TASN-ATBS Webinar Series: Vision, Voice, and Choice: Navigating AAC Options for Complex Visual Needs

This webinar session will equip educators, speech-language pathologists, and parents with the knowledge and skills to improve Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) strategies for individuals with complex visual needs such as cortical visual impairment (CVI) and sensory differences impacting vision. Examining best practices in AAC, symbol selection, and application bridges understanding with practical use. Key objectives include understanding the visual processing challenges of those with CVI and emphasizing collaboration with Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments to create effective solutions. Participants will learn to recognize the visual preferences of individuals with CVI, select appropriate symbols, systems, and devices, and adapt communication methods like partner-assisted scanning and tactile or auditory channels.

After attending this webinar, participants will:

Presenter Information:

Paige Buckingham received her bachelor’s degree in education and an M.S. in Speech Language Pathology from Baylor University. She has a certification in supervision from the University of Kansas. During her 32-year career in public education, Paige was able to work with students aged 0-21 as a Speech Language Pathologist, and AT Facilitator. Paige now owns Buckingham Educational Services & Training, LLC, with the goal of supporting school staff in learning more about the tools students need to have skills for life. Paige is the AT lead facilitator for Kansas Infinitec and has presented in the Midwest and via webinars to various state Assistive Technology organizations. 

Paige has been a member of the Kansas Infinitec Cadre (KIC) since 2012, which has allowed me to provide professional development across Kansas. As part of KIC, she was trained to use the High-Quality Professional Development Checklist to ensure that the training she gives meets the highest standards. Her areas of professional development have included best practices in AAC evaluation and selection, use of specific AAC devices/ systems, AT consideration, Executive Function Skills, and Dynamic Learning Maps. Paige has consulted with school districts on how to set up effective Assistive Technology systems so that they have a structure in place to provide quality Assistive Technology services to students.

As a Facilitator in the Lawrence (KS) Public Schools, Paige created an Assistive Technology structure that did not use the expert model of an outside AT team but focused on empowering IEP teams to have the ability to make AT decisions for the student based on data-driven AT consideration and evaluation. She created a rubric that the district uses to make decisions about caseload size for the Speech-Language Pathologists that looked at the impact of workload instead of just using the number of students on a caseload. Paige can see the big picture view of a school district or Co-op while also being able to stay student-focused and data-driven.

Jane Korsten has an undergraduate degree in elementary education from the University of Kansas, a M.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the University of Illinois, and has taken additional postgraduate courses at the University of Kansas, University of Missouri at Kansas City, University of Nebraska, Hamline University, Ottawa University and Research Institute for Assistive and Training technologies (RIATT), University of New Mexico.

She has worked as a speech pathologist and AT resource with individuals from “birth to earth” having significant sensory motor differences and autism in public schools, supported living settings, and private practice developing alternate communication systems for individuals who are non-verbal.  She was the principal investigator on an Innovative Research Grant funded through the National Institutes of Health.  his three-year research project led to the development of Every Move Counts: a sensory-based approach to communication.  

In addition to Every Move Counts and Every Move Counts, Clicks and Chats: A Sensory Based Approach to Communication and Assistive Technology, Jane is a co-author of How Do You Know It?  How Can You Show It? Making Assistive Technology Decisions (2002 - Reed, Bowser and Korsten) and Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology: A Comprehensive Guide to Assistive Technology Services (2015)  and The QIAT Companion: A Just-in-Time Resource for Implementing the Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (2020).

She is a founding member of QIAT (Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology), a member of QILT (Quality Indicators Leadership Team), and a board member of the NATE Network (National Assistive Technology in Education).  Since 1989, Jane has provided professional development on a variety of topics nationally and internationally