Episode 168: Jennifer Edge Savage - Using AAC with Alexa & Other Voice Assistants

This week, Chris interviews Jennifer Edge Savage about using AAC with Alexa and other voice assistants! Jennifer is an occupational therapist by training who is currently a consultant with Saltillo and teacher in the area of assistive technology and AAC. She covers some of the many ways that voice assistants can be used by AAC users independently using their AAC device, including purchasing items, playing TV/music, making calls, and more!

Before the interview, Chris and Rachel ask the question “What do attendees really want when they go to a video or in-person conference?” They explore whether people want to just listen to someone talk for an hour passively, or whether they want to be more engaged. When so much information can be found on Google, YouTube, podcasts, etc, shouldn’t we make being together in person something different? Chris and Rachel talk about ways that they engage participants in their webinars, like asking questions, getting feedback, and doing “hands on” activities when possible. 

Key ideas this week:

🔑 Putting programmed phrases and specific words to engage in activities on a voice assistant (e.g. a person’s favorite music or TV show) can make using the device more effective and efficient.

🔑 Some words need to be pronounced correctly for the voice assistant to work - the AAC device will need to be adjusted to pronounce these correctly (e.g., Al Pacino).

🔑 You can help students learn language with a voice assistant using Amazon Skill Blueprints to create your own customized “skills”. This lets anyone set up what Alexa will say if particular inputs are received. You could work on core words, social dialogue, etc with less pressure on the AAC user to perform.