Presenters and Outline

Aileen Arai

Aileen has been a Special Educator for 27 years. She has been designing and supporting staff in implementing strategies that support students, parents, districts, and all members of a student’s educational team in the development of curriculum within the Common Core State Standards for students with significant physical impairments who use AAC systems. Since 2012 she has been addressing intervention strategies and assessments as they relate to Cortical Visual Impairment protocols and tools developed by Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy. She received The Perkins-Roman CVI Range Endorsement from The Perkins School for the Blind, an authorization that supports her evaluating a student’s CVI for purposes of ongoing intervention.

Gabriela Berlanga

Gabriela Berlanga, is a Speech and Language Pathologist and is the founder and consultor for CATIC in Mexico City, current Associate Executive Director at the Bridge School and Vice-President for Conferences at ISAAC (The International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication).  Founder and member of the North American Alliance for Communication Access.  Consultant for the Special Education Technology Department @prende of the Ministry of Education in Mexico. She has collaborated with Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy serving students with Cortical Visual Impairments who use AAC since 2011 as part of CATIC’s International Collaboration Program run by Dr. Sarah Blackstone.  

Dr. Vicki Casella

Dr. Vicki Casella has been involved in the education of children and adults with special needs for over 55years.  Her professional experience includes classroom and clinical teaching, public and private school administration, and university teaching and administration.  She has taught at the University of Alabama, the University of Nevada, Reno, and San Francisco State University.  While a professor in the Special Education Department at San Francisco State University, Dr. Casella initiated the first adaptive technology academic courses in the United States.  Her areas of expertise were focused in teacher preparation in deaf/hard of hearing, learning and multiple disabilities and she was the Director of the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Program.  For the past 21 years she has served as the Executive Director of The Bridge School, a special school dedicated to ensuring that children with severe physical impairments and complex communication needs develop the education and communication the skills they need to become active participants in their communities and that the effective strategies employed at The Bridge School are disseminated throughout the national and international community.