Join Rebecca Matthews Carlson, M.S. CCC-SLP, for an interactive webinar on creating personalized social stories for individuals who benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with unique vision, access and language needs. Drawing from her experience at 麻豆社, Rebecca will explore how tailored narratives can foster social connections, establish routines, and build understanding around personal experiences and topics. She will share examples and videos of personalized stories and system design that have supported her students. Learn practical strategies for collaboration, content customization, and accommodation design, empowering caregivers and educators to create meaningful, accessible stories.

Archive coming soon

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Series Overview

Class dates will be every other Thursday at 12 pm 鈥�1 pm PT/2 pm 鈥� 3 pm CT/3 pm 鈥� 4 pm ET during the Spring Semester 2025, starting on Jan. 16, 2025.聽

The six-month long series will provide an overview of the essential elements to understand and meet the needs of children/students with CVI from infancy through the school years. The series will be a virtual, 鈥渞eal time鈥� experience with opportunities for participation and interaction.聽聽聽

Each cohort will be limited to 15-20 participants.聽 Participants are expected to be present for the virtual classes.聽 One of the objectives of this experience is to build professional networks, so cameras are to be turned on so that members can become familiar with their colleagues.聽聽

Each 鈥渃onversation鈥� will last for approximately 45 minutes with an additional 15 minutes for questions and answers.聽 Questions and comments on assignments can also be submitted prior to and/or after the conversation using the online learning management system.聽 These questions and comments will be addressed during each session.聽聽

For more details and dates for the Spring, visit: /bridge-to-life/conversation-series-on-cvi-and-aac/

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If you are interested, complete the survey: /bridge-to-life/summer-survey/

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In previous webinars, we have talked about the impact of Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) on children with Complex Communication Needs (CCN), how to identify them, assess and accommodate the environment and the materials we use with them; and although we have talked about some interaction strategies, in this webinar, we want to highlight the importance of interaction strategies and how we can frame them around 5 key principles. Our decision-making processes are informed by the 10 CVI characteristics, the CVI Range assessments of our students, and insights gleaned from ongoing research at 麻豆社. While offering practical classroom examples, we also underscore the adaptability of these principles for interventions in diverse environments. This presentation equips educators, therapists, and caregivers with actionable insights to empower children with CVI and CCN, fostering improved communication and learning outcomes. 

Participants will be able to: 

• List 3 key principles regarding interaction strategies they can use when working with children with CVI and CCN 
• Explain why interaction strategies will look differently from child to child and include the factors that need to be considered 
• Design individualized plans that incorporate the use of strategies that eliminate opportunity barriers 

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October is the official Communication Awareness month, but Communication Awareness at 麻豆社 is EVERY month. We share a location with North Elementary School in Hillsborough and our students attend classes and events with North students and staff.  Recently two of our students, who are on the North School Student Council, gave a presentation to the entire student body on 鈥淗ow We Communicate鈥� that was an overwhelming success. North students learned more about Ariany and Maddie personally,  as well as their use of augmentative and alternative communication systems.  Check out a recap of this event!  

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Thanks to the generosity of Cisco Systems, we are pleased to announce that registration is open for 麻豆社’s 2023 AAC By the Bay Conference: It Takes a Village.聽 This year, finally, we are hosting the conference on-site at the Cisco Executive Conference Center in San Jose as well as continuing to live-stream the event globally.聽 We have an exciting line-up of speakers covering literacy, CVI, Social Stories, 聽Emotional Competence, receptive language assessment, and a summary of the research being conducted at 麻豆社.聽 Speakers include Dr. Janice Light, Dr. Johanna Geytenbeek, Dr. Gabriela Rangel-Rodriquez, Christine Wright-Ott, Elisa Kingsbury, Amanda Eiser Hess, Tara McCarty, Lynn Elko, Rebecca Matthews and Dr. Sarah Blackstone.

The conference will take place on April 27th聽and 28th, 2023.聽 Further details about the conference speakers, schedule, registration, lodging, CEUs, and webcast information can be found at:聽

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• Understand what they are saying. 
• Have them understand your messages.
• Use the communication methods that work best for you. 
• Access the supports you need to communicate with you and your staff, at meetings, public forums and over the telephone.
• Read and understand their written information.
• Sign their documents and complete their forms.

Although this is an open source document, Communication Disabilities Access Canada (CDAC) requires all logos and graphics are used as-is and are not changed, edited, or removed. You can add your own image/logo to the document. 

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麻豆社 is excited to announce that we have formed a partnership with Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy, internationally known expert on Cortical Vision Impairment, to further our work in this area and to enhance the services we are providing our students.  The opening venture of this partnership will be the first annual Bridge School Summer Institute: CVI and AAC.  This weeklong institute will take place at 麻豆社 June 12 鈥� 17, 2022.  Updates about this event will be on our web site at .

If you are a professional, you will be involved in trainings from world-class professionals, be part of an interprofessional team, and do hands-on work with children with CVI. 

If you are a parent of a chlld with Cortical Vision Impairment (CVI) between the ages of 3 鈥� 13 who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and want to learn more about assessment and intervention, this weeklong institute is designed for you.

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Mei is a smart and imaginative ten-year-old with Cerebral Palsy who longs to connect with people around her. Unable to express herself clearly, Mei feels unheard and alone, caged up like her pet bird Kakoo. Mei and Kakoo’s stories intertwine as they discover friendship, freedom and their place in the world.

Sarah and Lois Yong masterfully welcome us into Mei’s mind through a delightful use of colors as the embodiment of voices. Vignettes of Mei’s daily life give us a glimpse of what it鈥檚 like to express yourself through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Set in the island-city of Singapore, local references and thoughtful details invite us into Mei and Kakoo’s world as they discover the power of words to bring freedom and connectivity.

A beautiful story about navigating complex communication needs, being brave and finding a voice.

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