Upcoming Trainings and Events at STeP
Foundations Trainings Workshops are offered frequently online or in person to teach people about the principles and beginning skills for supporting a new typer. To request more information about the next training, please contact Susan Nisinzweig at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
What is STeP?
In February 2019, Abilis partnered with Susan Nisinzweig to launch a new service called STeP, a Supported Typing Program. Originally all of STeP’s services were offered in person, in March 2020 the program’s groups, workshops and trainings were all successfully offered online via Zoom. Currently we offer a mixture of in-person and Zoom services.
Supported Typing provides a form of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) in which people of all ages and abilities who are challenged with communication (including non-speakers and unreliable communicators), are able to express themselves by pointing (e.g., at pictures, letters, or objects) and, more commonly, by typing (e.g., on an ipad, keyboard or letterboard). At the core of this method and other similar methods, where individuals type or point to communicate, is the presumption of competence (acknowledgement of their full intelligence). The goal is to provide a path for expression and to always move towards more independence.
The coaches, trainers and communication partners (facilitators) all follow best practices which include: asking meaningful and inviting, age-appropriate questions; providing emotional encouragement to build confidence and independence; offering communication supports (e.g., monitoring to make sure the person looks at the keyboard, checks for typographical errors, uses punctuation, and takes responsibility for their message); and providing backward resistance, to slow and stabilize the person’s movement within their own rhythm, and to inhibit impulsive pointing. The communication partner should never move or lead the person towards the letters or images, or influence their message in any way.
We support each communicator to find his or her own voice. We encourage family members and staff to learn this technique so communication is accessible in all settings. The goal is to eventually fade supports and work towards independent typing, nearly independent typing (e.g., a hand on the shoulder or intermittent touch), or a combination of speaking with typing – some individuals have developed the ability to read their typed text aloud and/or to speak before and as they are typing. Supported Typing to communicate promotes access to social interaction, creative expression, academics, and participation in inclusive schools and/or community activities.
Videos:
- Trailer of "UNLOCKED" A Non-fiction Feature Film by Henry Corra (6 minutes)
- STeP’s Trailblazers Social Group, (4 minutes) Social Groups meet in person and/or on Zoom.
Abilis Newsletter Articles:
- Abilis’ STeP Program Helps Individuals to find Their Voice Through Supported Typing (pp 18-19, January 2021 Abilis Newsletter)
- STeP Program Off to a Great Start (p. 21, Fall 2021 Abilis Newsletter)
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STeP offers the following options online and/or in person to families, schools, and agencies:
Foundations Training Workshops for new Communication Partners
Screenings and Coaching Sessions for Communicators and their team of partners
Guest Speakers, Support Groups and Workshops
Social Groups and Dyads for Communicators to interact with typing peers
For more information about the STeP Supported Typing Program, click on our digital brochure and contact Susan Nisinzweig, Abilis Supported Typing Program Coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..