Episode 202: Michaela Ball: Is an Assistive Technology Certification Worth it?

This week, Chris chats with Michaela Ball, TWT’s Audio Engineer & SLP Grad Student, about getting a certification in Assistive Technology while she finishes her Master’s degree. They have a lively discussion about why Chris thinks that the time and money spent on AT certification could be better spent on other kinds of professional development.

Before the interview, Chris and Rachel discuss a recent experience Chris had in a classroom of young students playing Minecraft, including using Immersive Reader to read text in the game and learning about coding while playing Minecraft.

Key Ideas This Week:

🔑 In many parts of the US, there are lots of SLP jobs available without needing a specific certification to get the job. AT jobs may or may not be more competitive depending on the area you work in.

🔑 People who choose to get certification have good reasons to do so, but getting a certification can be a large expenditure of time and money that could be spent more effectively in other ways.

🔑 RESNA certification could be useful in situations where professional competence is called into question or to improve your resume when looking for AT jobs. Chris has heard from RESNA-certified colleagues that their certification was not very useful in improving their day-to-day work as an AT professional.