The Closing The Gap conference is revered as a leader in professional development in assistive technology (AT) and special education, recognized for providing practical and sound strategies, extraordinary resources and the latest products. This year, the conference has gone virtual making it even easier to access over 175 presentations during the event.
Control Bionics will be giving three on-demand presentations at Closing the Gap, providing educational resources to those attending. Preview the presentations now, all presentations will be available October 11th. Register for the conference for access to the sessions, and use our coupon code: 8#Fnxj to receive $25 off conference registration!
We asked Kristin Whitfield, MA, CCC-SLP and Clinical Education Specialist at Control Bionics what she was excited about most in her presentations. “There’s going to be so much information presented at the conference, but I’d want to highlight our Assessment and Implementation session.” said Kristin. “It tells the story of one of our users and his team, with real-world examples and solutions. It includes some great new ideas for clinicians.”
Check out the sessions Control Bionics will be presenting below:
Accessing AAC: Flexible Options
“Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it” (Brian Tracy). For many individuals who use AAC, the goal is easily identifiable: communicate thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs more fully. Getting to the goal? That requires flexibility!
In this session, we will focus on flexible, or multi-modal, access to AAC. We will address how people with complex bodies use different access methods when fatigued, when position changes, when conditions progress, or simply to improve speed and accuracy. Examples will be provided using touch, the NeuroNode sensor, and eye control independently and in combination.
Xboxes, Robots, Dragons, and More: Tools for Improving Access
What do gaming, controlling robots, operating toys, and using iPhones/iPads have in common? For individuals with significant motor limitations, they provide an opportunity to have fun, be more independent and, in the process, develop a more accurate and efficient means of accessing a computer or communication device!
In this session, we will demonstrate the Context & Effect app with the NeuroNode as a means of playing multi-switch games, operating multi-function toys, controlling various actions on robots, and using iPhones/iPads without switching from device to device. Opportunities to use these tools to help assess access methods for computer or communication device use will be discussed as well.
Assessment and Implementation: One Student’s Profile
Meet J., a 15-year-old student with complex communication needs. In his AAC evaluation report, his SLP wrote, “For the first time in J.’s fourteen years, he had been able to communicate with his family. This has never before been possible.” Wow!
In this session, J.’s parents and school therapists will share the experience evaluating and trialing AAC systems that led to this statement. In addition, they will discuss the process of implementing the chosen AAC system in home and school environments. Come learn from their experience and leave with new ideas to try!
Don’t forget to register using our coupon code for $25 off conference registration. Use code 8#Fnxj to register.
