Alicia Alverson Smartbox

03/18/2026

I’m excited to share this full-day, hands on workshop, I’ll be leading alongside some amazing colleagues (and mentors)!

Master Grid’s creative flexibility in this hands-on workshop. Learn to design, customize, and personalize AAC supports and learning activities for every student. This session is all about answering that question, “How did you make that?”

Registration Opens May 13 – START PLANNING TODAY.

Workshop URL: https://www.closingthegap.com/workshops/w26-grid/
Registration URL: https://www.closingthegap.com/conference/workshops/

08/16/2023

08/16/2023

'Back to school' time means there is a transition to plan for!

Whether your child is starting at a new school, a new classroom in a familiar school, or will be returning to the same classroom, sharing updated information about their communication system is important.

We have created this 'Communication Profile' template to get you started!

Anyone can use this design as a template (by following the link below). Signing in to Canva is required (you can create an account for free). You will be able to make a private copy of the template that you can modify (we will not be able to see who has made copies of it).

Check it out here: https://bit.ly/NWACSprofileTemplate

For more information on transition planning, read more on the NWACS blog here: https://nwacs.info/blog/2023/4/aac-and-transition-planning-it-starts-earlier-than-you-think

06/22/2023

It is SO easy to get caught up in our plan and what we feel we need to do. When we let go of our agenda, we can foster a motivation to communicate. There is power in effective communication - when we are actually listened to!

When we let go and follow the AAC learner's lead, the communicator starts to feel heard and can start making connections with their AAC system.

Image is a quote from Zoe Pardoe on the power of acknowledging the AAC user's message (and letting go of our plan):

"Until they find a purpose and enjoyment in communicating, they are not going to."

The quote is from the session Zoe presented at the 2023 AAC in the Cloud conference: https://www.aacconference.com/schedule.html