AAC & CVI Series: Beyond Red & Yellow
AAC & CVI Series: Beyond Red & Yellow
This 4-part course for all skill levels will provide a framework to help you learn the basic vision characteristics of children with CVI and work together with your student’s their family and educational team to support the student’s communication needs and find the right fit for AAC devices. Cortical visual impairment (CVI) is the leading cause of vision impairment in children. CVI is an impairment where the eyes are healthy, but the child has difficulties with interpretation of visual information. Most children with CVI have additional disabilities including motor, intellectual, hearing, and communication challenges. These issues often result in the need for Augmentative and Alternative communication support. Children with CVI have unique vision characteristics that affect how they can access AAC. This course will provide some examples of how a vision and AT specialist/Speech Language Pathologist can work together with children with CVI to support their communication needs and find the right fit for AAC devices. This course will include video examples of successful AAC use by students with CVI.
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WHAT'S INCLUDED
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4 Modules
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Participate On-Demand
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8 CMH, Certificate Provided
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Multimedia learning experience
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Online classroom community
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Loads of resources!
Learn about the impacts of CVI on communication.
Get the basics on the phases of CVI and how to consider the characteristics of each CVI phases in your AAC intervention strategy.
See practical examples of AAC EBP for CVI.
Learn from this expert team and the video cases shared as you work to integrate your EBP learning today into your practice tomorrow.
Learning Objectives
Hang in for the whole series and you'll tackle the following:
Session 1: Supporting Children in Phase I CVI & AAC
As an SLP, what do I do when the child cannot see or does not use his vision? As a TVI, what do I do to support vision to prepare the child to use vision in communication? This first session includes case studies with video and photos to demonstrate strategies to use when intervention involves vision and communication separately.
Participants will be able to describe:
As an SLP, what do I do when the child cannot see or does not use his vision? As a TVI, what do I do to support vision to prepare the child to use vision in communication? This first session includes case studies with video and photos to demonstrate strategies to use when intervention involves vision and communication separately.
Participants will be able to describe:
- The visual characteristics of children functioning in Phase I.
- The role of partner assisted auditory scanning or scanning on a voice output device for students in Phase I.
- The role of an SLP teaming with a TVI with children functioning in Phase I.
Session 2: Supporting Children in Early Phase II of CVI
As an SLP, what do I do when the child can use their vision, but they have so much more to say than their vision will allow? As a TVI, what can I do to help the child develop functional vision in preparation for possible use of an AAC device? This second session includes case studies with video and photos to demonstrate strategies to use for children who are beginning to use vision with communication.
Participants will be able to describe:
As an SLP, what do I do when the child can use their vision, but they have so much more to say than their vision will allow? As a TVI, what can I do to help the child develop functional vision in preparation for possible use of an AAC device? This second session includes case studies with video and photos to demonstrate strategies to use for children who are beginning to use vision with communication.
Participants will be able to describe:
- The visual characteristics of children functioning in early Phase II.
- Object communication systems and how they are used with children in early Phase II.
- How to use visual scanning with objects.
- The role of motor planning if a child has a high tech device but are functioning in early Phase II.
Session 3 & 4: Supporting Children in Late State II & Stage III of CVI
As an SLP, how does the child’s vision characteristics affect how I choose and design an AAC device? As a TVI, how do I help the child use her device and how do I support further understanding of 2-D information? These final two sessions include case studies with videos and photos to demonstrate the use of AAC for children with CVI including an in-depth look at each CVI characteristic and implications for AAC.
Participants will be able to describe:
As an SLP, how does the child’s vision characteristics affect how I choose and design an AAC device? As a TVI, how do I help the child use her device and how do I support further understanding of 2-D information? These final two sessions include case studies with videos and photos to demonstrate the use of AAC for children with CVI including an in-depth look at each CVI characteristic and implications for AAC.
Participants will be able to describe:
- The vision characteristics of students functioning in late Phase II and early Phase III.
- Symbol hierarchy and why it is important for children with CVI.
- How to teach children to understand 2-D symbols.
- How CVI characteristics guide decisions around choosing and designing AAC devices.
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Continuing Education Credit
This series offers eligible students a total of
8 certification maintenance hours (CMH)
8 certification maintenance hours (CMH)
Learn more about certification maintenance hours (versus CEU's or continuing education units) on your course syllabus and on our CEU Page.
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Meet your instructors
Debbie Perry
Debbie Perry, MSR, CCC-SLP, ATP has worked as an SLP for over 15 years and has been specializing in working with children using AAC for over 10 years. She has worked inpatient, outpatient, and school settings and currently owns her own practice in Northern Virginia. Debbie specializes in working with children with complex communication needs to teach them and their caregivers how to develop language through the use of AAC. In 2014, she began working with and learning more about CVI as she realized she could not fully help the children she worked with without that knowledge. Over the past years, she continues to broaden her knowledge in this CVI and has begun teaching on this to help other professionals and caregivers learn tips and tricks on assessing and implementing use of AAC with children with CVI. Debbie is a certified Assistive Technology Professional through RESNA and is trained in LAMP, as well as all other major AAC language systems and is well versed with use of alternative access methods.
Sandra Newcomb
Dr. Newcomb is a Faculty Associate at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education. She has 30+ years of experience teaching infants and toddlers with disabilities, including 13 years providing technical assistance to young children with deaf-blindness, their families and service providers through Connections Beyond Sight and Sound, the MD and DC deaf-blind project. Dr. Newcomb earned her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland in 2009, and holds certification in Early Childhood Special Education and in Visual Impairment, as well as the Perkins/Roman CVI Range Endorsement. Her dissertation topic was assessment of children with CVI. She has had teaching experience in North Carolina, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia. Her teaching experience includes classroom instruction, early intervention home-based services and private consultation. In addition to her work with children and families, Dr. Newcomb has coordinated a number of grants at the University of Maryland including family support projects and personnel preparation grants in early intervention. Dr. Newcomb is currently in private practices and specializes in deaf-blindness and cortical visual impairment. Dr. Newcomb is a Faculty Associate at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education. She has 30+ years of experience teaching infants and toddlers with disabilities, including 13 years providing technical assistance to young children with deaf-blindness, their families and service providers through Connections Beyond Sight and Sound, the MD and DC deaf-blind project. Dr. Newcomb earned her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland in 2009, and holds certification in Early Childhood Special Education and in Visual Impairment, as well as the Perkins/Roman CVI Range Endorsement. Her dissertation topic was assessment of children with CVI. She has had teaching experience in North Carolina, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia. Her teaching experience includes classroom instruction, early intervention home-based services and private consultation. In addition to her work with children and families, Dr. Newcomb has coordinated a number of grants at the University of Maryland including family support projects and personnel preparation grants in early intervention. Dr. Newcomb is currently in private practices and specializes in deaf-blindness and cortical visual impairment. Dr. Newcomb is a Faculty Associate at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education. She has 30+ years of experience teaching infants and toddlers with disabilities, including 13 years providing technical assistance to young children with deaf-blindness, their families and service providers through Connections Beyond Sight and Sound, the MD and DC deaf-blind project. Dr. Newcomb earned her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland in 2009, and holds certification in Early Childhood Special Education and in Visual Impairment, as well as the Perkins/Roman CVI Range Endorsement. Her dissertation topic was assessment of children with CVI. She has had teaching experience in North Carolina, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia. Her teaching experience includes classroom instruction, early intervention home-based services and private consultation. In addition to her work with children and families, Dr. Newcomb has coordinated a number of grants at the University of Maryland including family support projects and personnel preparation grants in early intervention. Dr. Newcomb is currently in private practices and specializes in deaf-blindness and cortical visual impairment.
Patrick Jones - Course author
Patrick Jones - Course author