Tuesday, October 20, 2026
8:00 am - 3:30 pm
Workshop Summary:
This workshop addresses communication and learning access for individuals with complex physical and visual challenges, including CVI, who depend on auditory or auditory-plus-visual scanning rather than direct visual selection. Participants will learn to teach intentional movements that support partner-assisted scanning and progressively develop switch access through the Stepping Stones to Switch Access framework (Burkhart). Emphasis includes teaching and shaping sustainable, intelligible movements; reducing cognitive and verbal overload; and organizing vocabulary to support language growth. Partner-assisted scanning and switch access are presented as complementary, parallel pathways within a long-term plan supporting communication, learning, and independence across environments and partners. Participants will leave with foundational principles and practical strategies.
Professional Development Credits:
IACET CEUs: 0.65
ACVREP CEs: 6.5
Learning Outcomes:
Explain at least three motor, visual, and cognitive factors that influence the effectiveness of partner-assisted auditory and auditory-plus-visual scanning for individuals with complex physical and visual challenges, including CVI.
Describe at least three strategies for teaching intentional movements that support reliable partner-assisted auditory and auditory-plus-visual scanning, including development of clear accept/reject signals.
Describe at least three components of the Stepping Stones to Switch Access framework (Burkhart) for progressing from early cause-and-effect experiences to single-switch and two-switch step scanning.
Presenter(s)
Registration Options:
| Description | Workshop Fee | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Day Conference Registration: (Workshop included at no additional cost with 3-day conference registration) | $0 | |
| Tuesday-Only Workshop Registration | $375 | Workshop Only Registration |
Learn more About this Workshop
Presenter-provided Abstract:
Many individuals with complex physical and visual challenges—including cortical/cerebral visual impairment (CVI)—cannot rely on consistent visual access or direct selection to communicate and learn. For these learners, auditory scanning—sometimes supported by carefully structured visual scaffolds—may offer a more reliable pathway. However, auditory scanning is sequential and transient, placing high demands on attention, working memory, motor control, and partner skill. Without intentional design, it can become overwhelming or reduced to answering questions rather than supporting true communication and language development.
This session focuses on teaching the movement foundations that make both partner-assisted auditory scanning and independent switch access possible. Participants will explore how to shape intentional, sustainable, and intelligible movements that serve first as reliable accept/reject signals and later evolve into more independent access methods. Emphasis will be placed on developing movements that unfamiliar partners can interpret, protecting healthy motor patterns, and avoiding early strategies that may limit future access.
Partner-assisted auditory scanning will be presented as an alternative to pointing—not as a testing format, but as a structured method for selection and language growth. Participants will learn practical strategies for reducing verbal overload, establishing a consistent “scan voice,” organizing vocabulary to support working memory, and modeling robust language within predictable auditory patterns. The goal is communication at any time, not just during structured interactions.
We will explore developing switch access through the ‘Stepping Stones to Switch Access’ process (Burkhart) as a systematic framework for moving from early cause-and-effect experiences to two-switch step scanning. Participants will examine how to build readiness for switch use through movement shaping, timing, and intentional control; how to introduce user control (including single-switch and two-switch step scanning) The session will highlight how partner-assisted auditory scanning and switch access are not competing approaches, but complementary pathways within a long-term access plan.
Throughout the session, communication, motor learning, vision, and literacy will be considered as parallel processes rather than sequential prerequisites. Designed for SLPs, OTs, PTs, Assistive Technology Specialists, teachers, paraprofessionals, and family members, this session blends foundational principles with practical strategies. Participants will leave with concrete strategies for designing movement-based access when vision is unreliable and for building sustainable communication systems that expand over time.