Overview
In this session, presenters will briefly summarize research studies using visual scene displays or video visual scene displays to support social communication with peers and caregivers for children who use AAC. We will walk attendees through the steps of creating VSDs, including how to create motivating and functional communication hot spots. Then, we'll share information about how SLPs, parents and teachers can collaborate to incorporate the use of VSDs in daily routines to support communicative participation of children who use AAC.
Content Disclosure: This presentation will focus exclusively on findings from research studies on using visual scene displays and video visual scene displays and will not include information on other similar or related AAC display options. It will provide a list of available VSD creation applications - the presentation is not limited to discussing one particular product.
Learning Objectives
- Describe two improvements to communicative interactions for children who use AAC in the summarized studies as a result of intervention.
- Describe how to create one static visual scene display with three communicative hot spots.
- Describe how to create one video visual scene display with two communicative hot spots.
Primary & Secondary Strands
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC); Education & Learning: Early Intervention - 12/Higher Education
Target Audience
- Administrators
- AT Specialists
- Caregivers
- Communication Specialist
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Disability Services
- Educators
- Family Members
- Occupational Therapists
- Paraprofessionals
- Physical Therapists
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Special Education Educators
Experience Level
Introductory
Primary Life Cycle Addressed
Birth - Pre K; Elementary - Secondary (K-12)
Session Delivery Format
In-person presentation with live-stream
Course Schedule
This course was given at the ATIA 2023 Conference on Friday, February 3 from 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM (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; CRC; IACET
For: 0.10 CEU Units or 1.0 CEU Hours.
ASHA CE Information: Recorded Session
Start date of ASHA CEUs offering: December 15, 2023
End date of current CRC CEUs offering: March 19, 2025
Please refer to the CRC Augmentative and Alternative Communication Series (2024-2025) page for further information on how to submit your CRC CEUs for this course to CRCC.
Speaker/s:
Emily Laubscher, PhD
Penn State University, AAC Research and Outreach Coordinator
Biography
Emily Laubscher, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is the AAC Research and Outreach Coordinator for the RERC on AAC at Penn State University. In this role, she supports a number of research and development projects to improve outcomes for individuals who require Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Emily's research interests center primarily around the design and implementation of AAC systems and services for individuals with developmental disabilities, with a particular focus on supporting beginning communicators and individuals on the autism spectrum. Emily has also worked as a clinician supporting children and young adults who require AAC in home, school, and community settings. She has published papers and given numerous presentations on AAC-related topics.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment; Grant, honorarium, gift, in-kind recognitions. Emily is employed by the Pennsylvania State University. This work was supported, in part, by funding from (a) a graduate student research grant from the Organization for Autism Research (OAR); (b) the Penn State AAC Leadership Project, a doctoral training grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education, grant H325D170024; and (c) a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RE5017) to the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) (RERC on AAC). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this paper do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No
Kelly Whalon, PhD
Florida State University, Special Education, Associate Professor
Biography
Dr. Kelly Whalon is an Associate Professor in Special Education. She has served children with autism for over 20 years in the role of teacher or researcher. Dr. Whalon's research interests include interventions to enhance the language, literacy, and social communication skills of children with autism. Dr. Whalon has published many refereed articles and chapters and presented at numerous conferences on topics related to literacy and social skills of children with autism.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment: Kelly is a salaried employee of Florida State University.
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No
Michelle Therrien, PhD
Assistant Professor, Florida State University
Biography
Michelle Therrien, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University (FSU). Dr. Therrien directs the AAC Connect Lab and her research focuses on building connections to support improved quality of life for individuals who use AAC. She is particularly interested in social interaction and friendship outcomes. She teaches courses in AAC & Developmental Disorders of Communication at FSU.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Yes
Salary from employment; Grant, honorarium, gift, in-kind recognitions Michelle is a salaried faculty member at Florida State University. This work was supported in part by the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation's Student Research Grant in Early Childhood Language Development and by the New Investigator Grant.
Relevant Non-Financial Relationship: No