With opportunities for school districts to purchase new equipment and materials using stimulus money during the next two years it is important to invest wisely.  Please visit www.amdi.net or call and request a catalog to view all the wonderful communication options available from AMDi.  Including the pre-made, pre-recorded, national content standard, grade level expectation aligned Smart Ease activities.  These activities address general curricular content and increase communication skills. Many come with resource CDs complete with worksheets and activities.  The Smart Ease activities fit both the Smart series and Tech series of AMDi devices.

On the last day of school, I was talking to one of my student’s mother and she was discussing their plans to go on summer vacation.  It was a fun trip to the beach, which is a good 6 hour drive from where she lives.  They had been very careful when planning “to think of everything, “including a beach wheelchair.  She also asked me to help her make some “beach overlays” so her daughter would have appropriate vocabulary while they were there.  We had fun for the next hour creating overlays for the beach, shopping, restaurants, and hotel.  With the Smart Series Communicator’s capability to have limitless levels we were able to add overlays for every situation.  Using Overlay Designer Pro software, we were able to make the overlays and record the sound files on the spot and add some fun sound effects like sea gulls and the sound of the waves. We even used images found on the internet of the actual hotel, beach and shopping centers they would be visiting to use as visual scenes.  With the overlays completed on the computer, we printed out the overlays and burned the flash memory card.  I provided the mom with a small organizer (meant for organizing coupons) to keep the flash cards for each overlay that easily fit in her purse. On my way home I realized that we had left out one crucial location…the car! 6 hours with nothing to say! No way! So I set out to create activities. The example show in this article is the I Spy activity.  If you activate the car window in the scene it cues the partner that the object spied is outside the car.  It’s a wonderful idea even for everyday travel. Why not practice communication in the car too!  I also came up with an overlay for the radio because that conversation often comes up in a car as well.  When making car activities think back to your days as a child.  What games did you play?  Was it the license plate game or maybe “punch bug”?  Playing car games on trips as a child is for some, a family tradition.  So make sure to ask the parents what games they used to play during road trips in the car and incorporate them as well.  The car is a great place for reinforcing socialization skills and focusing on communication interaction. I dropped the overlays for the Smart Series and the flash card off with the mother who was eager to try them before the trip.  I received a phone call two days later from her to happily tell me how much they both are enjoying the overlays and how much she appreciated having “typical car moments” such as answering 50 times “Are we there yet!”

End of the Year Count Down Challenge

If you are school based teacher or therapist, then like many of us, I am sure you have begun your end of the year count down.  My ritual for the end of the year is to collect equipment, close out records, and reflect on the year.  But I realized with a growing caseload, the end of the year should be less about “closing shop” and more about being proactive for next year.  With this in mind, I have decided to conduct an experiment.  I have asked my teachers and therapist to use “proactive thinking” in the area of communication for specific students and challenge you the readers as well.  Focus on the individuals you service and their communication. Are they able to communicate their needs effectively in an appropriate manner?  If not why and what can be done and focused on next year to help them achieve communication success?  For those who have been identified and currently use augmentative communication, has the individual progressed in the use of their device?  If so, what is the next step?  If not, what issues can be identified that prevent growth and what can be done to change them?  These questions have helped promote “proactive thinking” in my collogues and has helped to give us a positive “game plan” that leaves us looking forward to next year!

Once proactive planning is complete it then becomes time to make sure individuals have the proper equipment to accomplish their goals.  AMDi’s Smart Series of solutions are a wonderful place to start whether the focus is teaching cause and effect or promoting sentencing building skills there is a device to fit every individuals need.

There is a lot of buzz lately around the exciting news that Special Education will be receiving stimulus funding. Districts are now faced with the exciting yet daunting task of deciding what is needed.  During the consideration process do not forget to address communication.  When at conferences I have often heard “I would really like to have that device for my student but we don’t have the funds.” Now is the time to stimulate communication by providing them with the right tools to help them grow.  Take the end of the year challenge or simply click on the “Thought Matrix” to discover what Smart solutions for communication AMDi has to offer and start stimulating communication!

Overlay Designer Pro… A New Utility Software Program Designed to Streamline the Development of Communication for the Smart Series of AAC Devices

Have you been looking for tools that help save time and streamline the facilitation of communication? Those of us working with individuals in need of communication assistance know there is a large time investment in the development, creation, and programming of overlays and displays. I often find myself looking and wishing for tools that will help me spend less time creating and more time working with my students in need. I am excited to say that I have found one that really gives my students something to talk about.

Continuing in the tradition of SMART solutions, AMDi is introducing their new Overlay Designer Pro. Overlay Designer Pro makes creating complete static display activities from your own computer a snap and comes complete with software and a flash burner. Use the software to create beautiful overlays using your own digital pictures and symbols or take advantage of the large library of over 8,000 Tech/Syms and News-2- You SymbolStix® symbols. As you create your overlays, assign sounds either from the sound library that comes with Overlay Designer Pro or simply record your own using a microphone. Once finished creating an overlay, complete with messages on each button, simply click print for the overlay, insert a flash card into the flash burner and click “burn flash” and you’re done. Slide the overlay into one of AMDi’s Smart Series of Devices, pop in the flash card and the activity is ready for use.

What excites me about Overlay Designer Pro software is that overlays can be created in one central location (ex. office computer) for all of the students who use AMDi’s Smart Series of devices for the whole week. The students do not have to have their devices taken from them to program and levels do not need to be erased on their device that they may still need. Activities complete with sound can be created ahead of time and saved on the computer until they are needed. Also fun activities or overlays that address events such as field trips, holidays, and assemblies can be archived with Overlay Designer Pro and reused the following year or with other students.

Having the freedom to create overlays on the computer allows for good, clear sound quality message recording as well as the ability to burn sound files such as sound effects, short music clips and favorite character voices directly to the flash card. The flexibility of being able to use sound files located on the computer or downloaded from the internet allows for the creation of unique overlays and activities that really capture attention and provide motivation. Finally I have found that the friendly format of Overlay Designer Pro has helped increase the use and creation of overlays by other staff members. The ease of creating the overlays with sound files on the computers has helped decrease errors in programming so overlays and sound files match up and work perfectly the first time.

Want to learn more about Overlay Designer Pro? Visit us March 18th -20th in Los Angeles at CSUN. Download a demo version online at Overlay Design Pro Demo additional comments or questions? E-mail Allison at allison.yates@amdi.net

Solutions for Assistive Technology Conference

Please come by and visit us in the exhibit hall booth 621

Interested in learning how AMDi’s devices are being used with students? We would love to see you at one of our presentations!

1. Fri 30th 9:15 Teaching Communication Through Curriculum Room: Curacao 1
2. Fri 30th 4:00 From Receptive to Expressive: Using Software to Foster Communication Room: Curacao 2
3. Sat 31 9:15 Show Me: The Path to Promoting AAC Use in School aged Children Room: Curacao 1
   

 Time to get Steppin'! 

It is a new year and for many of us we are already struggling to keep our resolutions. The New Year always causes me to reflect on the path I’m guiding my students down. Half the school year is over. Have they made adequate progress so far? Are we on the right track or is it time to step in another direction and try something new? AMDi has several new products available to provide solutions no matter where an individual is or is going on the augmentative continuum. One of the new products available is the Partner/Plus Stepper. Its’ versatility help spark staff imagination and the students are excited and ready to use their steppers to participate in all kinds of new activities.

The Partner/Plus Stepper allows for multiple messages to be programmed on one single button, each time the button is pressed a new message is said. The stepper has 60 seconds of record time therefore instead of a predetermined number of levels; one can recorded numerous messages until all 60 seconds are recorded. Like its counterpart, the Partner/Plus, it also has an input and output jack. This allows the stepper not only to be accessed by an alternative switch but also provides for the use of switch toys or other environmental control units. This feature is especially helpful to help provide contextual relevance and meaning to the multiple messages.

A fun activity and wonderful example of the new Partner/Plus Stepper is its use during music time. When singing the 5 little duck song, the song is broken up into several levels on the stepper. A duck switch toy is then plugged into the stepper. While “stepping through” the levels on the device, when the chorus is activated (which is “mother duck said quack, quack, quack”) the switch toy is simultaneously activated and the toy duck begins to quack. I am finding with my students, activities like this not only help promote better understanding by providing contextual relevance but also promote awareness and distinction between the various messages. However, by far the favorite feature is the steppers ability to “clip” together. The Partner/Plus Stepper can be connected to other steppers or other Partner/Plus single message devices in various configurations to create unique custom devices for individuals. One example of the use of connected devices that has been extremely motivating to younger students is Old McDonald. This activity consists of one Partner/Plus Stepper which contains the chorus of Old McDonald connected to four Partner/Plus single message devices containing various farm animals. Each of the Partner/Plus single message devices also have the corresponding switch toy farm animal plugged into the output jack. This activity is not only fun and interactive it really has proven helpful to increase symbol discrimination and multiple activations of various cells. So as for this New Year, my resolution is to get Stepping!

Often programming of a device is a global task in which an individual’s entire days vocabulary was determined and programmed on the predetermined levels of their communication device. Inevitably, with one button left, there is often the realization that key activities or vocabulary have been left out. This is especially true when working with individuals who require devices with fewer buttons.
 
 However, that is no longer the case! The Smart/Talk is an 8 location communication device with 6 levels and what distinguishes it are its smart features. The Smart/Talk has overlay recognition technology which allows it to identify an overlay and automatically attach the appropriate recorded messages. This not only eliminates the need to turn knobs or switch levels but more importantly it alleviates the lag time experienced by the users, allowing them to have more appropriate communication interactions with minimal interruptions. The Smart/Talk also stores recordings on a flash drive which eliminates the need to rerecord, but more importantly by using an additional flash drive the Smart/Talk has an additional 6 levels. Therefore, by acquiring extra flash cards, a traditional 8 button device with 6 levels becomes a device with 6 or more additional levels by simply changing the flash!
The implications of the use of this new technology is that it shifts the focus from programming vocabulary and allows the freedom to begin creating communication overlays that promote participation in individual tasks. Imagine the possibilities when there is no longer the conflict of deciding whether to add basic care phrases or a fun phrase that the user may want to communicate because there is not room for both.
With the possibilities of endless levels (by acquiring additional flash cards), let’s talk about components that should be considered when programming and creating page sets on the Smart/Talk.

 Through years of creating page sets for students, I have made my fair share of mistakes and discoveries along the way. I would like to share with you some strategies, components, and tricks that I have found helpful in creating a successful communicator by utilizing the wonderful time saving new features of the Smart/Talk.

 Begin thinking in “Task Mode”. As mentioned above, the goal of creating a page set when using a static display device was commonly programming vocabulary and phrases that would carry students throughout their day. This often left my students with minimal participation capability, not to mention minimal desire to communicate. With the ability to have additional levels, begin thinking of individual tasks and take advantage of the Smart/Talk overlay recognition capabilities by adding fun phrases and vocabulary that is associated with the task and let it spill over to another level or all 6. With overlay recognition there is seamless transition from one level to the next and by adding fun vocabulary and phrases my students are participating, commenting, and having more fun.
Add local dialect or phrases. Very few people live in a region without using local sayings or dialect. Do not forget to add them to your individual’s communication device. The addition of sounds added to a message (ex. the sound of running water accompanying the message “let’s wash the dishes”) has been proven to increase interest and use.
Allow plenty of opportunities and time to communicate. Waiting is a difficult task. As a communicator and teacher there is often the feeling that quiet spots in communication must be filled with conversations. However, if the correct and motivating vocabulary is present, often posing a question and waiting quietly produces surprising results.

 AMDi’s Smart/Start: Let’s Talk About Centers is an example of “thinking in task mode.” It takes the common pre-kindergarten and kindergarten activity of centers and breaks it down into individual components (ex. blocks, dramatic play, singing, art, etc.) that are needed to complete the task. It also includes highly motivating fun phrases and pre-programmed songs to encourage communication. The activity has been personalized to the student by adding local phrases used in the community which increased the use of the device as well as the number of communication exchanges from the student.