Faculty

Julia was a SLPA major and psychology minor at Ithaca College. She served on the E-Board for the Random Acts of Kindness Club as well as a dance team on campus. Julia supports other IC students as a tutor for students in both SLP and psychology classes. Outside of school, she enjoys exploring Ithaca's natural beauty and finding fun places around town to visit. Julia volunteered as a student research assistant in Dr. Hajjar's AAC research lab from Fall 2018 until May 2021. Julia graduated in May 2021 and currently works for the Ithaca City School District. 

This research will be presented as a 1-hour pre-recorded oral session at the ASHA 2021 Hybrid Convention. To find this session, look for session #2050V.

Session Description:

This presentation will share clinical observations and original case study research. The presenters will discuss how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can support individuals who use AAC, to collect, edit, and share photos as visual scene displays(VSDs). VSDs show promise in AAC research as an effective intervention approach with beginning communicators and people with aphasia; however, are inconsistently used across clinical settings. The presenters will describe the process of capturing recreational media, storing and editing photos, and developing VSDs for different purposes of communication. Personalized digital media was collected during recreational activities and developed into VSDs using commercial applications such as SnapScene and GoVisual. Examples of VSDs will be shared to demonstrate how students may use these in educational and home environments. 

Visual Scene Displays (VSDs)

A visual scene display (VSD) is a type of digital intervention for people who use AAC. VSDs support language development and overall expressive and receptive communication. VSDs can be created using commercially available software and applications. The VSD shown above is from an adaptive skiing lesson. The application Snap Scene ™ from Tobii-Dynvox was used to create the VSD from a personal photo captured during the lesson. When the person who uses AAC selects the highlighted circles, voice output will produce an audible message to communicate a question, comment, or response. 

This research project involves a cross institutional research collaboration between three faculty members at three different colleges/universities in the NY, PA, and midwestern region. Dr. Hajjar and his team of students will work in collaboration with Dr. Eric Sanders from Moravian University, Department of Speech-Language Pathology, in Bethlehem, PA and Dr. Jennifer Seale from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and the Waisman Center.  

The project will involve undergraduate and graduate students from the three institutions of higher education. One goal of the project is to provide students with an opportunity to conduct 1:1 semi-structured interviews. Interviews will be conducted with parents of adolescents and/or young adults with complex communication needs. The aim of the research is to gain the perspectives of parents about their journey supporting their adolescents and young adults who use AAC. The research team would like to gain a better understanding of the past, current and future role of AAC and the importance of communication and participation in the lives of adolescents and young adults across educational, community and vocational settings. Interview topics will focus on parent collaboration with professionals and the general public, parent knowledge and skills related to AAC systems & funding, and overall best practices and recommendations from parents about supporting communication across a range of settings and partners. 

Julia Shuman is currently a SLP graduate student at Ithaca College.  She is excited  to continue her education at IC after receiving her bachelors degree here in SLPA. She has volunteered in Dr. Hajjar’s AAC Research lab since Spring 2021 and is now a graduate assistant in the lab.