It’s been a busy week with ATIA 2016 in Orlando. Hope you had moments of AAC inspiration, too! Tuesday: PrAACtical Thoughts on Social Skills Training from the 2016 CARD Conference Wednesday: Video of the Week – Supporting AAC Learning Through Non-Directive Language
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I had a wonderful time this past weekend connecting with colleagues and learning from ASD experts at the 2016 Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) Conference in Orlando. One of the keynotes, “From Building Social Relationships to Improved Quality of Life Outcomes for Youth on the Autism Spectrum: We Finally Know What We Already Knew,” was given by Dr. Scott Bellini. I also attended his talk on the Building Social Relationships program. Here are some of the take-aways from those two sessions. Evidence Base The evidence base for social skills training is variable. While his meta-analysis on school-based social skills training found that social skills interventions were minimally effective, there are several effective strategies that can be used in that and other settings. When evidence-based strategies, including video modeling and video self-modeling and social narratives, are used within the context of social skills training, the overall efficacy is much greater. The evidence... [Read More...]
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Between the start of new semester, conferences, and a bit of crazy weather, January has been a busy month. Here are a few posts from our prAACtical week that may be of interest. Monday – AAC and the IEP: 5 Resources to Explore Wednesday – Video of the Week: Helping Learners Build Self Regulation Skills Thursday – PrAACtically February: Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words
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Are you looking for some ways to help your AAC learners become more fluent in using core vocabulary? One approach to boosting practice opportunities is to select a dozen or so core words to focus on each month. Throughout the month, we can then pay special attention to that small group of words by highlighting them with focused language stimulation, aided language input, and specific activities designed to teach or practice those words, In previous years, we shared lists of some core words to help you do just that. You can learn more about that in the posts linked below. Set 1 (2013: 12 words/month) Set 2 (2014: 16 words/month) It’s been a busy January, and now it’s time to prepare the next set of core vocabulary words. Our words for February are listed below. Set 1: again, eat, get, go, happy, here, look, I/me, on, play, put, this Set... [Read More...]
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Tagged With: A Year of Core Words, core vocabulary, download
It’s never too early to start thinking of ways to strengthen the IEP to better support students with AAC needs. Here are some resources that may be helpful. AAC in the IEP by Gail Van Tatenhove AAC Goals, IEP, and Beyond by Margaret Perkins Examples of IEP Goals with Communication Devices by Cara Batema and Sample AAC Goals by the Utah Speech and Hearing Association Writing IEP Goals for Authentic Communication for Children with Complex Communication Needs by Linda Burkhart Implementation in the Classroom by Amy Conover, Julie Packer, and Dan Mills What strategies have you found for building IEPs to support students’ development of AAC skills? We’d love to hear about them.
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Here are some posts that you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – PrAACtically Reading: A House for Hermit Crab Tuesday – PrAACtical Ideas: AAC Core Vocabulary Practice for Workshop and Inservice Training Thursday – Video of the Week: Documenting AT in the IEP Thanks for all you do to support children and adults with little or no functional speech.
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Doing a training or workshop on core vocabulary? Looking to help a team get more fluent in AAC modeling? Teaching an AAC course to graduate students? There are lots of you out there spreading the word about AAC, core vocabulary, and aided language input. Whether you are doing an informal training, presenting a workshop or teaching a class, you may be interested in giving the participants some hands-on practice with core words. If so, here’s a fun activity to help get them engaged. Get ready for…Battleship, AAC Edition! Battleship is a barrier game in which two players cannot see each other’s game boards. The game boards consist of identical grids, labeled with players placing their battleships somewhere on the board. They take turns calling out coordinates to find and sink one another’s battleship. You can learn more about how to play the game and see the game boards here. Teachers have... [Read More...]
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Tagged With: games, inservice, professional development, Training, workshop
Storybook reading is rich with potential for building AAC, language, and literacy skills. An added bonus: It’s an activity that educators, therapists, and families can all use and enjoy. In this post, we explore ways to use A House for Hermit Crab, by Eric Carle, for AAC and language learning. Key Instructional Strategies Having an engaging book gives us a good start on the lesson, but the learning comes from the interaction. Shared reading can be done in therapy one-on-one or as a group in class. Either way, the adult leading the activity will need to be well-versed in instructional strategies that facilitate AAC learning. These include: Aided language input RAAP Feedback Goal Areas: Language and Communication There are lots and lots of ways to use this book for literacy learning, but in this post we’ll focus more on the development of communication and language skills. Here are some goal... [Read More...]
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Tagged With: reading
Time for a new look for PrAACtical AAC. Hope you enjoy it and these posts from earlier in the week. Monday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Procedural Resources Tuesday – Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday: 5 Resources for AAC Learners Thursday – Video of the Week: Implementing Visual Supports Thanks for all you do to support children and adults with little or no functional speech.
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Here in the US, we are preparing to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and reflect on the civil rights movement in our country. We sometimes struggle to make holidays like this meaningful to our students with AAC needs, and adding visual supports can be helpful in that process. Here are some materials from the wonderful online sharing site, Boardmaker Online, that may be of interest. Note: Anyone may view these but to download and use them, you must have the Boardmaker program. Talking Book by Lori Geist Sorting Activity by Shannon Brown MLK Story and Activity by Erin Murell Fact sheet and cloze sentences with picture word bank by Diana Ree-Reader I Have a Dream Speech and Matching Activity by Mallory Lyall Have you found resources on this topic that you can’t live without? We’d love to hear about them.
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