Educators across the world have shown tremendous creativity and perseverance in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. One such professor, Krista Davidson, M.S., CCC- SLP, approached me about utilizing video content I’ve shared publicly of Nathaniel’s AAC use to create a case study for her speech language pathology students. I was amazed at her resourcefulness and creativity. With summer classes being held online, I suspect Krista’s assignment will be a valuable resource to others. I am delighted to turn the blog over to Krista today to share more about her video case study assignment. The assignment can be downloaded below.

Hello! I feel honored Kim invited me to make a guest post on her page. I am so grateful to share with you on this platform. I started following Hold My Words when I worked as an AAC Specialist at Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative in Belleville, IL just outside St. Louis. I continued following Nathaniel and Kim when I moved to Iowa in 2017 to take my current position as a clinical associate professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders department at The University of Iowa. Suffice it to say, I’m a fan!

Due to the recent pandemic, like many, we have transitioned our graduate students and clients to teletherapy. However, with some clients unable to participate and others opting out of teleservices, the need arose for alternative learning experiences for our students. I wanted to provide my team with quality AAC information and as much experience as I could with a variety of real people who use AAC. So, after consulting with my clinic director, I set out to develop my own case studies. I searched for videos of the same person engaging in a variety of quality activities with AAC. Although there were many wonderful videos of people using AAC, it was difficult to find multiple videos of the same person over a relatively brief period of time. I was also specifically looking for a person who did not match the profile of clients we currently see at our clinic. Then I realized a possible solution might just be staring me in the face(book). I reached out to Kim, to see if she would be open to me using her and Nathaniel’s story and videos for one of my learning experiences, as I did not want to use their videos without consent. Fortunately for me, what I received was more than permission, but rather a collaboration! With Kim’s blessing, I put together the case study linked below. 

After launching the assignment with several graduate students, I anxiously awaited their feedback. It was just what I hoped! Students appreciated that the case gave them autonomy for decision making and the opportunity for critical thinking. They loved Kim’s materials and seeing more literacy activities in action. Additionally, because of Nathaniel’s multiple communication modalities, students said they could connect content they learned in several courses and apply it to this AAC case. 

After such a positive student response and with praise from Kim and colleagues, I realized I succeeded in creating a meaningful AAC learning experience. I think Kim summarized our collaboration best when she said, “I’m encouraged when I see things like this - folks genuinely caring about Nathaniel and the ability for real stories to influence practice. It is exciting to think that we are doing things in our home that provide examples for your students.” Given these unprecedented times, I know clinical educators are looking to expand their teaching tools. By sharing the case study here, I hope other professionals and students may also benefit from Kim and Nathaniel’s generosity. 

You can contact me at krista-davidson@uiowa.edu