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Wisconsin AAC Network > Newsletters > 2024 > Summer 2024 Newsletter
Summer 2024 Newsletter

by | Jun 1, 2024 | 0 comments

Summer 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to the summer Newsletter of the WI AAC Network.

Man, I can’t believe that this will be my 17th year of going to a camp at the University of Whitewater. I joke that it is my summer home, because I have been coming to it for so long. I have been making some of them great friends, who work or worked at the university. These friendships are so special to me. I can drive anywhere on the campus from memory, this is an excellent thing because I can give directions to campers and their family members, and anyone who is walking around the campus. I can remember things when I am in the same place where it happened. Like every time I walk in the supper hall, I can heard my friend said her first sentence which it was I love camp, when I walk by the fence I can hear my mom talking to one of the other parent when we were walking to go swimming, and when I am in one of the classrooms I can hear my friend Jon speaking. Did you go to a summer camp? If yes, I bet that you have the same memories as I do. Summer camps are phenomenal and important for anyone including people who use AAC. Sadly, you can’t join me at whitewater this year, but you can search for camps and summer playgrounds in your community. These programs are great to start with your AAC communicator or communicators to be ready for a bigger camp next summer :). We hope that your summer will be fun, enjoyable, and has a lot of communication opportunities.

Summer 2024 Newsletter Contents:

  • Welcome from Mike Hipple
  • AAC Emergency Support to AAC Communicators
  • Summer Camps for AAC Communicators & for Adaptive Suppports
  • Summer Learning Opportunities about AAC
  • Community Communication/Playground Board Projects

AAC Emergency Support to AAC Communicators

Summer AAC Friendly Camps and Adapted Sport Camps

The Endless Possibilities Conference is back in person!! It is August 2nd at Pewaukee technical college. It is for families and educators to learn together. It is only $50! A reminder to families, you can ask your caseworker to fund your registration. https://wifacets.org/training/endless-possibilities-conference/

Webinar that WI FACETS did about what is the different ESY VS typical summer school. You need to register to watch this one. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J6WmytEKT6O-Bklm2Eg9Og#/registration

Summer Learning Opportunities – Virtual and In-Person

  • AAC In The Cloud is June 25th and June 26th this year! It is free to attend online and you will learn a lot. They will have amazing workshops. Please tell families about this one, because it is family friendly. You can also watch recordings from the previous 4 years. Most sessions are one hour long. https://www.facebook.com/AACintheCloud
  • Prentke Romich Company maintains a web page with an ongoing list of upcoming events including conferences, training both in person and virtual. I wrote this about summer fun when learning life skills. https://aaclanguagelab.com/articles/HippleMsummerfun?mode=viewhttps://www.prentrom.com/education/events

We asked our great friend and colleague Chris from the hit podcast Talking With Tech, to write about our state technology conference and why we should care. We hope you will enjoy and consider of checking it out SummerFest 2024 Blog Post

  • The Stepping into AAC Program is a PrAACtical program in conjunction with the Angelman Syndrome Associated created  an invaluable guide to help embrace and understand  Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Designed to accompany users through the initial stages of integrating AAC tools and strategies into daily life, this comprehensive FREE  program offers a wealth of resources and support. Divided into 20 parts, each intended to be completed weekly, the program provides structured activities, abundant resources, and insightful videos to facilitate understanding and implementation. Whether you’re a newcomer to AAC, seeking to build momentum, or simply aiming to deepen your knowledge, Practical AAC aims to provide a nurturing environment filled with support and inspiration. Through collaboration with school teams and other caregivers, this program endeavors to empower individuals on their AAC journey, fostering communication and connection every step of the way. For more information go to Stepping into AAC. https://www.angelman.org/stepping-into-aac/

Playground and Community Board Projects – A Growing Movement in Universal AAC Supports

  • Installing an AAC Communication Board onto the playgrounds of schools and in neighborhood parks has become a booming activity in the world of AAC. Several companies now sell playground AAC boards or will help you in the process of creating your own board. Look below for those resources.
  • But first, let’s introduce you to one of the youngest champions of playground boards that we have heard about. He is right here in Wisconsin!

Communication Inclusivity Project designed by a Wisconsin Elementary Student

  • In early May, Mike and Kelly had the opportunity to interview a 9 year old Wisconsin student who has communication inclusivity as his mission. Derek, who is very civic minded, told us that “I used to be shy”, and his mother shared that this project really helped him to be more comfortable speaking in public. During our time with them, we heard the details about his idea of providing a means for all children to be able to communicate during recess and how he put his concern for others into action.
  • Derek had been introduced to AAC through one of his mother’s high school students who uses an AAC system. He saw that there were kids at his elementary school that had no one to talk with during recess and thought that everyone should be able to communicate. As a part of his journey in taekwondo, he began a black belt service project in the fall of 2022 by deciding to work on getting AAC on the playground. To find out more about Derek’s participation in taekwondo go to https://sites.google.com/pewaukeeschools.org/derekwalz/about-me/my-jk-lee-taekwondo-journey?authuser=0
  • Derek created a website to support his fundraising and to keep people informed about the progress of the boards. He covers all the areas that you would need to know about how to do this yourself including the Project Proposal, his Research, Product Selecting, Fundraising and Installation. He has a very thorough timeline on his website, including all the ways in which he raised the money to be able to design, print and install 3 playground boards. https://sites.google.com/pewaukeeschools.org/derekwalz/project-planning?authuser=0
  • Throughout the project, Derek had assistance from several people. He talked to the school speech therapist about the important words to be included. His favorite activity at recess is wiffle ball, so he wanted to make sure that all of the recess activities were included in the board. He explored the different types of playground boards by researching the products by different companies and created a chart. Very much in the way that in assistive technology, we refer to it as Feature Matching! He made a video in which he describes his purpose of asking people who works with students with disabilities to take the survey. He included both English and Spanish words with each symbol. He even involved classmates in choosing a height for mounting the boards. https://sites.google.com/pewaukeeschools.org/derekwalz/project-planning/research?authuser=0 
  • Derek told us that it was important to meet with the playground managers “…because you can’t just go dig up the playground to put in a board”.
  • Derek completed his project at the close of 2023. He had accomplished getting three playground boards, including 2 at his school and one at another school.  He told us that he was “happy and proud” of the project and “we all want to accomplish being a better person.”
  • Derek’s mom, Cathy, has advice for creating friendships with students who use AAC & other kids. She sees that other kids often don’t know how to interact with AAC users, so it’s important that families share how to communicate. And the playground communication board makes symbols available to everyone so all kids can see & use it.
  • As a part of his proposal, Derek included his school motto “be here, be you, belong”. Well done Derek! We can’t thank you enough for living this motto!

Do you love him yet? When we were interviewing him and his mother, Mike said you are just like my two best friends from childhood. They are amazing and you are too!!

Information on Creating & Purchasing Community Communication Boards

Videos and Articles on Community Communication Board Projects

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