Totally Listening: Using a Total Communication Approach

This event will be online at YouTube and in-person (New York City). The speaker and live stream starts at 7:30 pm ET. In-person attendees may arrive as early as 7 pm ET. If arriving late, please leave a comment on this page and someone will come down ASAP.

Description
This talk, from the perspective of speech pathologists who specialize in communication language, focuses on strategies and perspectives that support all people, with or without a clinical or therapeutic background, in meaningfully engaging with individuals who are non-speaking or minimally-speaking to uplift and celebrate their unique personalities as well as provide space and opportunity for autonomy, self-expression, and connection with others.

They'll provide an overview of total communication to broaden understanding of how all individuals use different forms of communication depending on our anatomy, physiology, cognition, preferences, and personality, as well as how we may code-switch depending on the setting, context, and our current state.

The importance of being an informed and welcoming communication partner will be discussed to broaden perspectives on the significance of human connection. They'll outline specific, language-based strategies and provide examples. Attendees will have an opportunity to practice self-awareness of their own preferred communication methods, handling discomfort when interactions may push those boundaries, and opening their minds to the idea that connection transcends speech!

We'll cover:

• What is AAC? (Many different forms)
• Strategies such as attributing meaning and verbal referencing
• Following someone's lead
• Partner-Assisted Scanning (PAS)
• Expressive, receptive, and social language
• Self-awareness of preferred communication methods

Presenter bios
Molly Ziegler is a communication enthusiast with a passion for assistive technology. She hails from a suburb of Chicago, IL, and loves her life in NYC as much as she loves her Midwestern roots. She specializes in finding creative ways for people of all abilities to access personally meaningful language for creative, self-expressive, social, and self-care purposes, with a specific interest in finding person-specific strategies that allow individuals to direct their care. She works with teenagers and young adults with multiple disabilities and medical complexities as well as their families and caregivers to ensure connection and communication across all environments using methods that are unique to each individual and support system.

Christina Lompado has worked in the field of assistive technology for over 8 years, servicing individuals with significant disabilities and complex communication needs. She is a speech and language pathologist and assistive technology provider conducting services in the educational and home settings. Christina has provided training to educational teams and therapy departments focusing on the implementation of a range of lite to high-technology devices, communication partner strategies, and material development for academic success. Christina is passionate about AAC, literacy, and access to communication all day, every day!

Accessibility
The presentation will have human captions [CC], not automatic captions. For ASL preferred speakers, learn about the Aira ASL App, and download it before the event.

For the Blind and Low Vision community, learn about the Aira Explorer App and download it before the event.

To access the online webinar for audio description, use the A11yNYC Access Offer to call, or simply inform your Visual Interpreter that you'd like that offer applied when you connect.

For additional accessibility requirements, please email meryl@equalentry.com two weeks before the event.

Livestream
YouTube link to follow soon.

Provided by Internet Society Accessibility SIG.

Location details
The event is on the 4th floor. Everyone must be accompanied to the event on the 4th floor. Because everyone needs to be escorted, please arrive early or on time. When you enter the ground floor, a representative from A11yNYC will be there to provide elevator access.

The building is near several transit stops:
6 train

• Spring Street (non-accessible stop): 100 feet
• Canal Street (accessible stop): 0.4 miles

NQRW trains

• Prince Street (non-accessible stop): 0.2 miles
• Canal Street (accessible stop): 0.3 miles

M1 / M55 Bus lines

• Broadway/Spring Street stop: 500 feet

Cabs and rideshares can let passengers out right near the building entrance

Important note
Google Maps currently incorrectly pins the location around the corner on Crosby Street. The entrance is not on Crosby. The entrance is on Spring Street, inside the Marc Jacobs International building. It is roughly halfway between Crosby and Lafayette, almost directly across Spring Street from the Chipotle restaurant.

Accreditation
All A11yNYC meetups are pre-approved for IAAP Continuing Accessibility Education Credits (CAEC).

Sponsors
Thanks to AKQA, Deque, Evinced, Equal Entry, and Fable for sponsoring. Want to be a sponsor? Contact meryl@equalentry.com