July 11, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
As the philosophy of AAC immersion and the strategy of aided language input have gained acceptance, there is an emerging school of thought that these two things are sufficient for people with complex communication needs to learn to express themselves with AAC. While it is true that some individuals become proficient in their AAC and language use without explicit instruction, there is a large population of AAC learners who need additional support to achieve their potential and/or reach their goals. In this post, we share some guiding questions to help these individuals and their teams determine whether formal instruction with well-chosen language goals and implementation of specific intervention strategies is needed. Is the AAC user and/or other stakeholders comfortable with their rate of AAC and language learning? Has the individual plateaued in their language growth? Is there a gap between what they understand and what they can express? How do... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
July 10, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We hope you enjoy browsing through these posts. Monday – July Year of Core Vocabulary & Future Directions for the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Tangible Symbols for AAC Use Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC & Medical Encounters :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for some resources to use in your AAC work? Check out some of those listed below. AAC 101 Flipbook Communication Partner Data Collection Form AAC Skills: Caught or Taught? AAC Modeling Handout Gaming & AAC Repairing Communication Breakdowns
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
July 7, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
People with AAC needs face significant challenges in accessing appropriate medical care and getting the help they need to deal with illness, pain, and other symptoms. In today’s edition of Throwback Thursday, we reprise past posts on this topic that may be of interest. Supporting People with Significant Communication Challenges in Medical Encounters PrAACtical Resources: Chronic Pain Assessment in Children with Disabilities Growing AAC Professionals: Resources for Self-Advocacy, Reducing Abandonment, Medical Encounters, & More Pain in Children with Developmental Disabilities PrAACtically SLPs: Working with Children With Complex Medical Conditions Supporting Children in the Pediatric ICU 5 PrAACtical Resources For Better Communication Experiences with Healthcare Providers
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
July 5, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week we invite you to share your own AAC-related content, product news, or anything else that you’d like others in the AAC community to know about. It may be a recent post you’ve written, a slide deck from your AAC presentation, a handout, video, or meme that you’ve posted online, an AAC product you’ve created, an announcement for an AAC course or conference, or any other prAACtical content you developed and want to share with the AAC community. To post your own link, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and complete the form. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed so it may take a little... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
July 4, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, both have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising a past post for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. We also have an exciting update from the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words team about some resources that we’ll be sharing for the upcoming school year. The initial Year of Core Vocabulary series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
July 1, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a great day for sharing AAC resources in Spanish! On the first Friday of every month, we feature a Spanish version of our AAC Link Up, CAA con Links. If you have AAC-related announcements, materials, or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. Organized by Claudia Marimon, these posts also feature AAC work being done in Spanish-speaking countries. You can find entries from previous months here. Today, she features resources from The AAC Coach and Assistiveware that may be of interest to the Spanish-speaking community. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Comenzamos este mes compartiendo conceptos fundamentales de CAA que son necesarios para llevar adelante buenas prácticas basadas en la evidencia. Afortunadamente podemos encontrar algunos recursos que... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
June 28, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week we invite you to share your own AAC-related content, product news, or anything else that you’d like others in the AAC community to know about. It may be a recent post you’ve written, a slide deck from your AAC presentation, a handout, video, or meme that you’ve posted online, an AAC product you’ve created, an announcement for an AAC course or conference, or any other prAACtical content you developed and want to share with the AAC community. To post your own link, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and complete the form. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed so it may take a little... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
June 27, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
With our academic year behind us, we have the opportunity to hear and learn from those who teach AAC to future professionals. In today’s post, Vicki Haddix returns to share a student’s unique perspective on an AAC assignment. Vicki is an AAC SLP and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis. You can read other posts by Vicki here. Watch for her interview with Rachel Madel on an upcoming episode of the Talking with Tech podcast. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I’ve written in the past about some of my students’ final projects for the AAC class, but I wanted to specifically share something a little different this time. About halfway through the semester-long class, the students get an assignment requiring them to create a communication board to use themselves during a regular activity. This assignment comes after we’ve talked about the different ways to organize vocabulary and they’ve had a few chances... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
June 26, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might enjoy. Monday – AAC Reading Material: 3 Book Suggestions Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Funding for AAC Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Summertime & AAC :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have the time, here are some past posts you may enjoy. Beyond AAC Modeling: 3 Things to Add to Your AAC Teaching Plan AAC Skills Assessment for Direct Selectors Selecting AAC Apps & Devices: A Handful of Reasons Not to Skip the Trial Period Observational Assessment of Beginning Communicators Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips by Lindsay Oesch Say What?!? AAC Assessment for Children Who Speak with Dr. Jill Senner and Matthew Baud
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
June 23, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Given that summer is officially in bloom, we thought it might be helpful to reach into the archives for past posts with a summery bent. Take a look. PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: How Do You Know It’s Summer? A Recipe for Summer AAC Summer Reading A Few AAC Blog Suggestions 5 AAC Suggestions 3 Book Suggestions Apps to Prepare, Learn, & Talk About Summer Vacation PrAACtical Summer Activities AAC-friendy Camps
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking