Description
Beyond Compliance: Neurodiversity-Affirming AAC Goals for Complex Communicators
► Presenter: Alexandra (Alex) Nelson, M.S., CCC-SLP, SYC in Educational Leadership
► When: February 29, 2024, @ 4:00 pm Pacific/6:00 pm Central/7:00 pm Eastern
► Audience: AAC Therapy Providers seeking to deepen their understanding and application of neurodiversity-affirming practices. (Therapy Neurodiversity Collective Members, this course is included in your membership!)
🕒Can’t make the live session? Not a problem! All registrants for our LIVE events will receive access to the recording for two weeks after the presentation date.
Course Description: Join Therapist Neurodiversity Collective on February 29, 2024, with presenter Alexandra (Alex) Nelson, M.S., CCC-SLP, SYC in Educational Leadership, where we’ll dive deep into an instructional session designed for neurodiversity-affirming therapists eager to elevate their practice with AAC users. This is an in-depth follow up to Alex’s popular course, “Inclusive School Practices for Complex Communicators.”
In this cutting-edge course, you will reimagine goals and objectives for complex communicators, steering clear of traditional confines and embracing a world where competence is presumed and ableist ideals are a thing of the past. Discover the dynamic shift from a compliance-based model of therapy to an innovative approach centered around autonomy for AAC users and gestalt language processors.
Ever wondered how to write goals that foster autonomous communication and increased personal agency? We’ve got you covered!
Alex will unfold effective strategies, enriched with real-life case studies highlighting the profound impact of AAC modeling versus traditional, behaviorist AAC approaches. Witness the transformative journeys of families and educators, and glean insights to inspire and inform your practice.
What You’ll Gain:
- Insight into crafting goals promoting autonomous communication and personal agency
- Knowledge about real-life case studies demonstrating the power and impact of AAC modeling
- Strategies to share and implement programming information for complex communicators with staff and families
Move beyond compliance to authentic, autonomous communication where neurodiversity is not just acknowledged but celebrated, and every communicator, regardless of complexity, is empowered and heard.
Included:
☑ A comprehensive slide handout
☑ Course handout for reference
☑ Certificate of Attendance for one hour of professional development
Alex Nelson is a current Speech-Language Pathologist for a public school system, and a prospective Special Education administrator eager to share her extensive knowledge base acquired through the support of, programming for, and deeply rooted relationships with a wide range of disabled students, ages 3-22. She is an ardent advocate for neurodiversity, accessibility, and inclusive practices, specifically with respect to students who may have distinct learning styles, complex communication needs, and/or may be doubly marginalized. Alex loves the school setting primarily because of the ability to more efficiently collaborate with various professionals for the greater good of the student. In order to best meet all of her students’ needs and facilitate a “reframing” of their profiles from a strengths-based lens, Alex has initiated and orchestrated several building-based Professional Development sessions about neurodiversity and inclusive practices for classroom teachers, and recently designed and implemented communication boards for all preschool, elementary, and town park playgrounds across her district to enhance communication among neurotypical and neurodivergent peers through play.
After this course, you will be able to
- Write goals and objectives for complex learners and complex communicators in a way that both presumes competence and eradicates ableist ideals.
- Shift from a compliance-based programming toward programming centered around autonomy for AAC users and/or gestalt language processors..
- Describe effective different ways to share information about programming for complex communicators and implement it in classrooms with staff and families.
