Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Back to School Sale

Hey Tek-Ninjas! Tobii-Dynavox is having a back-to-school sale on the Speech Case, the Indi and the Indi-7. Using a Speech Case, you can make an iPad a dedicated, functional dedicated AAC device. The Speech Case is for iPad 9.7" (6th and 5th generation only) and Speech Case Pro for iPad Pro 12.9" (2nd generation only).
From now until October 31st, receive a FREE durable case with your Indi/Indi 7 purchase or take 15% off Speech Case/Speech Case Pro.

Shop Indi - http://fal.cn/VosO

Shop Speech Case - http://fal.cn/VosR

Happy therapy!


Tuesday, September 18, 2018

AAC Disaster Relief

Hey Tek-Ninjas! Especially those of you in the Carolinas!

USSAAC's Disaster Relief Committee is poised to assist individuals who use AAC (or who should be using AAC) affected by Hurricane Florence and associated flooding, if they have lost or damaged AAC. Please encourage people to communicate their needs by registering at aacdisasterrelief@recovers.org. If you are a practitioner and are able to assist with recovery needs, please sign up at aacdisasterrelief@recovers.org as well! You will also find resources and current information regarding people with disabilities affected by disaster at the site. For example: CMD has issued the following waiver:

Allows the authority to suppliers of Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) where DMEPOS is lost, destroyed, irreparably damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable. Under this waiver, the face-to-face requirement, a new physician's order, and new medical necessity documentation are not required for replacement. Suppliers must still include a narrative description on the claim explaining the reason why the equipment must be replaced and are reminded to maintain documentation indicating that the DMEPOS was lost, destroyed, irreparably damaged or otherwise rendered unusable as a result of the disaster or emergency.

If you need or working with someone who needs access to AAC consider information above!

Friday, September 14, 2018

Grid 3 Trial

Hey Tek-Ninjas!

As you may have heard, Tobii Dynavox and Smartbox will be one on October 1st. Smartbox's
flagship software is called Grid 3, and I have to say it is super user friendly! Currently its available for a free fully functioning 60 day trial. You can download it here.

Grid 3 offers communication options for Emergent, Symbol-based, and Literate communicators. Grid 3 supports multiple access modalities including touch, scanning, and eye-gaze.

Grid 3 is available for Windows and some iterations on iOS.

I'm sure I'll be blogging about Grid 3 more, as Tobii Dynavox irons out more of the details.

Happy Therapy!


Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Durham, NC In-service: Integrating Positive Behavior Supports with AAC

Hey Tek-Ninjas! We still have some open seats at this in-service, and I would love to see you there!

Tobii Dynavox is offering an in-service in Durham, NC on September 26th. It's free, but will certainly be top-notch! The title is "Integrating Positive Behavior Supports with AAC".

If you are in the area, consider attending!

Course Description:
Behavior is Communication. This workshop will discuss the relationship between challenging behaviors such as running away or hitting, and the communication needs of the individual using AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). We will explore strategies to target positive behaviors using both visual and vocabulary supports integrated in the Snap + Core First software. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn how to customize, create and share supports within the software to help implement these strategies successfully in a variety of settings.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

• Name one functional behavioral assessment tool.
• Name two vocabulary strategies that provide replacement to a challenging behavior
• List three behavior supports that can be integrated into a high tech AAC device.


This course will be offered for 0.25 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional Area)

Location Durham Public Schools Department of Assistive Technology 808 Bacon Street Durham, NC 27703

Date and Time

September 26, 2018 8:30 am – 11:15 am

Follow this link to register. 

Presenter: Leigh Cooley

Lee joined Tobii Dynavox after spending eight years specializing in the implementation of AAC within a school setting. She has prior experience as an educator assistant in elementary and intermediate special education. While at Tobii Dynavox, Leigh spent two years as a regional Sales consultant, working with clients ranging in age from infant to geriatric. Currently, Leigh is a Learning Consultant on the Learning Services team at Tobii Dynavox.

Disclosures:
Financial Disclosure: Leigh is a full-time employee of Tobii-Dynavox. Non-financial Disclosure: Leigh has no relevant non-financial relationships. Content Disclosure: Because of the unique characteristics of our product, this presentation will focus exclusively on the Tobii Dynavox product line and will not include information about other communication or educational products.