#TalkingAAC 2026: Full Schedule

Act now! We reach capacity and sell out every year. Registration closes Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — or sooner if capacity is reached.

Ticket Options

#TalkingAAC: Pre-Conference Workshop
Wednesday, November 4, 2026 | 12:00–4:00 PM
Kellogg Center, East Lansing, MI
- Choose one 4-hour workshop
- Cost: $100
- Full details click here
#TalkingAAC: Two-Day Conference
Thursday & Friday, November 5-6, 2026
- Build your schedule for this two-day event
- Cost: $300
- Price includes breakfast, lunch, & parking
- Full details click here

NOTE: To attend all 3 days, you must purchase both a Pre-Conference Workshop ticket and a Two-Day Conference ticket.

Registration & Session Planning

All registration and session planning will be handled via Sched:

Click the green Log In or Sign Up button below to access Sched.
Then proceed to purchase your ticket(s).
After you’ve purchased your ticket(s), you can plan which sessions you’d like to attend.
New to using the Sched app? To take a tour click here
Need to update your app to this year’s conference? In the Sched app, go to My Account > Change Events> type in the name of the event #TalkingAAC 2026
A new Guest Buyer option lets you purchase tickets for others without creating a SCHED account. Once ticket(s) are selected, choose Continue as Guest.

Ticket Purchase - Error Message

If you receive an error message when purchasing your ticket, please contact TalkingAAC at [email protected] or 517-299-5200 for assistance.

⚠️ Please do not attempt to purchase again, as this may result in duplicate tickets.

Refunds & Ticket Transfers

Refunds available up to 10 days before the event. Sched & Stripe fees are non-refundable.
Ticket transfers (e.g., to a coworker) may be approved before October 28, 2026.

Stay Informed

Watch for updates from #TalkingAAC and Sched with session details and reminders as the event approaches.

Questions?

www.talkingaac.org

[email protected]

517-299-5200

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8:30am EST

Enhancing AAC Intervention Through Music: A Music Therapist’s Approach for SLPs

Friday November 6, 2026 8:30am - 9:45am EST

Lincoln

Limited Capacity seats available

AAC devices are only as effective as the environments in which they are used. While SLPs lead AAC implementation, communication does not happen in isolation—and some powerful opportunities for language learning are happening in music therapy sessions! This session highlights how to harness those moments to support communication.

Despite increased access to AAC systems, many individuals still lack consistent, meaningful opportunities to use them across environments. Music therapy sessions naturally incorporate rhythm, repetition, predictability, and high levels of engagement; elements that align closely with principles of language development and AAC best practice. However, these opportunities are often underutilized or not translated into other therapeutic contexts.

This presentation will demonstrate how AAC is actively used within music therapy sessions to support communication development. Through video examples, participants will observe how aided language modeling, core vocabulary, and communication opportunities are embedded into musical experiences in functional and meaningful ways.

The primary focus of the session is on practical application. Participants will learn specific, transferable strategies that can be used beyond music therapy, including:

Using familiar songs to target core vocabulary
Structuring predictable routines to support participation and initiation
Embedding AAC into highly motivating activities
Increasing opportunities for modeling and communicative attempts

These strategies are designed to be immediately applicable within speech-language therapy sessions, regardless of musical background. No prior musical experience is required, and strategies will be presented in a way that is accessible and achievable for all clinicians.

In addition, the session will address how SLPs and music therapists can collaborate

Presenters

Shelley Anderson, MT-BC

Assistive Technology Specialist and Music Therapist, Notes 2 live By LLC

Shelley Anderson, a Board-Certified Music Therapist who specializes in AAC and assistive technology. She works with individuals on Indiana’s Medicaid waiver, founding the state’s only waiver-funded AAC parent training program to empower families as confident communication partners... Read More →

Friday November 6, 2026 8:30am - 9:45am EST
Lincoln

General Session

10:00am EST

From "Wing It" to Intentional: A Communication Partner Skill-Building Collaborative Journey

Friday November 6, 2026 10:00am - 11:15am EST

Lincoln

Limited Capacity seats available

What happens when you walk into a classroom to coach AAC implementation and realize one staff member was hired last week and the other has been there for fifteen years?

This session follows one SLP's journey from well-meaning but directionless classroom visits to a structured, flexible and collaborative coaching model built around a simple but powerful shift: before the AAC learner can build skills, the communication partner has to. At the heart of the model is a defined set of communication partner skills (or competencies) but what makes it work is who gets to choose. When staff can see their own gaps and select their focus area, coaching stops feeling like an observation and starts feeling like ownership.

Presenters

Michaela Ball, M.S., CCC-SLP

AT/AAC Teacher Specialist, Canyons School District

Michaela Ball is a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) who works to support teachers and SLPs in the Canyons School District in Sandy, Utah and serves on the district’s Utah Assistive Technology Team. She began her journey working in film as a production sound recordist and now uses... Read More →

Friday November 6, 2026 10:00am - 11:15am EST
Lincoln

General Session

12:15pm EST

From Therapy Hour to All-Day AAC: A Hybrid In-Person and Telepractice Model for Life Skills Classrooms

Friday November 6, 2026 12:15pm - 1:30pm EST

Lincoln

Limited Capacity seats available

For students with complex communication needs in life skills classrooms, AAC is most effective when it is woven throughout the school day, not isolated to therapy sessions. Yet many districts, especially those in rural or underserved areas, struggle to provide consistent, expert-driven AAC support due to staffing shortages, geographic barriers, and limited classroom-based AAC training. The result is too often the same: AAC devices that sit unused outside of therapy time, classroom staff who feel uncertain about how to support communication, and AAC users whose access to a robust language system is limited to a few minutes per week.

This session shares a hybrid service delivery model designed to close that gap. Built and refined by Interact Therapy, the model combines virtual SLP expertise with in-person classroom support so that AAC implementation extends across the full school day. Presenters will share findings from a 12-week mixed-methods case study in a rural public school district, including a 42% increase in student AAC usage, 70% of participating students showing more independent communication attempts, and 100% of classroom staff reporting improved confidence in supporting AAC. This work was selected as a 2025 ASHA Convention Centennial Session for its potential to shape future practice in telepractice and AAC service delivery.

Beyond the data, attendees will leave with practical tools developed through the project, including a staff competency checklist, a weekly planning template, and a communication opportunity matrix that maps AAC use across classroom routines. The session will include time for small-group discussion of common implementation barriers and table-based work applying the tools to attendees' own settings.

This session is especially relevant for school-based SLPs, classroom teachers and paraprofessionals, district administrators, telepractice providers, and AAC specialists. Family members and AAC users are warmly invited; their perspectives on what truly all-day AAC access looks and feels like are central to the work this model supports.

Presenters

Marleah Herman-Umpleby, MS CCC-SLP

Co-Owner, Speech Pathologist, Interact Therapy

Marleah Herman-Umpleby, MS, CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Online Speech-Language Pathology Program at West Virginia University, where she leads online graduate education and teaches courses in AAC, speech sound disorders, and clinical practice. She... Read More →

Stephanie Ekis, MS CCC-SLP

Co-Owner, Speech Pathologist, Interact Therapy

Stephanie is an SLP with a passion for helping individuals realize their full potential. With over 30 years of experience, Stephanie has provided assessment and treatment for children and adults with complex communication needs. With a specialty in augmentative and alternative... Read More →

Friday November 6, 2026 12:15pm - 1:30pm EST
Lincoln

General Session