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Marianna and the Lesson I Still Carry

by | Dec 31, 2025 | AAC, blog, modeling, prompt hierarchy, tips, training

It’s 2001, my first year as a speech-language pathologist,  and I’m meeting one of the students on my caseload. I can still see her smile, and I remember thinking that she might be the happiest kid I’ve ever met. I was the only SLP assigned to that school, so I knew I’d be supporting a wide range of students. I just never guessed one would change my life forever.

Everything changed the day I met Marianna. She was an energetic third grader who had lots of friends, and it took her forever to get down the hallway as everyone who passed, adults or kids, stopped her to say “Hi”, comment on her outfit, or ask how she was. It didn’t matter that she moved through the hallway in a wheelchair or that she used augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to communicate. She was a third grader starting another day with her peers. 

young girl with brown hair and a big smile, sitting in a wheelchair with a head switch, tray and mount for her communication device on her chair as well.

What struck me immediately was how easily she communicated with everyone, even when her AAC device wasn’t within reach. Watching her connect with a look, a grin, a shift of her body made me realize I’d been thinking about communication all wrong.

Marianna was in the general education classroom with a full-time aide, thriving academically and socially. I had never met a student who used AAC who was fully included, sitting beside same-aged peers and participating right alongside them. She sat toward the back of the room for space, her device mounted to her chair, her aide close by, classmates surrounding her at their desks. What I couldn’t stop noticing was how her inclusion felt normal, not performative, not fragile, just expected.

Each time I worked with Marianna, whether it was in the classroom or the speech room,  it was clear to me that I was not the only one doing the teaching. I’ll never forget stiing with her, talking about a story that she was writing waiting while she composed the next part on her device. Her body could barely contain the excitement. With each hit of her switch, the anticipation built. She couldn’t wait to share her work with me, and I couldn’t wait to hear it.

I could tell a hundred stories about what Marianna taught me. But if I had to name the one truth that changed my trajectory, it’s this: access isn’t earned, it’s given.

No matter your role or title, you can always be both the teacher and the student.

What’s one thing a client has taught you?

My favorite AAC tip!

by | Jan 20, 2024 | AAC, blog, tips, training

I want to share my favorite AAC tip with you…

This tip is specifically for those who use an iPad as their communication device. If you have worked with anyone, specifically children, who use an iPad, you know that the “home” button can be very distracting, especially since pressing it will take you out of your communication app. If only there were a way to keep that from happening…enter “Guided Access”!

Guided access is a built-in setting within the accessibility features of all iPads. Once it is set up and enabled, the home button is essentially disabled, and if a user presses the home button, they will be prompted to enter a passcode to disable guided access. Before I continue rambling on about the greatness of guided access, let me show you how to set it up.

Open “settings” on the iPad.

On the left, scroll down to “accessibility” and select it.

On the right, scroll down to “guided access” and select it.

Once “guided access” is selected you can select “passcode settings” to set a passcode that will need to be entered to disable “guided access”. (You will be asked to re-enter the passcode to confirm.)

Once your passcode is set up, navigate to the communication app and open it. 

With the communication app open, click the home button three times (triple click) to activate “guided access”.

When guided access is enabled and the home button is pressed, a written prompt will appear at the top of the screen to triple-click the home button to disable it.

If you triple-click the home button, a pop-up will appear, prompting you to enter the passcode you set during setup.

If you enter the correct passcode, you will be prompted to choose “end” or “resume” guided access. 

If an incorrect passcode is entered, you will have to wait a designated amount of time before an additional attempt.

Bonus tip! 

If the iPad “dies” or runs out of charge, guided access is automatically disabled. Therefore, it never hurts to periodically check to see if guided access is enabled. To do so, just triple-click the home button. If guided access is enabled, the passcode pop-up will appear. If guided access is not enabled, triple-clicking the home button will reactivate it.