2026 1430

Presenter(s)

Event Details

Topic:

instruction, literacy & inclusion

Format:

lecture

Subject Level:

intermediate

Age Span:

preschool
kindergarten - grade 6
grades 7-12
adult

Target Audience:

AT specialist
autism specialist
consultant
deaf / hard of hearing
educator
family member / caregiver
K-12 administration
occupational therapist
paraprofessional
special educator
speech language pathologist
teacher of the visually impaired
university professor / personnel
vision impairment specialist

Professional Development Credits

IACET CEUs:

0.01

ACVREP CEs:

1

Presentation Length: 1 hour

Date and Time (Central Daylight Time):

  • October 21, 2026
  • 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Location:

Atrium 6

Description:

This session will present a practical, client-centered framework for supporting emergent language and literacy development in individuals with complex communication needs through co-constructed multimedia narratives. Participants will learn a structured process for building personalized stories using tools such as Canva, incorporating text, images, video, animation, and audio to target vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and pragmatic language. The session will then demonstrate how to adapt these narratives into accessible, self-guided multimedia books that support independent engagement across environments. Concrete examples will illustrate strategies for embedding aided language input, programming vocabulary in real time, and designing for alternative access methods including eye gaze and switch scanning. Participants will leave with replicable tools and strategies to immediately implement in clinical, educational, and home settings.

Learning Outcomes:

As a result of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Identify two intervention strategies for co-constructing multimedia narratives with emergent AAC users that support language development across multiple domains.

• Identify one design feature needed to make a multimedia book switch and/or eye gaze accessible.

• Describe three different tools in Canva or other similar platforms for creating customized visuals.

Disclosures:

Margaret Vento Wilson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP receives salary from employment. She has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Cynthia Heryanto, M.S., CCC-SLP receives pay from employment as the owner and founder of Communication Horizons Speech Therapy. She has no non-financial relationships to disclose.