Creating Opportunities For Teens & Adults With Special Needs & Disabilities

Adulthood often comes with a narrowing of therapeutic options that unfortunately are becoming even more thinned out due to recent policy. In this episode we pick up from a line of thought introduced in episode 150 regarding supports that affirm Neurodiversity and how value is ascribed to disability communities. Ableist lines of thinking are having a catastrophic impact on support services for the most vulnerable. These impacts in policy will be very hard to reverse once implemented and many advocates are unaware that the advocacy movements they are supporting may actually be ableist at the core and incredibly harmful to those we wish to champion   About the Guest: Ashley Kim Weiss Ashley is an entrepreneur and disability advocate who currently serves as the National Coordinator for Together for Choice.  She is also the President & CEO of Elevare Community, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create supportive residential communities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  P

What does it look like to support self injurious behavior in a way that is affirming to the individuals neurotype? Are the approaches being suggested in the neurodivergent affirming therapeutic practices movement just wishful thinking or are they game changers for the many looking for help in this area? We conclude with a conversation about what self determination truly looks like when considering independent living outcomes and goals. We highly suggest listening to this episode with a copy of the document created by OT's for Neurodiversity. You can download it for free here. Without the download this conversation will lack the same level of depth and understanding because we refer to the document often without specific descriptions.  About the Guests:  Greg Boheler, MSOT and Jacklyn Googins, MSOT Greg is an autistic MOST graduate from UNC Chapel Hill, co-founder of B3 Coffee, and co-founder of OTs for Neurodiversity. Greg leverages his diverse skill set, his divergent way of thinking, and an OT background i

New methods of therapy are beginning to take hold that emphasize neurodivergent affirming practices. What does this even mean and how does it expand or change the scope of traditional therapeutic focus? This is the first of two episodes on the topic. About the Guest: Jacklyn Googins, MSOT Jacklyn (she/her) graduated from UNC Chapel Hill’s Master’s of Occupational Therapy program in August 2021. Jacklyn is the co-founder of OTs for neurodiversity, a paradigm-shift in social media advocacy platform and the co-founder of B3 Coffee, a nonprofit that provides social and vocational opportunities for people of all abilities. She plans to carve a non-traditional path as an OT interested in inclusive workplace practices, neurodiversity in higher education, and post-secondary transition planning. She identifies as neurodivergent and is dedicated to advancing social justice through her involvement in community-level initiatives. Mentioned Content: OT’s for ND Teachers Pay Teachers Site Neurodiversity-Affirming Versu

From the start, referrals and advice and options abound. How do we make smart decisions and put boundaries around therapy so as to choose the best option and know when it’s time to bail.   About the Guest Kimberly Richey is a former librarian, researcher, massage therapist and Rolfer with over 20 years of experience. She is also on a unique parenting journey with her son, Eli, who has disabilities. Kimberly’s goal is to support other parents navigating and advocating for their children with disabilities. She loves a good podcast and ginger kombucha! You can find her @uniqueparentingjourney on IG or at uniqueparenting.co . Kimberly has offered a free download of the Action Map discussed in the show to help bring clarity to therapy choices. This episode is part of a 12 episode series in Season 5 rethinking the what, when, where, why, and how of the therapies we choose. 

The most common settings for occupational, physical, and speech therapy are clinics, schools, homes, and in the community. This episode explores the pros and cons of each and introduces the new series where we rethink the what, when, where, why, and how of therapies we choose to use. About the Guest: Sara Hall, OTR/L Sara Hall is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner of SOAR Pediatric Therapy, a community-based private practice specializing in unique and tailored therapy services to children of all ages and diagnoses. SOAR’s emphasis is on empowering parents and providing education to parents, caregivers and teachers for effective carryover and to best support children in all environments. With over 20 years experiences, Sara has worked across many settings, including school setting, clinics, home health early intervention, and community-based settings. She specializes in sensory integrative approaches, self-regulation, emotional regulation, reflex integration, and also has certification for comple

In this final episode of the literacy series, Kim shares how she is implementing into Miranda's literacy instruction what the guests have taught and what she has learned from the book Comprehensive Literacy for All. Along with specific episode/guest mentions from the series and page references from the book Kim shares: How at the beginning of the series it was confusing to understand the way literacy and communication were and were not the same when using a speech generating device. What happened when she learned and implemented strategies for emergent rather than conventional stages of literacy development. What types of lessons she is using to teach the emergent writing areas of working with words, and writing with full keyboard. What types of lessons are being used to teach the transitional strategies of shared reading, independent reading, word study, and reading comprehension. What was the easiest and what has yet to be tried. The take away is to think of the elements of a comprehensive literacy progra

She was denied access to appropriate educational opportunities and a robust communication system for the first 18 years of life. But now, she has a degree in education policy and is a grad student studying curriculum instruction. A self advocate shares what it was like to live with trapped thoughts for 18 years and what was helpful and harmful on her journey toward communication and literacy. About the Guest: Jordyn Zimmerman, B.Ed. Jordyn is a graduate student of education at Boston College studying Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on severe disabilities. Before graduate school, she completed her bachelors degree in education policy at Ohio University, as well as a minor in communication studies, and certificate in law, justice, and culture. She founded the seventh inclusive collegiate cheer team in the nation under Generation Spirit (formally The Sparkle Effect), served on the student senate, and was a finalist for the National Speech and Debate Association Student of the Year. She was a public p

Despite what research tells us about time learners need in emergent literacy environments,  learners with CVI and significant disabilities are often expected to immediately jump into conventional strategies. This episode shares emergent literacy strategies, specifically in writing, for learners who have difficulty seeing and who have significant physical impairments.  About the Guest: Gretchen Hanser, PhD Dr. Hanser has worked in the field of assistive technology and literacy for students with significant disabilities for over 20 years. She is an educator and an occupational therapist. Her primary focus has been on augmentative and alternative communication and literacy for students with the most significant disabilities. She has worked in a variety of educational settings developing model classrooms, developing school based assistive technology centers, providing teacher and related service provider trainings, participating in assistive technology assessment teams and working directly with students and staff

If it’s not in the IEP then there is a good chance it won’t be an educational priority. Comprehensive literacy involves several areas of instruction. What should assessments and goals look like when using comprehensive literacy approaches toward literacy? About the Guest Stephanie Spadorcia is the chair of the Teaching and Learning department, which consists of Early Childhood, Elementary. Middle School, High School, and Special Education programs. Her research and teaching focuses on literacy instruction for students across the disability continuum; assessment of reading and writing; and using technology to support literacy instruction. She has published articles and book chapters, and presents nationally. She is a researcher with the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at UNC at Chapel Hill, conducting research and development on literacy instruction for students with disabilities. She does work in schools in providing literacy instruction for all students, and the role of assessment in a literacy pr

Bringing all learners, regardless of disability, to a place of literacy is going to require specialized skill sets from the therapy team, leadership from the special education teacher, involvement of para professionals, and follow through at home. This episode offers insight from a public high school education team that have discovered how bring it all together for comprehensive literacy instruction. About the Guests: Ashley Larisey is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and clinical educator. Ashley’s work experiences over the past 11 years include public and private therapeutic day schools, speech/language clinics, and early intervention. Ashley also serves as an adjunct clinical supervisor at Saint Xavier University and teaches a module specific to the use of technology in the field of Speech/Language Pathology. Ashley has extensive experience working with children and adults who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, and has presented at local and national conferences on AAC. Lau

Changes require new ideas and ways of thinking. When considering literacy instruction and the teams responsible, where is the path of least resistance? This episode is a brainstorming session yielding ideas such as whole team vs segmented IEP writing, how to spearhead a comprehensive literacy movement in your school, and how Covid may have introduced models of instruction that bring more consistency to each child’s team. About the Guest: Christopher R. Bugaj, MA CCC-SLP Joining us is Christopher R. Bugaj, MA CCC‐SLP is a founding member of the Assistive Technology Team for Loudoun County Public Schools. Chris co-hosts the Talking With Tech podcast featuring interviews and conversations about augmentative and alternative communication and has hosted The A.T.TIPSCAST; a multi‐award winning podcast featuring strategies to design educational experiences. Chris is the author of The New Assistive Tech: Make Learning Awesome For All, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Chris is

Many educators are required by their district to use prepackaged curriculum sets. While these sets are very user friendly, they often do not follow a comprehensive literacy approach to learning and assume reading level equates thinking level. As a result, many learners are either left behind or lack access to age appropriate materials and cognitive concepts. About the Guest: Don Johnston, M.S. Don didn’t read his first book until the 9th grade after he was inspired by a very special teacher. He learned to make “movies in his mind” which was the key to his learning. This was influential in the visual supports in Readtopia. Don has wanted to bring visual learning to other students his whole life. Now it’s a reality! Don made Readtopia his full-time passion, driving the development forward. He embedded himself in many Readtopia videos, talking directly to students on-location from around the world. Links to Mentioned Content Readtopia In addition to Readtopia, Don and his team have created a variety to liter

Comprehensive literacy instruction at the emergent stage includes shared reading, predictable chart writing, alphabet and phonological awareness, writing, and self directed reading. Comprehensive literacy instruction at the conventional stage includes reading comprehension, word study, writing, and self directed reading. This episode gives a fly on the wall look at how to put all of these aspects together to support literacy instruction should you have your learner for the entire day, or only at bedtime. About the Guest: Kim Rankin of Hold My Words Kim is a mother of eight and grandmother of four. Her twenty-eight consecutive years as a homeschool mom has given her opportunity to be a lifelong learner. Most recently, the needs of her youngest child, Nathaniel, has pushed her into the AAC world and given her reason to explore teaching literacy to a complex communicator. She is a frequent online contributor and speaker at events focused on AAC and literacy. Links to Mentioned Content: Kim’s website @holdmyw

Is there a part of you doubting literacy is truly possible for ALL learners regardless of degree of disability? Or, perhaps you are on the other side of the ring trying to convince others that lacking the ability to see, or move extremities, or speak does not exclude literacy possibilities. This conversation addresses common belief barriers and removes them with a new vision from an educator who has experienced the truth that literacy is truly possible for ALL. About the Guest: Dr. Caroline Musselwhite Dr. Caroline Musselwhite is an assistive technology specialist with more than 45 years of experience working with children and adolescents with significant disabilities in a variety of settings, including Head Start, clinics, developmental day programs, homes, and the public schools. Dr. Musselwhite has written a number of textbooks and “how-to” books on a range of topics, and has also authored many books and software programs for youth with disabilities. She has presented thousands of workshops throughout Nort

Given the right accommodations everyone is capable of reading and writing, even those with the most significant physical disabilities. This is the first of 3 episodes tucked into our 15 episode literacy series that will focus specifically on learners with physical disabilities. Here, we learn of several tools that make literacy instruction accessible and how to choose the best accommodations. About the Guest: Gretchen Hanser, PhD Dr. Hanser has worked in the field of assistive technology and literacy for students with significant disabilities for over 20 years. She is an educator and an occupational therapist. Her primary focus has been on augmentative and alternative communication and literacy for students with the most significant disabilities. She has worked in a variety of educational settings developing model classrooms, developing school based assistive technology centers, providing teacher and related service provider trainings, participating in assistive technology assessment teams and working directl

It is important for learners with disabilities to have ample time in emergent reading and writing skills so as to build a solid platform for conventional literacy strategies. How do you know when that platform is ready to support more complex literacy instruction? This episode answers that question and lays out the areas to focus on when teaching conventional reading strategies, specifically for learners with disabilities. About the Guest: Dr. Sally Clendon Sally Clendon, PhD is a speech-language therapist with expertise in literacy instruction for children with complex communication and learning needs particularly those who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Sally completed her PhD at the Centre for Literacy and Disability studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006. Since then Sally has held academic appointments in Australia and New Zealand. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Speech and Language Therapy in the Institute of Education at Massey University in Auckl

Learners move through 14 stages of writing as they progress. This episode focuses on the earlier stages of writing and how we can best support learners with disabilities in moving through each while avoiding common mistakes. About the Guest: Jane Farrall Jane Farrall is a speech pathologist and special educator passionate about literacy, AAC and assistive technology. After 30 years in the disability and assistive technology field, she has lots of practical experience working with people with a range of abilities. Jane has worked as both a therapist and literacy teacher. She has also worked as an assistive technology specialist and is currently working as an independent consultant, running workshops and consulting with schools around Australia. Her consultancy works focuses on implementing AAC and comprehensive literacy for all students. Links to Mentioned Content: Jane has two websites that are a dream for anyone interested in deep diving into literacy instruction techniques. At www.janefarrall.com one will

Often learners with disabilities are not provided ample opportunities for emergent literacy skills to solidify. This episode presents 4 questions to identify if our learner needs more time with emergent literacy strategies and several practical applications to build emergent reading skills. About the Guest Sofia Benson-Goldberg PhD, CC-SLP works as a research assistant at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies. Prior to starting her PhD studies, Sofia had her dream clinical job working, with children, teenagers, and young adults with severe physical and cognitive disabilities with complex communication needs at a small private practice in Northern Colorado. Since joining the CLDS, Sofia has been a research assistant on Project Core and Tarheel Shared Reader among other projects. She looks forward to continuing her academic career with a post-doctoral fellowship at the CLDS on Project Open. Links to Mentioned Content: Comprehensive Literacy for All by Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver Shared Re

Literacy instruction has historically used mostly verbal strategies so when learners are non speaking how is literacy supposed to be taught? This episode addresses a common literacy instruction mistake used on learners utilizing speech generating devices. About the Guest: Tina Moreno, M.A. CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist with the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned her undergraduate degree from Kent State University and attained her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Cleveland State University. At the CCBDD, Tina serves individuals 3 and up in a continuum of settings, including homes, schools, workplaces, community residences and day programs. She evaluates the communication needs of students from preschool through transition years with an emphasis on AAC assessment and implementation, training, and collaborating with educational teams and families. She presents on the topics of AAC and literacy at national conferences. She is inspired to

The tide is beginning to shift regarding how literacy is approached for students with disabilities, specifically those with complex communication needs. The first step is exploring what we believe to be true about students with disabilities. What are the dangers in assuming literacy is not possible? On the flip side, is assuming competence too simplistic? We will discuss these ideas as well as why access to the entire alphabet is needed, the gateway social media offers, and allowing the necessary time for emergent literacy skills to solidify. This episode is the second of twelve focusing on literacy instruction for students with significant disabilities. About the Guest: Rachael M. Langley, MA, CCC-SLP Rachael Langley is a speech-language pathologist working as an Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) Consultant in Michigan. Her 18-year career has focused primarily on supporting students with complex communication needs. A two-time graduate of Michigan State University, Rachael is one of the founders a