19 Search Results for bugaj

Learn by Listening with Chris Bugaj

August 7, 2014 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC professionals seem to love professional development. Unfortunately, there just never seems to be enough time to indulge our love for learning about new technologies and strategies. Sound familiar? Well, Chris Bugaj has been a solution worth listening to. Chris is an SLP and a founding member the Assistive Technology Team for Loudoun County Public Schools. He hosts The A.T.TIPSCAST , a multi‐award winning podcast featuring strategies useful in differentiating the learning experience. Chris is the co‐author of The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools and  ATEval2Go, and has two chapters in Technology Tools for Students with Autism. Chris co‐produces and co‐authors the popular Night Light Stories podcast which features original stories for children of all ages. Today, we share his wonderful presentation (complete with hyperlinks) that will help us to learn how to use podcasts to learn while we’re driving, exercising, or just hanging out. If you’ve thought about maximizing your learning opportunities by listening... [Read More...]

Growing AAC Professionals: AAC-friendly Classrooms, AAC for Toddlers, & AAC for Healthcare Providers

August 26, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

Growing AAC Professionals: AAC-friendly Classrooms, AAC for Toddlers, & AAC for Healthcare Providers

As one semester ends and a new one begins, we welcome Vicki Haddix back to these pages to share the work of graduate student SLPs who enroll in her AAC classes. Vicki is an AAC SLP and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis. Today, she shares three student projects on a diverse range of topics.  We invite you to explore the work of Vicki’s students, SLPs-to-be Shayla Gaffney, Lori Davis, and Abbie Warr.  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When I designed the AAC course, I tried to incorporate elements of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) within the class. One of the elements I’m particularly proud of is allowing the students to choose their own final projects, which are worth 50% of their grade. I give them the following guidelines:  Your final project should: Collect information from a variety of sources (i.e.: not only a survey or only research articles);  Ground itself... [Read More...]

Video of the Week: Tech Tools for Supporting AAC Team Collaboration

May 12, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Tech Tools for Supporting AAC Team Collaboration

Ask any AAC stakeholder about the collaborative teaming and they’re likely to tell you two things: how incredibly valuable it is and how little time they have for it. In today’s video, we’re highlighting a session from a past AAC in the Cloud Conference featuring AAC SLPs Chris Bugaj and Rachel Madel. In this post, they share some of their favorite ways of using technology to make collaboration faster and easier.  Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwsEdbfic18&ab_channel=CoughDrop Many thanks to the fine team at CoughDrop and to Rachel and Chris for this helpful presentation.

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words: AAC Resources for Month 1 (August) by Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, & Beth Lytle

August 31, 2020 by - 9 Comments

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words: AAC Resources for Month 1 (August) by Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, & Beth Lytle

August may be on the way out but the words for this month are useful all throughout the year. The new Year of Core Words School Edition is in development and the plan is to get these monthly to you prior to the start of each month so that you can plan and prepare. Please bear with us for the first few posts as we get up to speed. Each of the monthly posts will highlight a selected set of words and a suggested order in which to teach them. You’ll also find resources, such as Activity Sheets for each word and data collection forms, and information on a key intervention strategy. The series authors, Michaela Sullivan, Beth Lytle, and Alisa Lego, created an introduction that you may want to review before digging into this month’s target words. You can see that here. Enjoy Month 1 of the School Year... [Read More...]

Video of the Week – Effective Coaching of AAC Partners

June 17, 2020 by - 2 Comments

Video of the Week - Effective Coaching of AAC Partners

How can we help communication partners use more facilitative strategies during AAC interactions? AT Specialist and SLP Chris Bugaj helps us better understand how we can use practice and coaching to support the growth of communication partners.  Many thanks to Chris and New Jersey’s Assistive Technology Advocacy Center (ATAC) for creating this content and making it available to AAC stakeholders throughout the world.  You can download the handout for this session here or scan the QR code in the image below. Direct link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5IZv6rMNBw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1QtHDiTuJVL8V6kmuvFo8poDgFoqTVIq0_jRgSKPCuP1XN18iQcktORi0  

Video of the Week: Some Good AAC News

May 6, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Some Good AAC News

Young or old, working or not, parent or professional. We could all use some good news these days so when Chris Bugaj reached out about his parody of John Krasinski’s YouTube show Some Good News, we knew it had to be shared. Enjoy some Good AAC News! You can learn more about Co-VidSpeak, including how to access it, here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSVI2yEbf2M&feature=youtu.be

Crowdsourcing AAC “Better” Practices: The AAC Agreements

March 7, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

Crowdsourcing AAC “Better” Practices: The AAC Agreements

What would happen if a group of dedicated AAC stakeholders could come together around the idea of improving AAC services? Today’s guest authors, Chris Bugaj, Chris CichoskiKelly, and Shaun Pearson set out to explore issues around AAC practices and are inviting us all to join in the conversation. Let’s see where this takes us! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Genesis of the AAC Agreements In 2016, Chris CichoskiKelly went to the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference with a question: what are the best practices for AAC implementation? He saw a lot of great talks on AAC but found little in the way of common ground or agreement amongst them. One of those sessions was co-presented by Chris Bugaj. After the session, the two Chris’s got to talking about the differences. An idea emerged. Given all the difference, what would be the similarities? If all those invested in AAC got together in one... [Read More...]

Fun Finds at ATIA 2019

February 4, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

Fun Finds at ATIA 2019

As expected, the ATIA Conference in Orlando last week had a robust selection of AAC learning opportunities. Here are two of the fun finds we thought you’d like to explore. The AAC Strand Spotlight Session This panel asked four thought leaders in AAC to each identify two intervention challenges and discuss their ideas for addressing them. The speakers were from a variety of practice settings and addressed a range of implementation issues. Christopher Bugaj, AAC and AT Specialist at Loudoun County Public Schools Transitions & Turnovers:  Killers of Language Learning Progression Keeping Up With The Training Demand Vicki Clarke, SLP/CEO, Dynamic Therapy Associates, Inc. Addressing Opportunity Barriers to Participation Facilitator Attitude, Knowledge, & Skill Barriers Caroline Musselwhite, Literacy & AAC Specialist Facilitating Generalization Age-Respectful and Engaging Materials/Activities for Adolescents & Teens Gail VanTatenhove, SLP/CEO, AACell, Inc. Providing Person-Specific  AAC Design in an App/MAP Happy World The Aging of AAC Users... [Read More...]

Video of the Week: Important Considerations in the AAC Selection Process

January 23, 2019 by - 2 Comments

Video of the Week: Important Considerations in the AAC Selection Process

What are some of the ‘big ideas’ that we should have in mind as we approach the process of selecting AAC supports for an individual student? There is much to consider during this process, as SLP and AT Specialist Chris Bugaj notes in today’s featured presentation. Thank you to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s TTAC Program for making the archived sessions from their TechKnowledgy Conferences available to all. Click here for the handout for this session. Note: You may need to create a free account in order to view this video. Also, you can check out their upcoming TechKnowledgy Conference here. 

AAC Awareness Month, Week 3: Look, Listen, & Learn

October 16, 2017 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Awareness Month, Week 3: Look, Listen, & Learn

It’s not too late to celebrate the contributions of AAC or help build awareness of the field. In fact, we’re just getting started! If you are just joining this party, you might want to take a look at the resources in these posts. Week 1: Hands-on Activities Week 2: AAC Printables & Downloads In this third week, we’re turning inward and sharing ideas for how we can each grow our own skills for supporting people with AAC needs. Register for AAC-Everyone has a Voice! From Disability Rights NJ and ATAC Follow the USSAAC Webinar Series. On October 23rd at 7:00 p.m. ET Dr. Yoosun Chung will moderate a panel on Celebrating AAC Awareness Month. Podcasts are a great way to squeeze in some professional development, so consider listening to some AAC-related content while you exercise, drive, or just enjoy a cup of tea. Listen Up! AAC-related Podcasts  Learn by Listening... [Read More...]