PRE-9W: AAC: Interprofessional Practice, Clinical Innovations and Evidence Based Practice

Effective assessment and implementation of augmentative communication tools and assistive technology requires expertise in multiple domains with speech-language pathology and Occupational Therapy being core domains to the initial assessment.  Functional communication is achieved when a candidate for AAC and his or her support team are skilled in the four tenants of the Communication Competence Framework: linguistic, strategic, social, and operational competency (Light, 1989). These competencies refer to the knowledge necessary to select correct vocabulary, respond appropriately in the context of an interaction, and demonstrate the technical and physical skills required to operate a device. These four competencies are interrelated, and difficulty within one domain will affect the overall ability to successfully communicate. Interdisciplinary practice between speech-language pathology and occupational therapy can provide solutions to the barriers that affect communication competence.

Case studies focused on preschool, school age and post graduate age children and young adults with multiple disabilities as well as a focus on adults with ALS, will be used throughout the day to illustrate the impact of successful feature matching and training to foster effective access to AAC and AT technologies.  Furthermore, the critical feature of evidence-based practice as determined through functional clinical trials will be infused throughout the course as a non-negotiable component of determining best communication options, access methods, and mounting solutions.

Because thoughtful clinical assessment and intervention can lead to clinical innovations, parts of this course will focus on clinical innovations including the areas of voice preservation, video modeling, use of readily available technologies such as the apple watch and augmented reality.

USSAAC, the US Society for AAC, is pleased to co-sponsor this pre-conference seminar. USSAAC members receive 5% off registration for this seminar.

Speakers:

John Costello Speech Language Pathologist Boston Children’s Hospital	Peggy Dellea Occupational Therapist Boston Children’s Hospital	Jennifer Buxton Occupational Therapist Boston Children’s Hospital	Loren Fields McMahon Occupational Therapist Boston Children’s Hospital	Meghan O’Brien Speech Language Pathologist Boston Children’s Hospital	Amanda O’Brien Speech-Language Pathologist Boston Children’s Hospital	Christina Yu Speech-Language Pathologist Boston Children’s Hospital	Elizabeth Rose Speech Language Pathologist Boston Children’s Hospital	Drew Mancini Speech Language Pathologist Boston Children’s Hospital