Finding Your Voice Through Eye Gaze

Presenter(s)

Event Details

Topic:

augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)

Format:

lecture

Subject Level:

beginner

Age Span:

preschool
kindergarten - grade 6
grades 7-12
adult

Target Audience:

AT specialist
educator
family member / caregiver
occupational therapist
special educator
speech language pathologist
teacher of the visually impaired
vision impairment specialist

Professional Development Credits

IACET CEUs:

0.01

ACVREP CEs:

1

Presentation Length: 1 hour

Location:

Atrium 7

Description:

The purpose of the presentation will be to guide practitioners through the process of teaching individuals to communicate using an eye gaze enabled speech generating device. Three main phases (exploration, evaluation and acquisition) will be discussed in detail to provide participants with a framework to replicate in both clinical and educational settings. Participants will also learn how to customize vocabulary sets and maximize linguistic and literacy based features of communication applications.

Learning Outcomes:

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

• As a result of this activity, participants will be able to analyze three specific environmental and positioning modifications—such as screen angle, lighting, and seating stability—required to optimize a student’s visual access and success during the initial eye-gaze exploration phase.

• As a result of this activity , participants will be able to select appropriate calibration settings and assessment metrics (e.g., dwell time, gaze duration, or hit rate) to objectively determine a student’s candidacy for a dedicated eye-gaze speech-generating device during a clinical evaluation.

• As a result of this activity, participants will be able to formulate a transition plan for device acquisition that includes at least two evidence-based instructional strategies (such as aided language stimulation or errorless learning) to support the student’s shift from trial-based use to functional daily communication.

Disclosures:

Bonnie is not an employee of and does not have a financial relationship with the supplier of any speech generating devices. She is a salaried employee of the Special Education District of Lake County in Gages Lake, Illinois.