Overlooked AAC: Skills Areas That Are Often Neglected

March 20, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts


Overlooked AAC: Skills Areas That Are Often Neglected

In last year’s series, Overlooked AAC, we explored a number of things that professionals often miss in providing educational and therapeutic AAC services. Today, we add to that topic, shifting the focus to skill areas that often get neglected. AAC support generally focuses on communication, language, and literacy. When we look at the individual through a more holistic lens, though, it’s often apparent that there are other areas that create challenges for people with AAC needs. Here are some of them that we can impact in a positive way. Expand understanding of feelings and emotions: Our emotions go beyond the ‘primary colors’ of happy, sad, and angry, but when we lack the language to understand the other colors and hues, we limit our ability to develop emotional maturity. Language doesn’t just help us express our emotions; it also drives our ability to process and deal with them in healthy, productive... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 12: March 2023

March 19, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts


AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 12: March 2023

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you might enjoy. Monday – AAC Implementation Framework: Step 2, TRAIN Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: The Right to A Voice Thursday – Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for some AAC materials? We pulled out a few from the AAC Toolbox just for you. Spelling Boards & FlipBook– Letter boards (alpha & QWERTY) used at Camp Alec; Created by Tina Moreno  Communicare Language Board Templates – Communication board templates for the post “How We Do It: Using Language Boards to Support AAC Use”  Colorful Connections – Templates for teaching modified Fitzgerald Key and Goossens’, Crain, & Elder color-coding schemas And here’s a post from the past that you might like. Readiness: 7 Days of AACtion

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Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration

March 16, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts


Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration

We are pleased to publish the second post in a series on multilingual AAC support guest authored by BilingüeAAC. BilingüeAAC is a group of SLPs with a shared belief in providing evidence-based intervention strategies and resources to bilingual Spanish AAC clients, families, caregivers, and professionals. In today’s post, they introduce us to their framework for AAC intervention that is culturally and linguistically affirming. BilingueAAC Framework to Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention Bilingualism in AAC is the best practice and essential to equitable communication access for people with complex communication needs (McNamara, 2018). However, resources are limited to implementing “best practices” and the “how to” incorporate bilingualism and AAC. When we look at the research, we find a variety of cultural considerations (ASHA) but no definite guideline or framework on how to approach assessment and implementation for AAC users with linguistically diverse backgrounds. Providing bilingual AAC intervention is an inclusive and equitable practice. Bilingual... [Read More...]

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AAC Implementation Framework: Step 2, TRAIN

March 13, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts


AAC Implementation Framework: Step 2, TRAIN

We continue to dive into our AAC Implementation Framework, guest authored by AAC SLP Vicki Clarke. In this post, Vicki discusses the way that she approaches AAC training when working with school teams. She shares lots of prAACtical ideas and resources to use in this process. You can see the earlier posts in the AAC Implementation Framework series using the links below. Steps to Learning Step 1, Determining the Target ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC 101 Steps of Learning:  TRAIN In Step Two, we begin the process of training HOW we say the word or message we are targeting.  We are learning where the symbol lives on our AAC system, what it looks or sounds like, the motor sequence to navigate through pages on our AAC applications, and of course, signing or saying the word, if that’s appropriate. The most significant thing to remember at this step is that we are not specifically... [Read More...]

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Throwback Thursday: Visual Supports

March 9, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts


Throwback Thursday: Visual Supports

Visual supports are so flexible, easy to create and use, and have such a nice evidence base that it’s something we use in almost every AAC therapy or instructional session. In today’s Throwback Thursday, we’re revisiting a handful of our past posts on what they are, how to create them, and how they can be implemented. Enjoy! Video of the Week: Video Models & Visual Supports for AAC PrAACtically Visual: More Supports for Your Toolbox Visuals, Timers, & Zoom Addressing the Social, Communication, and Behavioral Needs of  Secondary Students with ASD using Visual Supports AAC Teaching Tips on Scaffolding and Visual Supports 5 Visual Supports for Emotions and Feelings

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PrAACtical Heroes: Judith Heumann

March 6, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts


PrAACtical Heroes: Judith Heumann

Judith Heumann (1947-2023) It is hard to overstate the loss that the disability community feels with the recent death of Judith Heumann. Pioneer, activist, author, change agent. Judy worked tirelessly for so many laws, policies, and programs that we now take for granted.  Everyone has a Judy Heumann story. Mine goes back to 1981 when I was a young support worker caring for Marcia, one of the first people with significant physical limitations near me to live in her own apartment. I would visit Marcia each morning to help her get out of bed and ready for the day, do some laundry and cooking, and head out to my college classes. I’d return in the evening to tidy up and help Marcia through her evening routine. Once she was settled into bed, I checked to be sure the stove was off about a million times, turned off the lights, and... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 10: March 2023

March 5, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts


AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 10: March 2023

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some AAC content for you to explore. Monday – Redefining AAC as a Standard of Care Tuesday – AAC Link Up Saturday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados: CAA Con Links  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still in the mood for some more AAC? Here are a handful of previous posts to explore. Video of the Week: On Using Symbols with Beginning Communicators Video of the Week: Object Symbols and Core Vocabulary A PrAACtical Look at Getting Started with AAC Symbols Fast FAACt Friday: On Symbols and Reading Core Vocabulary: Making Sense of Symbols

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Redefining AAC as a Standard of Care

February 27, 2023 by - 2 Comments


Redefining AAC as a Standard of Care

Only a small percentage of people with complex communication needs get the AAC support they need. Though AAC is becoming more widely accepted, the huge gap between the people who need AAC and those who get adequate AAC support is longstanding and pervasive across service delivery standards. There are many fine people who work tirelessly to make changes to this unfortunate reality, and we are deeply grateful for their work. They are exhausted, hard-working, frustrated, and represent various stakeholder groups. Still, there are far too many professionals who fail to provide AAC support to those they work with who need to use other means of communication. How can we change their perspective in ways that will steer them in the direction of providing AAC support? How we talk and write about AAC matters. It’s only a small piece of this challenging conundrum, but one that, nonetheless, can contribute to systems... [Read More...]

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5 Books for AAC Professionals

February 20, 2023 by - 1 Comment


5 Books for AAC Professionals

There are many ways for professionals to continue to build their AAC knowledge. Websites and blogs can be very informative. Journal articles, while extremely beneficial, can be challenging both to obtain and utilize. In between are a growing number of books that offer strong content in a readable fashion. Here’s a handful that you might not yet have on your bookshelf. Fundamentals of AAC: A Case-Based Approach to Enhancing Communication by Nerissa Hall, Jenifer Juengling-Sudkamp, Michelle L. Gutmann, and Ellen R. Cohn Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Challenges and Solutions by Billy T. Ogletree AAC Visualized by  Morgan Van Diepen and Janna Bedoyan Effective Augmentative and Alternative Communication Practices 1st Edition by Miriam C. Boesch and M. Alexandra Da Fonte AAC for All: Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practice by Mollie G. Mindel and Jeeva John Looking for a few more? Check out this list from a previous post.

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