Living an All Access Life with Brad and Dan!

 Hey Tek-ninjas! Have you heard of "All Access Life"? If not, get familiar with their work. You will be inspired, and educated. That's a beautiful feeling! 

Brad and Dan run the company. They've had a long friendship which you can read about here, and the quality of their friendship comes through in all of their videos with their joking and mutual respect for one another. Their intention in making "All Access Life" was to create a website that showcases the latest trends and movements in adaptive products and assistive technologies. 

Brad was born with nonverbal spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and he showcases products that have made a difference in his life. Additionally, they also showcase products which are appropriate for folk with various disabilities. 

The videos are not just informative, they are super fun to watch. According to their website, their "mission is to empower people with disabilities to live their best life through adaptive products". That's our jam here at Tek-ninja! 

On the website, they review products which have transformed Brad's life. You can see video reviews about those  adaptive products on their featured products page. 

Perhaps my favorite video is the unboxing of the newest Tobii Dynavox innovation, which I've blogged about before, the TD Pilot. 

So, go check out "All Access Life", you may find a technological solution that helps make someone's life better!

Happy therapy!

Snap Core First goes lo-tech!

Hey Tek-ninjas! So this is a pretty cool thing.... you know sometimes you want/need to try a lo-tech AAC intervention for a variety of reasons. Well, Tobii Dynavox has a FREE lo-tech option for you to consider. 

You can now download and print PDF books of the core word pages from the Snap Core First app. Such lo-tech communication books can serve as a great introduction to language for symbol-supported communicators before they get their device. Or keep them on hand as a simple solution to be used in the car, at the playground, near the pool, or anywhere else it might be inconvenient to use a device. 

Core First Communication Books are also available to download via Pathways for Core First.

Then you can consider "print on regular paper", or "print on tear-proof paper".... I'm looking forward to seeing the creative ways folks utilize this resource!

Happy therapy!

Tobii Dynavox Introduces Outdoor Eye Tracking

Hey Tek-ninjas! Hope you are doing well despite living in Coronatopia. Today I want to share with you a recent development in the field of eye-gaze technology. About two weeks ago, Tobii Dynavox released a firmware update to their new IS5TD eye gaze camera. 

If you've been working in the field, or maybe you are a user of an eye gaze device you've likely long ago adapted to the idea that eye gaze tech just simply doesn't perform at it's best in the great outdoors. It's just been one of those accepted downsides. 

With the new updated firmware that changes. And following the update, Tobii Dynavox sent out messaging like this: 

"Brighter times are ahead, and you can now make the most of them. Communicate outdoors – even in bright sunlight – thanks to outdoor eye tracking on the latest I-Series, the world’s first speech generating device to offer this feature.

"Experience all the eye tracking capabilities you’re used to plus an enhanced outdoor experience, just in time for summer. 

Outdoor eye tracking is currently only available on the I-13 and I-16 devices."

This update is so good that a couple of renown AAC champions posted videos of themselves with before and afters of the firmware update. Take a look at the videos below. 

I especially like the first video as Charlie Danger, OT, ATP shows both before the update and after the update. 

And of course, John Costello of Boston Children's Hospital also offers a great video, concise and to the point. 

If you have an i13 or an i16, and you have not ran Update Notifer in the last two weeks, I strongly encourage you to do so, especially if you are heading to the beach, or to a sporting event! This video demonstrates how to run updates on these devices. 

Happy eye-gazing!

June: more continuing education

Hey Tek-ninjas! At the beginning of the month I shared with you some amazing trainings from Tobii Dynavox. At the time, I only shared trainings for the first half of the month... well here are more for the rest of June! 

Again, these are all remote, so you don't need to travel! Some offer CEUs, some don't, all are terrific content covering shared reading, core content, beyond requesting, games, and behavior supports. 

Surely there's something in here to help you be a better clinician!

Date		Time (EST)		Title		CEU?	Campaign Link
6.18.20	2:00 - 5:15 PM		Implementing Emergent Literacy  Instruction with Reading Avenue		Yes 0.3 CEUs		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/implementingemergent-literacy-instruction-withreading-avenue/
6.18.20	7:00-8:00PM E		Introduction to Implementing AAC for Emergent Communicators		YES 0.1 CEUs		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/night-school-series--intro-to-implementing-aacemergent-communicators/
6.22.20	5:00 - 5:30 PM		Beat the Heat with Shared Reading		No		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/communication-athome-series---beat-the-heat-withshared-reading4/
6.22.20	11:00-11:30 ET		Using Core at Home		No		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/communication-athome-series----using-core-at-home3/
6.23.20	12:00-1:00 PM		Positive Behavior Supports in Snap Core First		Yes 0.1 CEUs		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/positive-behaviorsupports-in-snap-core-first2/
6.23.20	3:00 - 5:45 PM		AAC and Literacy: How to Get Started		Yes 0.25 CEUs		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/aac-and-literacy-howto-get-started/
6.23.20	5:30-6:00 PM		Boardmaker Learning Lounge		No		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/boardmaker-learninglounge/
6.25.20	10:00 AM - 4:00 PM		Communicating Beyond Requesting		Yes 0.5 CEUs		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/communicatingbeyond-requesting/
6.29.20	3:00 - 3:30 PM		Bingo, Books and Board Games		No		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/communication-athome-series---bingo-books-andboard-games/
6.30.20	11:00-11:30 AM		Getting to Know Boardmaker 7		No		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/getting-to-knowboardmaker-72/
6.30.20	1:00 - 1:30 PM		Talking with Topics		No		https://www.tobiidynavox.com/enUS/support-training/on-locationtraining/events-from-salesforce/2020/6/supportingcommunication-at-home-series--talking-with-topics4/

 

Happy therapy!