I'm on a mission to give all kids access to communication and literacy!
In my day job, I'm an employee of an awesome company called Communication Works, and currently a full-time AAC Specialist in a public school district.
I've had a variety of other roles including: SLP at an elementary school, Bilingual SLP Assessor, AT Specialist, and frequent author/presenter of professional workshops.
I'm one of the co-creators of the first-ever AAC Screening and a content contributor over at AACcessible.
my story
She had just received her AAC device with eye tracking, and I was a brand new CF-SLP. I had NO idea what I was doing, and our first session didn't go well at all. We were both frustrated, and I could tell she had things she wanted to say about it.
I decided two things:
My most important goal was going to be to make this child smile.
I was going to learn everything there was to know about AAC and this device.
I focused on fun activities, modeling, and helping her to be a full participant in her classroom and friend group. By the end of that year she was chatting with her friends, and communicating in complex sentences. Meanwhile, I had discovered a love for using technology to support language and literacy.
And then I started to notice all the other kids who needed AAC, but didn't have access yet.
Slowly but surely, I worked to get them the devices and support that they needed. The district even started to send more kids who needed AAC to my school, but there was no way I could serve them all as an SLP. So I went back to school myself to get an Assistive Technology certificate, read textbooks and research articles voraciously, and attended hundreds of hours of professional development.
Then came the phone call: "You're going to be the AAC and AT Specialist next year!"
YAY! .. but also... YIKES! There were 110 kids on my caseload that first year, and I was still in an SLP role one day per week. To create an entire AAC/AT program from scratch was daunting, but my love for my students and my drive to see them succeed kept me going.
I had a vision that the district could become a little bitty powerhouse of evidence-based practice. I discontinued outdated policies and I wrote new ones. I advocated ceaselessly, one device and one child at a time, until all of them had access to robust language supports. Then I worked on capacity-building, and universal access to high-incidence reading accommodations, and curriculum integration, and more. My workload has never gotten lighter, but my team has grown larger, and I'm so proud of how far "my kids" and I have come.
Our district had a lot of necessity, so I invented a lot of things...
... and this site is my way of trying to share those things with more people who could use them! I hope you'll find some helpful tools and strategies here. If you are looking for something AAC/AT related and can't find it, please let me know! It just might become my next course or download.
Bachelor's degree in Linguistics and minor in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego.
Master's Degree & Bilingual Certificate in Speech-Language Pathology, from San Diego State University.
Assistive Technology Applications Certificate Program (ATACP) from CSU Northridge.
CTC Credential
California Board License
ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence
I've attended professional conferences such as ASHA, CSHA, ATIA, Closing the Gap, AAC in the Cloud, and AAC by the Bay. I have completed official trainings for Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP), Pragmatically Organized Dynamic Displays (PODD), and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). I'm also familiar with a variety of other AAC apps such as Proloquo2go, TouchChat, Speak for Yourself, Avaz, GoTalk, and many more!
As an SLP, I've completed specialized training related to neurodiverse-affirming and trauma-informed practices, complex communicators (e.g. Alternative Access PODD training), gestalt language processors (I'm an NLA Trained and AAC+GLP Trained clinician) and motor speech disorders such as childhood apraxia of speech. As a graduate student, I was part of the Collaborative Interventions to Improve English Learners' Outcomes (CIELO) grant, which means that I have expertise for working with dually identified students, creating intensive literacy interventions, and developing MTSS programs.
ASHA Distinguished Early Career Professional (ECP) Award
ASHA Award for Continuing Education (ACE)
Bachelors & Master's degrees included summa cum laude awards.
In my spare time, you can find me riding my motorcycle, dancing, and cuddled up with my cat. Not all at the same time. Well... sometimes I dance with the cat.
Brianna Hughes, M.A. CCC-SLP, ATACP is a California speech-language pathologist (SLP), augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) specialist, and assistive technology (AT) specialist. Brianna is currently a full-time AAC Specialist, providing assessments and consultation for a diverse group of AAC users, ages 3-22 in a public school district, through Communication Works. Outside the school day, she provides mentoring, courses, and digital downloads for other AAC/AT Specialists and SLPs.
Brianna's specialties include creating individualized training, coaching, and resources for parents, paraprofessionals, teachers, and other staff members. She previously served as her district’s AT specialist, and elevated the AT program from an outdated “expert model” to a “capacity-building and universal design” model. She has presented continuing education for other SLPs on topics such as AT for the SLP, AAC/AT program development, language sampling for diverse populations, and bilingual assessment. Her accomplishments include co-creating the first ever AAC Screening, presenting at the ASHA conference, and being featured as a writer and presenter at AACcessible. She is a recipient of the ASHA Distinguished Early Career Professional Certificate for her leadership, and a passionate advocate for the idea that everyone deserves a voice.