Sarah McWilliams
MS, CCC-SLP
Sarah McWilliams is a speech-language pathologist by background with a passion for helping people communicate across the life span and providing support to the rural communities of Oregon. An Alabama native, Sarah earned her master’s in speech-language pathology from the University of South Alabama, where she also studied and conducted research on how to best support parents of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) users. A love for the Pacific Northwest brought Sarah to Oregon in 2022 where she worked on the coast as a speech-language pathologist before transitioning to the AAC company, Tobii Dynavox, as a solutions consultant in 2023.
In her free time, Sarah loves running ultra marathons, traveling, backpacking, and spending time with her family. She is excited to be presenting at AT-TIES this year!
SESSION DESCRIPTION | Co-Presenting with Victoria Hughes
The Importance of a Play-based, Positive, and
Motivating Introduction to AAC
In this presentation, we will discuss play-based AAC introduction strategies that have demonstrated significant advantages over directive prompting in both initial engagement and long-term communication outcomes for children with complex communication needs. Three main play-based AAC strategies (i.e., naturalistic play-based modeling, least to most prompting in playful contexts, and play as a foundation for AAC use) and their evidence-based outcomes will be highlighted with ways to implement these strategies in the classroom and therapy sessions. In contrast, an overview of directive strategies like hand over-hand prompting and excessive cueing and how it can negatively impact AAC users will be discussed to further illustrate how play-based therapy provides the foundation for greater success with AAC.
Target audience and experience level: Beginner - Assistive Technology Professionals and Speech Language Pathologists (SLP)
*Sessions are open to all registrants regardless of experience level or roles.
Primary Life Cycle: All ages