Yvonne Gillette

Achieving Communication Independence (2003) Thinking Publications – I developed this book with professionals in the State of Ohio and with some initial funding from the Ohio Speech and Hearing Association. Ginger O'Connor and Joan Fucci were instrumental in the initial phases. ACI assists professionals in developing communication skills with individuals diagnosed with a severe communication disability secondary to intellectual disabilities (mental retardation, autism, and other developmental disabilities as well as with those who have acquired disabilities such as aphasia. Those using augmentative communication (AAC) can benefit from this work in terms of intervention a vocabulary programming. The ACI provides a framework for describing present level of communication function and uses this data to design measurable programs for improving communication effectiveness. An article on the process can be viewed at www.speechpathology.com. All forms can be reproduced from the CD included with ACI. Check out actual pages from the book at Thinking Publications.

The Assistive Technology Collaborative five-year $1.5 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. This collaborative is studying the use of assistive technology for memory and organization by persons with intellectual disabilities or traumatic brain injury. The collaborative is headed by the UA team (Roberta DePompei, Yvonne Gillette, and RAs, Deb Faithful and Kelly Stingel), and includes Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities, the Brain Injury Association of America, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital . You can learn more about this study and view our device catalog by going to the Brain Injury Association of America website. An article on our initial survey has been pulbished: The potential of electronic organizers as a tool in The cognitive rehabilitation of young people. By: Gillette, Yvonne; DePompei, Roberta. NeuroRehabilitation, 2004, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p233, 11p, 7 charts

Augmentative Communication/Assistive Technology Center The AAC/ATCenter began in 1994 and now evaluates over 50 individuals a year. The Center provides coursework as well evaluations, interventions, and consultations for augmentative communication and assistive technology. At the Center I work with students to assist families, school districts, nursing homes, and group homes throughout Northeast Ohio. Assistance can include conducting Medicaid-approved evaluations for augmentative devices, providing guidance in selecting literacy-based software matched to the client’s needs. To further these interests, I am on the board of directors of the United State Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Special Interest Division 12. To learn more about the Augmentative Communication Center, please visit my AAC/Tech page.

Communicating Partnersis a partnership between the University of Akron’s Augmentative Communication Device Center and Akron Public Schools, Special Education. The project pairs speech-language pathology graduate students with children who need augmentative communication techniques for more effective communication. Graduate students work with teachers and speech-language pathologists in APS classrooms. Christine Wnoroski, Speech-Language Pathology and Assistive Technology Consultant for Akron Public Schools is my partner on the project.

Speech-Language Pathology Community Internship Programprovides a stipend as well as tuition for students who work at partnership agencies. The students gain experience working in a setting that serves individuals who have communication disabilities. Current community partners funding the project are Hope Homes, United Disability Services, Akron Public Schools, Rootstown Local Schools, Ardmore, Inc., Hennis Health Care, and . Roberta DePompei co-directs these programs with me.

Pictures to Print: A Software Scaffold to Literacyis a system to help speech-language pathologists and teachers select appropriate literacy software for learners and write appropriate outcomes for the technological interventions they chose. An article related to this system can be found at Pictures to Print: A Software Scaffold to Written Literacy. By: Gillette, Yvonne. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, Oct2001, Vol. 16 Issue 5, p484, 14p.

Yvonne Gillette is a professor of speech-language pathology at the University of Akron, School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. I have been on the faculty here since 1990. At the UA I coordinate the speech-language pathology program and teach classes related to augmentative communication, developmental disabilities, diagnostics in speech-language pathology, and organic disorders of communication. ). In the AAC/AT Center, I work clinically with students in the areas of augmentative communication, technological literacy interventions, and parent-child interaction. I am a member of the board of directors for the United States Society on Augmentative Communication and Hattie Larlham. I am a partner in the Assistive Technology Collaborative, a 1.5 million dollar grant funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Recent Publications include:

Gillette, Y. (2005). The promise of generic technology for young people with cognitive disabilies. Closing the Gap, 24(2), pp. 1, 14, 15, 36.

Gillette, Y. (2005). A Communication Independence Model: Guiding Assessment and Intervention With People Who Have Severe Communication Disabilities And Those Who Use AAC. speechpathology.com.

Gillette, Y. & DePompei, R. (2004) The Potential of Electronic Organizers as a Tool in the Cognitive Rehabilitation of Young People. Neurorehabilitation, 19(3), 233-244.

Gillette, Y. (2003). Achieving Communication Independence: A comprehensive guide to assessment and intervention. Eau Claire WI: Thinking Publications. (151 pp. +compact disk material)

Gillette, Y. (2001). Pictures to print: A software scaffold to written literacy. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 16 (5), 484-497.