Tag Archive: eye gaze

Fresh Look: AAC for Children Who Have Rett Syndrome with Dr. Theresa Bartolotta

May 23, 2013 by - 19 Comments

Fresh Look: AAC for Children Who Have Rett Syndrome with Dr. Theresa Bartolotta

In our SLP training programs, few of us learned about Rett Syndrome or how to provide services to children with that disorder. We’re so pleased to have a guest post on AAC services for children with Rett by Dr. Theresa Bartolotta, Director of Assessment in the Office of the Provost, and Associate Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology, at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, New Jersey. An SLP with over 30 years of clinical experience, she specializes in communication disorders in children with significant disabilities with a special interest in autism and Rett syndrome. Our field is still learning about Rett syndrome and we are still discovering new things about the range of skills and abilities present in the children who have it. In this post, Dr. Bartolotta gives us some background about the syndrome and discusses implications for treatment. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to post... [Read More...]

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The ‘Real’ Pre-requisites to AAC Device Use

February 25, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

The ‘Real’ Pre-requisites to AAC Device Use

How long did you practice your driving skills before you took your driver’s license road test? A week? A month? A couple of months? We love videos like this one that show kids in the process of developing skills with technology. It’s not usually a quick and easy process, but if we prepare ourselves and the families with whom we work for the process, good things will happen. Little Eva and her family remind us that kids don’t have to ‘prove’ readiness for high tech AAC. They deserve opportunities to use these tools to learn, develop, and grow. The next time that people tell you that one of your clients with complex communication needs ‘isn’t ready’ for AAC technology, you might want to ask them how things might have gone if they had taken the road test a few days after their first time behind the wheel. We needed practice.... [Read More...]

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Eye love…

February 13, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Eye love...

So much to love about Speakbook, a lovely and hugely functional tool for people who communicate by eye gaze.  – Love the generosity of its designer, Patrick Joyce, in making this available under a Creative Common license Love the creative approach of blending an eyegaze board with a communication book Love the use of color encoding so that the communicator has access to more words/messages Love the plentiful access to the alphabet for spelling novel messages Love the beautiful feel of the Speakbook website – Check out this video when you can and share the eye love.

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