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NEW FOR 2024!

  1. Pre-Conference Workshops - Select ONE 4-hour Pre-Conference workshop that will be held IN-PERSON on Wed, November 6th, 2024 from 12 pm - 4 pm at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing, MI. To attend all 3 days of the conference, you must purchase BOTH one Pre-Conference Workshop ticket and one IN-PERSON 2-day conference ticket. (Please note Pre-Conference Workshops will not begin until 12 Noon on Wednesday, November 6th to provide out-of-areas additional travel time to East Lansing.) Pre-Conference Workshop Registration $80
  2. Networking Event - For those attending a Pre-Conference Workshop or arriving in East Lansing early, please join us on Wednesday, November 6th, at 7 pm EST in the auditorium at the Kellogg Center for a free viewing party of the film This is Not About Me sponsored by AssistiveWare. This documentary follows the story of Jordyn Zimmerman who shares what it is to be autistic and non-speaking. Light snacks will be provided with time to connect with the #TalkingAAC community.
  3. ON-DEMAND Content - A new, separate asynchronous learning option has been added this year with FOUR (4) ON-DEMAND 75-minute, pre-recorded sessions. BONUS: All IN-PERSON attendees will also receive access to this recorded content included with their 2-day conference registration! The ON-DEMAND sessions will be accessed through the Sched registration portal. Recordings will be available beginning at the end of the conference on November 8, 2024 through December 31, 2024. There will be NO live-streaming of sessions in 2024. On Demand Content Registration $60
  4. Swag - #TalkingAAC merchandise will be available on-site for purchase.
  5. Streamlined Registration - Conference registration, ticket sales, and your in-person 2-day conference session planning guide will all occur in one platform this year - Sched. Below, click the green "log in" box if you have a Sched account already or click the green "sign up" box to create a new Sched account, then proceed to purchase ticket(s). 2-Day In Person Conference Registration $265
MEALS, PARKING, & LODGING FOR 2024!
1. Breakfast - a light continental breakfast will be available on Thursday and Friday at no additional charge.
2. Lunch - participants will receive a lunch and drink on Thursday and Friday at no additional charge.
3. Parking - is expedited and included with your registration fees.
4. Lodging - for lodging information, view the 2024 #TalkingAAC lodging options document for a list of hotels with blocks reserved and discount lodging codes for this conference. For those attending a Pre-Conference Workshop, please note sessions will not begin until noon on Wednesday, November 6th to provide out-of-town/state attendees additional travel time to East Lansing.

As the date for this conference approaches, you will receive updates from #TalkingAAC and SCHED.  Stay tuned for additional session information!

In late October, you will select your sessions and plan your conference agenda.  

Questions? Check out www.talkingaac.org or email info@talkingaac.org

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The Fifth Competency: Supporting Emotional Competency in AAC
Friday November 8, 2024 12:15pm - 1:30pm EST
Room 103
We often talk about the various competencies we should support in AAC. Many are aware of linguistic, operational, social, and strategic competencies (Light, 1989). A fifth competence, emotional competence, was proposed by Blackstone and Wilkins in 2009. While social and emotional competency is often supported and developed with speaking children, it is less likely to be thoroughly supported with persons who use AAC (Blackstone and Wilkins, 2009).  

Emotional competency includes an awareness and understanding of emotions. This competency includes empathy, coping, self-regulation, societal norms, sensory regulation, expression of feelings, and cause and effect of actions. Blackstone and Wilkins claim “Emotional competencies are intricately related to pragmatics, social communication, and communication with one’s self” (2009). This would suggest communication is the crux of healthy emotional development.

The importance of emotional competency within AAC is further highlighted when we consider the mental health statistics of those with communication disorders. The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes that in 2020, 21% of US adults and 16.5% of US youth aged 6-17 have experienced mental health issues (NAMI.org, 2022). Recent research indicates that the rate of mental health issues is much higher among those with complex communication needs (Watson, Reghavendra, & Crocker, 2021). Therefore, people using AAC should have access to and understand how and when to use language to discuss their mental health and wellness thus developing their emotional competency.

Grid 3 communication software offers access to mental health, wellness, and socially connective vocabulary and strategies. We will tour vocabulary and grid sets available and highlight emotional competency tools that have been specifically oriented within the software to more fully allow the AAC user opportunities to discuss and tend to their emotional competency. We will discuss how similar tools could be integrated into other software.

In this presentation, we work to summarize and explore vocabulary, tools, and best practices in increasing an AAC user’s advocacy and emotional competence.  We examine the research and pitfalls for those who support AAC users while highlighting the importance of this critical competency that tends to be the missing piece. We delve into moving beyond labeling emotions, to discussing emotional situations, talking about others’ emotions, developing an inner voice, and supporting advocacy and self-regulation skills.
Presenter: Abigail Warner, MA, CCC-SLP 
Vendor: Talk to Me Technologies and Smartbox 
Vendors
avatar for Talk To Me Technologies & Smartbox AT
Friday November 8, 2024 12:15pm - 1:30pm EST
Room 103
  Vendor Presentation

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