Overview
The Pandemic of 2020 has taught us all how important communication is to our general well-being. With schools "closed", our students with complex communication needs were often left without proper tools and/or supports for their communication needs. This session will be a tale of lessons learned during virtual/remote Environmental Communication Teaching (ECT)Training held by the statewide and local district cohorts. Case studies from district trainings will be highlighted. Data will be shared that demonstrates the efficacy of ECT as a Tier 3 intervention model, and one that meets the definition of high-quality professional learning.
Learning Objectives
- Discuss how ECT exemplifies 3-5 components of high-quality professional development.
- Identify two coaching strategies that were reported as useful during remote learning ECT sessions.
- Describe three ways that ECT provides Tier 3 intervention for students with complex communication needs.
Primary & Secondary Strands
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC); Leadership
Target Audience
- AT Specialists
- Communication Specialist
- Consultants/Trainers
- Educators
- Occupational Therapists
- Paraprofessionals
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Special Education Educators
Experience Level
Intermediate
Primary Life Cycle Addressed
Birth - PreK; Elementary - Secondary (K-12)
Session Delivery Format
In-person presentation with live-stream
Course Schedule
This course was given at the ATIA 2022 Conference on Thursday, Jan 27: 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM (EST)
Continuing Education Credits
For Satisfactory Completion and Continuing Education information, please visit: ATIA Learning Center CEUs
This course is offered for the following CE Provider Credits:
ACVREP; AOTA; IACET
For: 0.10 CEU Units or 1.0 CEU Hours.
This course was approved by CRCC for CRC CEUs and was included in the ATIA 2022 Virtual Event series. The ATIA 2022 Virtual Event CRC series offering was available from January 25, 2022 through January 24, 2023.
ASHA CE Information: Recorded Session
Start date of ASHA CEUs offering: December 15, 2022
End date of ASHA CEUs offering: November 30, 2023
Speaker/s:
Susan McCloskey, M.S., CCC-SLP
Susan R. McCloskey, P.A, Independent Consultant
Biography
Susan R. McCloskey, MS, CCC-SLP, is a speech language pathologist who worked for the PA Assistive Technology Center/PaTTAN in Pennsylvania as a Regional Coordinator, and then as chairperson of the Volusia Adaptive Assistive Technology Team (VAATT) in Daytona Beach, FL. She is a past National Steering Committee member for ASHA's Division 12: Augmentative and Alternative Communication. For over thirty years, Susan has consulted nationwide with teams whose focus has been to integrate assistive technology into the classroom. She has been a trainer of Environmental Communication Teaching (ECT) since 1989 teaching teams how to design communication opportunities in classrooms for students with complex communication needs. She is a consultant for Florida's MTSS Technology and Learning Connection project and has been training teams in ECT for the past six years in an intensive statewide effort. She coordinated Volusia County's implementation of the SCERTS© project, focused on students on the autism spectrum, for the Florida State University's CARD Center. Susan is a founding member of the QIAT Leadership Team, and a co-author of Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology: A Comprehensive Guide to Assistive Technology Services (2015) and The QIAT Companion: A Just-In-Time Resource for Implementing the Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (2020). Susan lives in Ponce Inlet, FL, and enjoys paddle boarding and walking on the beach in her spare time.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Susan McCloskey is a paid consultant for The Technology & Learning Connections (TLC) Team. a part of Florida’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) through the Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project at the University of South Florida. Susan is a founding member of the Quality Indicators Leadership Team and receives publishing royalties as an author of the QIAT books.
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: Yes
Susan is a founding member of the QIAT Leadership Team
Janet Good
University of South Florida, Project Coordinator PS/RtI - Technology & Learning Connections
Biography
Janet Good is the state coordinator on the Technology & Learning Connections (TLC) team. The TLC team is part of the MTSS project with Florida’s Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project at the University of South Florida. The focus of this role is to provide technical assistance and state leadership in the areas of: augmentative alternative communication (AAC), accessible educational materials (AEM), assistive technology (AT), instructional technology (IT), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and virtual/online learning (VI) technologies.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment at University of South Florida
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: Yes
FAAST Executive and ATAC Board Member
Teresa Pinder
School Board of Levy County, Regional Assistive Technology Specialist
Biography
Teresa Pinder has been an Occupational Therapist for over 35 years in the public schools, providing direct service to children 3 to 21 yrs. of age. The past 16 years she has provided Assistive Technology services to students with disabilities and their IEP teams in eight small and rural school districts in North Central Florida. She is a guest lecturer for several OT programs and preservice teacher programs, providing hands on AT labs. She served as a reviewer for Pearson Publishing for the 2017 edition of "Assistive Technology in the Classroom - Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities". She has presented on a wide variety of subjects pertaining to the use of Assistive Technology for communication and implementation of AT for student achievement at previous ATIA (Assistive Technology Industry Association) and FCEC (Florida Council for Exceptional Education) conferences. Working with a team of professionals she assisted in the development of AT in the Classroom and the Game of Access statewide training for teachers and therapists. She has facilitated the Environmental Communication Teaching workshop series for school-based teams in the current districts she serves since 2008.She earned her bachelor's degree of Health Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Gainesville, holds a Master's Degree in Assistive Technology from Ft. Hayes State University and is an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certified through the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) since 2005. Teresa is paid by the school board of Levy County through a Department of Education discretionary project to provide AT assessment and services to the designated school districts in north-central Florida.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No
Cheryl Woolwine
Putnam County School District, ESE Technology Specialist/AT Specialist
Biography
I have worked for Putnam County Schools for 28 years. I have taught all areas of Special Education and moved to my present position in 2005. I am now the District ESE Technology Specialist and assist with ESE curriculum, technology needs and Assistive Technology. I conduct teacher, parent and student trainings throughout the year as needed. I am also the district LATS. In 2017 I passed my RESNA ATP certification. During 2016-17 school year I was introduced to ECT and have been facilitating sessions in my district ever since!
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from Employment at school district
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No