Carol Page (SC UCEDD) Give Presentation on "AAC Apps and Feature Matching"

March 4, 2013

Carol Page, Director of the SC Assistive Technology Program, SC UCEDD, provided a training called "AAC Apps and Feature Matching" at the ATIA 2013 Orlando Conference in Florida. The presentation addressed the rapidly changing world of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) due to the introduction of handheld devices and apps.

Families are buying handheld devices and apps because they don't have to wait for funding sources or go through all the steps of getting a doctor's order, finding a provider, and driving to appointments. As a result, the AAC professionals can find themselves left out of the decision-making process all together and families are left frustrated with AAC apps that meet their needs only temporarily or not at all. This presentation oriented attendees to the best practice of featuring matching where the needs of the individual are identified first and then matched to features in AAC apps. An AAC App comparison chart was provided to attendees and is linked to the SCATP website at: http://www.sc.edu/scatp/apps.html . The comparison chart delineates the features available in many AAC apps so that professionals can best facilitate the feature matching process.

ATIA wanted to meet the need to provide quality, affordable group training without travel and lodging costs. From over 300 presentations selected for the ATIA 2013 Orlando Conference, ATIA chose the "AAC Apps and Feature Matching" presentation as one of a special suite of ten recorded conference sessions made available post conference. Each session includes a synchronized recording of the presentation slides and audio file, along with questions/comments from attendees, and offers CEUs. The recordings may be viewed at home or work and are a great option for schools and agency teams. Anyone interested can register for the Conference Recordings at https://s3.goeshow.com/atia/2013ORLRECORDINGS/ereg852510.cfm?clear .