Minneapolis, Minnesota
New Location! Hilton Minneapolis Hotel
Presentation Length: 1 hour
Date and Time (Central Daylight Time):
October 20, 2022
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Presentation Title
Next-Gen Tactile Symbols 3D-Printed Blissymbolics

Presenters

Andrea Newall
Institution: University Lecturer in AAC, Speech, Language, and Hearing Program
Position: Speech Language Pathologist, AAC Specialist, Southern California School District

Anitha Muthukumaran
Institution: Douglas County School Districts; University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Position: Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments; Special Education Doctoral Student

Ken Hackbarth
Institution:Volksswitch
Position: Distinguished Member of Technical Staff; Founder and President

Description of Presentation

In this session we'll introduce you to a new generation of tactile symbols that are perfect for use with non-speaking individuals who are blind, deaf/blind, or visually impaired – including students with cognitive disabilities. The symbols benefit from two different technologies: 3D-printing and Blissymbolics. 3D-printing makes it inexpensive to create these tactile symbols. Blissymbolics provides a rich, conceptual language to develop communication skills with low cognitive requirements. The presentation will highlight the experiences shared by several teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) and speech language pathologists (SLPs) how they collaborate and use these tactile symbols with their students. The session will include how educators can get free access to these tactile symbols and supporting materials.