Sean Sweeney (Part 1): Experiences of an SLP Jeopardy Contestant
This week, we present Part 1 of Chris’s interview with Sean Sweeney! Sean is a Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of SpeechTechie.com, a website that focuses on the intersection of speech therapy and technology. In Part 1 of this interview, Sean discusses his recent appearance on the game show Jeopardy and some of the insider information he got as a contestant!
Before the interview, Chris and Rachel make some connections between Sean’s appearance on Jeopardy, including the similarities between the Jeopardy committee that decides if a question was answered correctly and the need for a team based approach to assessment. Chris and Rachel also chat about the difference between an “AAC app” and an “AAC system”.
Key ideas this week:
🔑 Giving a quiz that is put up on the board in front of a group of people (e.g. kahoot.com, baamboozle.com, quizizz.com) is as much a measure of reading ability and fluency as it is a measure of knowledge. Just like Jeopardy, you can read the question out loud to the contestants before giving them a chance to answer, giving slower readers a chance to succeed.
🔑 An “AAC system” is more than a particular app or tool. It is the combination of all the ways that a person communicates (e.g. low tech board, robust AAC app, and gestures) and often does not mean just one tool. There are circumstances (e.g. bath time) where a different tool, like a laminated core board, could be more effective than their primary app or tool.
🔑 It is common for people to not remember situations that required a lot of thinking, stress, and language analysis, such as going on a game show or giving a speech in public. This is, in part, because the brain is so focused on the immediate task that it isn’t committing things to memory in the way it normally would.
Visit talkingwithtech.org to access previous episodes, resources, and CEU credits that you can earn for listening to TWT episodes!
Help us develop new content and keep the podcast going strong! Support our podcast at patreon.com/talkingwithtech!
Sean Sweeney (Part 1): Experiences of an SLP Jeopardy Contestant