on me because first I wrecked my van, and I was injured from that but not too bad.  I failed Spring semester because the class was just too hard online. I needed to be in the classroom for this class.  Also, I been g...

by Koolla Tang & Debra Lee  It's great to interview you today about the impacts of AAC on social interaction. Can you tell us about yourself and your AAC journey? I’m Siobhan Daley, I'm 21. I live in Newcastle and I'm the AAC ambassador at Liberator. I've been using AAC my whole life from sign to PODD book...

By Leanne Husk, Educational Technology Instruction Specialist When new concepts, like coding, start to become more and more prevalent in curriculum all over the world, the folks at Bridges Canada only have one question: How do we make sure it’s accessible for ALL? That’s the question we asked ourselves a littl...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m sure that I have addressed this topic to a limited extent in a previous blog post, but I think it deserves more attention. I have to preface this post by saying that I understand that most people supporting an AAC user have the best of intentions. I understand that most of ...

Presented by Kim Vuong to the City Council in Orange County, CA Good Evening Honorable Mayor and Council Members:My name is Kim Vuong and I live in the 2nd district.  I also am a member of the Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Disabilities for the city. A couple of months ago, I saw a post on the new beach playgr...

By Liz Heisler, MA, CCC-SLP, PRC-Saltillo Consultant AAC goals are hard, right? They have to be specialized just because the client has an AAC device. You can only use an AAC goal bank and you have to see a lot of success to show growth. These statements are all FALSE! Writing AAC goals can be easy! As SLPs, we can get so...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In a few days, I will be starting my nine-day residency as part of Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. This semi-annual retreat has been moved online due to the pandemic. Students attend workshops, seminars, and student-faculty meetings among...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Using your device in your community Since COVID-19’s requirements are lifted for most of the states, now is a good time to brush up on your AAC skills in your community. You might be rusty on your community skills since March 2019 because I know I am. Like I said before preprogr...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I had my old Vantage for 8 years. It was broken and I had outgrown the device. It had a cracked screen and was being held together by duct tape. When we submitted approval for a new device in 2010, my funding source kept denying the funding for a new device. I set up a meeting an...

By Sarah Waldman, M.S. CCC-SLP As a bilingual speech-language pathologist working with young kids who are developing language, I constantly hear the misnomer that we should only focus on teaching them English. “They are already delayed in one language, so it will be confusing to immerse them in two different language...

By Kirk Behnke, M.Ed, ATP It is with great sadness to convey that Joy Zabala passed away on July 1. If you attend to any social media around assistive or accessible technology, I’m sure you have seen the countless tributes to Joy as a person and a fierce friend and colleague to so many. I was fortunate to have worked...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Last year I had to come home from school in March due to COVID. I got furloughed from my job at Urban Cookhouse because of it and I had literally nothing to do which sucked because I like to be on the go. However my older sister and one of my brothers had to move back home because their ...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Here comes another installment of “What Grinds My Gears” from your friendly neighborhood grouch. It certainly seems like all of my posts are the rantings of a grouchy constipated octogenarian, but I think there’s a place for such things. I would like to talk about s...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger From the time I received my first device at four years old until fourth grade, my mother and my speech therapists asked me to think ahead on what I would like to say for presentations so that they could work on programming my device beforehand. When I took over programming my own dev...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Before you continue to read this, I would like you to take a minute and think about how you usually show others that you are interested in getting to know them, being involved in their lives, and having a conversation with them.  What would be the first thing that you would say to...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is Kim Vuong.  I am the community liaison at Tichenor Clinic for Children in Long Beach, which provides therapy for young clients up through age 18 and support for their parents.  I started out as a volunteer at Tichenor, and after two years was hired as a staff member....

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo blogger Do you know that there is an easier way to program? Click your edit button 2. Click a button 3. Click the add button and click on store text button 4. Go out of edit mode 5. Write out your message up top. Click share text button and hit continue Click a button Watch my video if yo...

By Wylanta Jones, CCC-SLP Playground AAC boards have swept social media over the past couple years. Core boards are so much easier to access and print in a variety of ways that AAC folks have been spreading them far and wide along with a message of inclusion. You can get a ready to go unit from PRC, you can print something...

By Sofia Blunt, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Today at school, my aid and I were talking about how tired we were. Then she said, “Wouldn’t it be cool, if we could take a quick nap?” Then I had an idea! If I were Principal, I would tell all the students to wear pajamas to school because we would all take naps. Napt...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What happens when those who use AAC grow up and become adults? What happens when they have new experiences that form them into a more dynamic person than they were when they were a child? What do you do when people who have known you for your entire life still think you are a child bec...

By Mike Hipple  My mom and I started volunteering at our church with Sunday school a few years ago. Our goal is to show people, children and adults that a person who has a disability can teach and understand about God and Jesus too. At our church which is huge, they don't have a special needs program for children who ...

by Margaret Moore,  PRC-Saltillo Blogger In past articles, I discuss using PRC-Saltillo’s Accent 1000 as my Windows 10 tablet as well as my speech device and alternating between the joystick of my motorized wheelchair and PRC-Saltillo’s Look eyegaze module to operate it. To illustrate this process in great...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have no idea if this topic will be of any interest to anyone, but I’ve been asked about it before. Some people have asked me what goes on in my head when I communicate. I think I’ll try to explain it as well as I can. First, I want to preface my post with a few things ...

By:  Anthony Ordile, M.S., CCC-SLP – PRC-Saltillo Regional Consultant, New Jersey In the world of AAC, there’s nothing like new device day. The box comes in the mail, and whether it’s a first device or a replacement, there are lots of feelings. It’s exciting to crack open the box and pull out s...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have been working on getting the police department in my city of Long Beach to have a community forum to discuss the training and protocols dealing with people with disabilities.  Ever since I watched a video on how the Florida sheriff has trained with autistic people, I wanted to ...

By Sofia Blunt - PRC-Saltillo Blogger You’ll never guess what happened last night! My black cat, Dot, gave birth to TWO kittens, in my bedroom closet. I didn’t even know she was pregnant. She gave birth at night when I was sleeping, and I didn’t even hear her! In the morning when my sister, Charlotte, we...

By Kip Porter, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Everyone has a friend called Mom,Who looks after us all along.Since the day of our birth,She forgives our errors and forgets.And never stops to love us,Even if we continue our mistakes. For more Poetry, visit Kip's blog - KipPoems

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger People are always looking forward to new technological innovations and ways to improve products. As a society, we always think about “new and improved” technology as being great and better than ever before. In the world of AAC, we are constantly thinking and looking for the...

Reviewed by Johana Schwartz - Ability Now Blogger An invitation for you to network on the frontlines of the field is yours to download, a click away, and currently occupying Amazon’s top selling slot in Hearing Sciences. The second volume of the series, Becoming an Exceptional AAC Leader, presents the state of the al...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of my favorite comedians is George Carlin. I admire his very blunt, scathing, and witty social commentary. He has a very funny routine in which he lambasts the use of soft language. In his routine, George talks about how our use of language changes over time. It gets sanitized a...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I don’t know about you guys, but after sixteen years of experience with AAC, I noticed that I grew greatly with my device. When I got my first device, I despised it! I never used my device other than in my speech therapist’s office. My therapist threw me into a group of two...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger A 2020 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Fairfield University, I am now in Fairfield’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. I am a PRC-Saltillo Ambassador, an intern for a book press, Woodhall Press, and associate editor of Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose. With p...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have been an AAC user for almost 20 years due to my Cerebral Palsy. As my disability only affects me physically, I have been mainstreamed since preschool. I am a 2020 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Fairfield University with a degree in English/Creative Writing, and I am currently an M...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello my friends, Do you know that you can open your favorite apps with one click on your device. Step one pick a page and a button that you like to edit. Step two hit edit and click an action. Step three when you click add action you should see a drop down menu and click open app....

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m assuming that many people who read this blog are familiar with the LAMP method. In case you are not familiar with it, it is a therapeutic approach for teaching language. LAMP Words for Life is a language system designed to follow this approach. The LAMP method has 5 compone...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I was younger, people did not understand me. I got my first AAC device at 5 years old.  This helped me finally communicate with other people.  When using AAC, choosing the right communication device is important.  My first device that I had was not a good fit...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of the hard things about the pandemic is that it has disrupted many of the traditions that we’ve developed in our lives. We all have events that we look forward to going to each year, and return from with some happy memories that we can think back upon. For my boyfriend and me,...

By Mike Hipple Stop me if you have read or heard this before from a co-worker or a family member: This child has too many challenging behaviors to use a communication device. They won’t understand the device at all. They will break it or kick it. End of discussion, right? Hell no! That student—or an a...

By Indrani Solomon, PRC-Saltillo Blogger and Mom The United Nations honors March 21st every year (3/21) as World Down Syndrome Day. This year’s theme is CONNECT. We CONNECT so that we can: Share ideas, experiences and knowledge Empower each other to advocate for equal rights for people with Down Syndrome and Rea...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger We all know that your AAC voice needs to talk with other technology pun intended. The Amazon’s Alexa made that goal happen years ago. Now you can bark out orders with your device. What I found that the Amazon devices are very picky about how you say her name. She will not listen ...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger About a year ago I was in Atlanta at the Georgia half marathon with my mom. I met up with my long time friend Shanna, who has a facility dog for the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. I started playing with Derek ( her dog and yes , his name is Derek Shepherd), and I realized how much I would l...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As humans, we tend to get so caught up in moments and the current chapter of our lives that we are in that we do not often think about what the next chapter has in store. We get comfortable in our routines and physical places that were a part of the current chapter and when that chapte...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m a member of a group on Facebook that’s made for AAC users primarily, although anyone can ask questions and comment. I won’t disclose the name of the group. I recently saw a post that caused me to get irritated, and I thought I would devote this blog post to disc...

By Kip Porter, PRC-Saltillo Poet You may follow someone who has the power.You may follow the path of power;But unleash as the power is within you.You never know let someone might follow you;Know about your real power, and you will win big in life.Understand that you have that will to strive;Realize your power in life!

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Last November, we elected a new President, Joe Biden, and whether or not a person agrees with his political views or policies, he’s clearly remarkable in one important way. President Biden is a stutterer, a challenging disability for a person in public life who has to give speeches,...

Virtually Impossible Possible A High-Tech, High-Touch Approach to AAC in the Age of COVID: 
How one school-based SLP conquered challenges with a ‘hard drive’ and determination By Jami Slotnick It was Friday the 13th. Specifically, March 13th, 2020—a cold and blustery Philly day and I was halfway home ...

By Brittany Toney, M.A., CCC-SLP, Saltillo Consultant We made it to 2021! So what now? You are unsure whether or not your children will ever go back to school; meanwhile you are trying to navigate teletherapy with your child who uses an AAC device. Although I have heard from some caregivers that this time at home has been ...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Tips and tricks Welcome to 2021 finally!!! Over sixteen years of AAC experience I found some tips and tricks. You can put a password on the device to prevent unexpected editing. When someone first start using a device you can gray out pages and or buttons to make the device less b...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I am a person on the autism spectrum. One thing that I’ve thought about and heard other people talking about is the issue of eye contact. Most people will be aware that many people with autism have trouble making eye contact myself included. I know many autistic adults who talk...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As we enter the new year, I am forced to reflect on the last twelve months. We have all experienced many challenges and changes this year. Whether it be telletherapy, remote learning, remote teaching, or navigating balancing responsibilities of working and helping your children with re...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It’s important for everyone—including people with disabilities--to wear a mask while we’re trying to get COVID-19 under control.  But as a person with cerebral palsy, I find that wearing a mask can make it even more of a challenge to communicate verbally. Fortunate...

By Michelle Mineo, M.S. CCC-SLP, PRC Regional Consultant for Central Ohio and Open Territories I decided post 40, with no real experience as runner, that I wanted to tackle a half marathon, 13.1 consecutive miles.  Several very slow 5Ks later, I thought “I can do this.” But I had no training partner, no i...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger First of all, I like to use my device to communicate.  But to be honest with you, I do not like using my device all the time.  When people do not understand me or do not have patience with me when I’m using my device, I feel frustrated.  I am good at using my...

By Valerie Susnick, MS CCC-SLP, PRC-Saltillo Regional Consultant As a PRC-Saltillo consultant, and previously an AAC evaluator, I have had the opportunity to work with many teams. Over the years, I have found that the ease of technology paired with the desire to foster success, has often prompted teams to jump in and start...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger We all know that AAC needs more awesomeness! My goal is to leave a legacy for AAC! If you have an opportunity to bring awareness, do not pass it up. What I do is talk about AAC mostly. I talk about what AAC is, what devices I had, and of course my experience. Since cases of COVID are g...

By Danny Gonzalez, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I am going to talk about how theme parks handle people with disability and how they handle the disability people and the rides.  Some places handle the disabled people good then others they do a not so good job. I been to a lot of different parks where people just did not care a...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger For years, I did all my grocery shopping the old-fashioned way, by traveling to the store and going up and down the aisles, picking out the items that I wanted and putting them in my cart.  But like so many other things in life, my shopping habits have been changed by the pandemic. ...

By Yusa Liu, SLPA What caught my attention were all of the students' various AAC systems in front of them as they sat in a half-circle around my speech-language pathologist (SLP) supervisor. On my first day at my SLP-Assistant (SLPA) internship, I observed a beginning AAC-literacy lesson in a public elementa...

By Ayleen Armendariz - PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I lost my mom at the age of 10 years old, I was sad and mad because she didn’t listen to me. I told her not go to back to the house knowing that my dad was there. However, when she went back to the house, I knew I wasn’t going to see her again. In the movie, Ridi...

By Lily Huston, PRC-Saltillo Blogger, AAC user and graduate student for an M.A. in Assistive Technology By all accounts, I acquired spoken language on schedule. Early, even. I certainly was reading early, devouring books until everyone accepted that little Lily always had her nose in a book--in the car, snatching a few wor...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at a few conferences over the last couple of years. I have a presentation in which I talk about the difficulties AAC users have in forming relationships, and I have taken parts of it to use as inspiration for this post. For me personally, the b...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As we close out AAC Awareness Month 2020, I cannot help but reflect on my experiences within the AAC community, as both an user and professional. While I was growing up, I had no idea what I was going to do as a career nor did I ever think that the career that I would end up pursuing w...

By Alisa Lego - The Imperial Candidate for Masters in Science of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at San Francisco State University Our students want to connect with us and the world around them just as much as we want the same for them. Through communication we are able to join each other in our worlds to connect a...

By Cory Peters, M.S. CCC-SLP Yes that is right….the AAC word. Being a consultant for an AAC company, I live AAC daily. However, this was not always true and not true for everyone. Like most SLPs I went to a graduate school that trains all about assistive technology in a 3 credit course over the summer. Therefore, it...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Have you ever tried to order stuff or make appointments on the phone while using your devices?  Here are my tips I have that could help. First, do some research on what questions the organization will ask you. Next, make a PREPROGRAMMED page and make sure you start with the statem...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger “The Fundamentals of Caring” Movie review Starring: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez This is my first time writing a movie review.  I watched this movie recently, and not only did it make me laugh it, made me proud.  It made me proud to know that ther...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of the most important things that you can advocate for yourself is voting. Voting is a right and a privilege. If you are of voting age, you should take the opportunity to do it.  You may think that your one vote isn’t important, but it matters a great deal. Our democratic s...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Over the past few years, I have had many opportunities to converse with people interested in AAC: parents, teachers, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, other AAC users, etc. I tend to get asked many of the same questions repeatedly. Because of time constraints it&...

By Jane Odom, M. Ed, PRC-Saltillo, AAC Language Lab Training and Implementation Specialist The AAC Industry is quite small in comparison to other industries.  We serve a unique population of clients.  When a student is deciding what path to take for their future, I highly doubt, AAC Specialist is even something t...

By Stephanie Faso, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I am sure you have heard of racism?  Also, you've probably heard of sexism, classism, and heterosexism/homophobia?  You've, however, probably not heard of ableism, or if you have, you might be wondering what it really means. Ableism?  What in the world is that word?&n...

By Brandon Bubba Patrick Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi, my name is Brandon Williamson.  I use an integrated Accent 1000.  When the world shut down from COVID-19, I had to start doing my therapies online.  I use Zoom for all of my virtual sessions.  Instead of using a ...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As I reflect on this year and all of its unprecedented happenings, I cannot help but think about how widespread the impact of the COVID has been on the AAC community. Not only have SLPs, AT/AAC specialists had to navigate treating clients through a computer screen, which was traditiona...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello this is my blog. Wow, it is already time to start thinking about the fall. You know what that means, school is starting soon again. I wish I could see the future to tell you if your school will be in person or Online in the fall, but no one can. No matter if we will have in person...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, my name is Kim Vuong, and some of you may know me already, since I’m an ambassador for AAC. I work as a speech aide at the  Tichenor Orthopedic Clinic in Long Beach, Calif. and I also serve on the Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Disabilities in Long Beach, and&nbs...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger This will be my first blog post, and I have chosen to write about something that has bothered me for quite some time. It has been inspired by a few conversations I’ve had with some people and my own experiences. AAC stands for augmentative and alternative communication. Over th...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi everyone, my name is Carson Sylvan Covey. I am a Colorado native and proud of it! I have periventricular leukomalacia or PVL. This is damage to the white matter of my brain. To say it in a more simple way, I have cerebral palsy. I have been using AAC for 15 years. I'm an ambassador ...

By Johnny Schneider, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When people don’t understand what I’m saying I use my device to help me to speak with others . My device has helped me get my words out.  When I started using a device I would spell everything out. Now I’m using the icons to get faster. I love using my device...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In 2016, I had surgery on my brain, in hopes it would help me walk and talk. The surgery was called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). The doctors predicted that I would either improve motor response by more than 20%, or not at all.  After my surgery, the doctors switched on my DB...

By Ben Bond, Speech Pathologist (VIC), Liberator Pty Ltd I was walking around a corner the other day and I ran into someone. The bad type of running into someone, the type where you bang heads and get coffee spilt on you. With coffee on my shirt, I grumbled under my breath and offered a brisk apology and went on my not-s...

By Danny Gonzalez, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Being a disabled person, I have watched a T.V. show named Speechless.  This TV show is about a boy that is in a wheelchair and cannot talk. He uses a low-tech communication tool. It is a letter board, and he uses his head to point to letters in order to spell out the words. As f...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger This week, I will be back attending college full-time again.  Long before our lives had been impacted by COVID 19, my spinal cord injury had caused me do some rethinking.  And attending college was something I decided to put on hold last year.  But since I usually like...

By Jane Odom, M. Ed, AAC Language Lab Training & Implementation Specialist The AAC Language Lab has always tried to provide those supporting students using AAC with a variety of tools they can use to help their students be successful communicators.  What we have found is that language is more than just used for si...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Life without a way to communicate is very difficult. Communication devices are such a blessing and have opened the world for so many, including myself. My first device was the Vanguard II. In the beginning I did not use it to communicate, but only to write stories. One day I discover...

By Christine Horn, PRC-Saltillo Blogger “Do not judge me before you know me. Do not underestimate me until you have challenged me. And do not talk about me until you have talked to me.” – Unknown I have been volunteering at the TGR Learning Lab since May 2016. Over the course of these four years, I ...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Life has become very different today.  With everyone feeling uncertain about the future, people appear to be anxious and impatient.  Maybe that is why there are so many grouchy and apprehensive people walking around ready to point a suspicious finger.  If you go out in...

By Ami Profeta, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, My name is Ami Profeta. I would like tell you about my work experiences. I worked for a security company. I entered all of the paper work for the new security officers. I interacted with my colleagues a little bit. We hung out in the break room. We talked about sports. The 76&rs...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In my lifetime, I have had two things happen involving my nose.  Last year I had surgery on my neck.  But before surgery, the doctor wanted to check my vocal cords. He explained that he was going to put a scope into my nose that would go down my throat to look at my vocal c...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’ve had a lot of teachers that I’ve loved but nobody is like Ms. Oatts . She was my Home Ec teacher this year and she’s the most hilarious, laidback, disorganized person which is my favorite kind of person because I’m all 3 of those things. We had to cook in her ...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I would like to tell you about my brother, Cameron.  Even though he is seven years older than me, you’d never guess it.  Our relationship is like most brothers.  And like most good brothers, Cameron includes me in all kinds of things.  He takes me to Starbuc...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I used to live in Mexico with my mother. I have complex needs due to my cerebral palsy that require attention, and so I was always with her. When I was ten, my mom brought me to stay with my older sister Rocio in Phoenix so I could go to an orthopedist.  She returned to Mexic...

By Mattie Matlock, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello my name is Mattie Matlock and I have been on a communication device since I was three years old and I am 35 years old now. I am the kind of person that who loves to teach other people about the communication devices, before I get into what I want to teach, let me tell you what...

By Liz Heisler, M.A. CCC-SLP,  PRC-Saltillo Consultant As a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and as an assistive technology consultant, I often get feedback from communication partners (e.g., anyone who interacts with the person using the AAC system) of our AAC users such as, “He’s just playing with the d...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One day my dad and I were sitting on our outside swing talking and enjoying a peaceful evening. We could see our neighbor’s calves calmly grazing in the pasture to our left. Some were off in the field walking around; and many were simply laying in the grass. I was showing my da...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger There are a lot of people who I love. But there is nobody like my favorite grandma Jamie ( momma if you read this you are better than Jamie) anyway Jamie was my IEP teacher, she’s also a family friend. She stands up for what’s right for me, she also believes in me. She doesn&...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger On a bright and early Saturday morning, I greeted the day by jumping out of bed.  You would think that I was a morning person, but you'd be wrong.  Mornings aren't my thing since my day normally begins around noon.  And getting up early on a Saturday...well...that's ju...

By Lauren Opipari, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi everyone this is Lauren again with another blog. I am keeping busy with texting and using the computer to stay in touch with everyone. I have been attending meetings using Zoom. My best friend, Lauren Y, had a Zoom birthday party. We played Birthday Bingo over the computer and I g...

By Chris Sawka, PRC Saltillo Blogger On days when we have all kinds of time to watch tv and movies, what do you think we should watch? The entire Harry Potter collection- I love seeing the school for the first time. I love all the magic we saw the first time. Ron, Harry and Hermione made good friendships. They even got ...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I was six years old, my speech therapist recommended me to have an evaluation with Mid Missouri Assistive Technology in Mount Vernon, Missouri. I tried multiple types of communication tools during this evaluation.  As she watched me, the therapist told my parents that my sp...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I had some great high school experiences and wanted to share some memories with y’all. My freshman year, we had the first fire drill of the year and I was upstairs , I didn’t know what I was supposed to do so me and a teacher decided to get on the elevator to go downstairs t...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It is amazing how you can think that something is all over, and then life can completely switch to a new way of living.  We can choose to change with the times or fight against the changes. Recently, my life has had a ton of changes. But one of the good changes was that we rec...

By Kristy LIpe - PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Hey everyone!  I'm Kristy Lipe, I'm twenty-nine years old and I have cerebral palsy .   And, that is due to the lack of oxygen I had when I was born .   Thankfully though I think and understand everything like a normal twenty-nine year old does!  I'm a ...

By Chris D. Yensan, MA, CCC-SLP If you’re a speech therapist, you’re probably creative.  It seems that more often than not the SLPs I know and work with have come up with some incredible and original solutions to complex problems time after time, from making adaptive styli for an AAC device to creating ori...

By Krista Howard, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is Krista Howard.  I am an AAC user. I am in My 30s.   I was in grade school in 1990 to 2005  I need to share this uplifting story about me. I had been through a lot in my life. I am going to share something that is important to me. I am going to tell my st...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have always been fascinated by color.  Did you know that the human eye is able to see color because light produces different wavelengths and energies?  A simple experiment using a bright light, a prism, and a sheet of paper will demonstrate this perfectly.  If a brig...

By Cortney Maholtz, M.A., CCC-SLP By now you probably know that we communicate in a lot of different ways…with verbal speech, with our facial expressions, with gestures, or with an AAC device. Today, I want to talk about gestures. But not the normal gestures you are probably thinking of right now, like waving or poi...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger & college student “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, and I’m feeling good’’ -Nina Simone.  This describes my feelings as the state of Missouri begins to reopen.   I long for my original life. Each year is l...

By Chris Sawka, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, my name is Chris Sawka and I am working on my writing to go to the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.  I am writing about my life and how my life changed with Assistive Technology.  When I was younger, I didn’t want to use an AAC device because I thought I was d...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Assistive technology has changed my life. My aide showed me what iPhones can do, like read a website for me.  The iPhone can read Instagram and Facebook, making it possible for me to hear what influencers and the people I care about are saying. It keeps me connected to my fam...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My brother is very talented musically, and for many years practiced his musical talents with piano, drums, and the guitar. Cameron also enjoys playing many different styles of music. Because of that, I have a broad appreciation of all sorts of music.  Last year I had spine surg...

By Lauren Opipari, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi, my name is Lauren and I am excited to be writing my first blog. I am very excited to be able to go out and do lots of things again once we can be around other people again. We really don’t know when all this will be over. I am very excited because even though High Point, wh...

By Kelly Savage, AAC Consultant, Liberator Australia Let’s be honest! Who isn’t freaking out just a little about doing AAC therapy via Telehealth? This #stayhome scenario is challenging! We are all under tremendous levels of stress at the moment; worrying about the world and finding a new routine for ourselves ...