Vocational Initiatives for Middle School

Hallie chats with Angelina Loia about vocational initiatives for students with special needs and complex needs and the use of AAC in collaborative platforms.

This week on the pod, we’re joined by Angelina Loia, MA, CCC-SLP, TSSLD — a NYC-based SLP with 20+ years of experience in District 75! 🌟 From AAC to behavior support, Angelina shares how she helps students with complex communication needs find their voice. Plus, as a Certified Canva Educator, she brings creativity to the classroom by designing adapted materials and accessible systems that actually work. 💬✨

Get ready for an inspiring conversation about inclusion, collaboration, and the power of communication tools in action!

Bullet Points to Discuss:

• Building Vocational Initiatives in Special Education: How to design and implement meaningful, school-based vocational programs (like Snack Shop and BJ’s field trips) that build job readiness and communication opportunities for students with complex needs.
• Collaborative Therapy in Vocational Contexts: Practical strategies for teaming up with occupational therapists, paraprofessionals, and other providers to embed fine motor, executive functioning, and communication goals into shared activities.
• Using Get Ready–Do–Done to Structure Tasks: How this visual framework supports AAC users in understanding routines, staying organized, and knowing when a task is complete — making vocational tasks more predictable and successful.
• Real-World Readiness: Soft Skills & Hard Skills: Teaching not just job tasks, but essential soft skills like turn-taking, requesting help, problem-solving, and responsibility — all within meaningful school routines.
• Making AAC Functional & Flexible: Tips for integrating AAC into daily tasks using tools like CoughDrop, customizing boards for job-specific vocabulary, and modeling communication in real-time.
• Creating a Culture of Shared Ownership: Encouraging buy-in from school staff by designing collaborative planning systems in Google Docs, visual templates in Canva, and clear routines that support teamwork.

Key Talking Points:

• Build meaningful school-based vocational programs that foster job readiness and communication.
• Team up with OTs, paras, and providers to embed goals into shared activities.
• Use the Get Ready–Do–Done framework to make vocational tasks clear and predictable.
• Teach both hard skills and soft skills like problem-solving and responsibility.
• Make AAC functional with customized boards, real-time modeling, and flexible tools.
• Create a culture of teamwork with shared planning systems and visual support.

Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:  

📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/

🎲✨ Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/secret-podcast-signup

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets