Tag Archive: advocacy
December 4, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Communication is a birthright. No agency or person should be permitted to restrict someone’s access to expression or dictate how communication should occur. Computerized functions for creating messages, emails, and texts are literally lifesaving for people like Mike. Please lend your support by telling CMS how important these things are before Saturday, December 6. You can learn more about the issues from our previous post and visit the public comment section to add your voice here. Thanks to Michael Phillips and the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology for this helpful video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oi1mK4RqjQ&feature=youtu.be
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, CMS, FAAST, Medicare, Michael Phillips
December 2, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Chances are that most of our US-based SLPs have heard about the funding challenges with Medicare. We now have only a few more days to make our voices heard to support clients with AAC needs. If you haven’t already submitted public comment, please take the time to help in these advocacy efforts. Medicare (CMS) currently is reconsidering its National Coverage Decision (NCD) for Speech Generating Devices (SGDs). As part of that process, CMS will allow interested members of the public to submit comments about future Medicare SGD coverage until December 6, 2014. The information that follows was prepared by the Medicare Implementation Team, an ad hoc group of AAC clinicians, researchers, advocates, educators, manufacturers, etc., many of whom worked on the 2001 NCD. FOLLOW THESE 5 SIMPLE STEPS TO SUBMIT A COMMENT TO CMS. 1. Review the 8 PROPOSED COMMENT AREAS below that are critical to include in a revised NCD for... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, CMS, funding, Medicare, patient provider communication
November 12, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Tony and his team talk about the ways in which AAC makes living a full life possible, and the disastrous consequences of the Medicare policy implementation that restricts SGD features, among other things. The policy is on hold for now, and we have an opportunity for public comment. Take a look. Then take action. You can add your voice to the advocacy effort here. Public comments are open until December 6th.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, Medicare, policy
August 26, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
US Colleagues: It’s not too late! We still need your help to tell Congress and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, to stop denying our most vulnerable disabled people their ability to communicate! The initial advocacy effort was effective in delaying the start date for implementation of the proposed changes but more needs to be done. New to these issues? Check out the post by Bill Binko here. Basically, Medicare has announced several changes to its speech generating device coverage policies that will be devastating to people with complex communication needs. To protect our clients, we believe the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the most senior official responsible for Medicare policy, must be made aware of the harmful effects of these changes and must be asked to reverse them. We must speak up now to ensure our clients also will be able to. You can call Medicare directly to... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, Amy Goldman, funding, Lew Golinker, Medicare, Melanie Fried-Oken, patient provider communication
July 14, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
There are some organizations and projects that just amaze us with the work that they do. Today, we are looking at one of those, Communication Disabilities Access Canada, led by Barbara Collier. They have a wonderful array of resources that address important topics related to safety, self-determination, advocacy, and more. Here are two of our favorites. Communication Boards Making and Using Communication Access Cards You can follow them on Facebook, too.
Filed under: Strategy of the Month
Tagged With: accesss, advocacy, Communication Disabilities Access Canada, safety, self-determination
July 13, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
“People with disabilities are exposed to abuse at least four times more than the general population.” For this week’s featured video, we travel to Israel to learn about an initiative with the justice system that promotes the right of individuals with AAC needs to communicate in legal contexts. Kudos to ISAAC Israel and the many other organizations and individuals for their work on this important topic. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgmli_aElYY&index=149&list=PLSDejtWRUZQqCqWogs1ME9Z1dXfxwvrrY
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: abuse, advocacy, justice, legal system
October 6, 2013
by Robin Parker -
A song brought to you by some great advocacy people AND definitely guaranteed to make you smile. This is not new but the ideas are relevant now just as before. ISAAC International AAC Awareness Campaign TASH Communication Committee Everyone Communicates Judy Bailey Snoopi Botten
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: advocacy, inclusion
October 4, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Although the field of AAC emerged only in the last few decades, the notion of communicating in alternative ways is centuries old. In classical times, the use of manual communication by deaf individuals was referred to by Plato and documented in Europe during the Middle Ages. In North America, American Indian Hand Talk evolved over generations to allow cross-cultural communication between speakers of diverse languages. As a clinical/educational field, AAC has been described as evolving through a “bottom-up” mechanism. Individuals with congenital conditions that prevented the development of intelligible speech invented their own communication systems long before teachers, therapists, and clinicians formalized instruction in alternative modes of expression. AAC users growing up in the forties and fifties tell of communicating through grunts, vocalizations, “air writing,” and eye movements, which, though effective in some contexts, were maddening in their limitations. Individuals who were fortunate enough to have access to habilitative and... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, change, historical perspective, ideas
September 17, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
There are things no one likes to talk about. Serious things. Sensitive things. Nonetheless, everyone deserves the tools to be able to talk about whatever they want to share. The How It Is Project, by the UK-based Triangle organization, offers a set of free pictures developed so that everyone has access to images they can use to talk about their feelings, their rights, personal safety, personal care, and sexuality. We love how they developed the vocabulary list and symbols on the site with the help of children and youth with and without disabilities. You can download the document with images here.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, self-advocacy, symbol, vocabulary
September 14, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We are so happy to share a link to downloadable resources that come from the collaborative effort of the Patient Provider Communication Forum, Central Coast Children’s Foundation, Dr. Bronwyn Hemsley, and Widgit Software. These research-based materials were developed to help improve communication in hospital settings. The link takes you to the Widgit Health site and is a set of cards with 26 key phrases for patients who use picture symbols to communicate. The cards are printable and available in 20 different languages. You can access those materials here.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, communication boards, download, hospital, Medical, resources