AAC and Autism Spectrum Disorders

July 16, 2015 by - 4 Comments


AAC and Autism Spectrum Disorders

In Robin’s honor, we revisit some of her most popular posts. Please share them with people who might find them helpful. Beyond Requesting: Let’s Chat with Peers Begin AAC Now: 10 Things to Do AAC Must-Have’s for the Classroom and Therapy Room The First 12: Getting Started with Core Words Literacy For Everyone with Adapted Books Beyond Requesting: Using Scripts to Teach Conversation AAC Goals That Matter Creating Communication Boards: There are Lot of Apps for That! Join Together: Core and Fringe Vocabulary 30 Ways to Celebrate Autism Awareness Month

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PrAACtical Resources: Activities and Materials to Download or Explore

July 14, 2015 by - 1 Comment


PrAACtical Resources: Activities and Materials to Download or Explore

The great thing about getting stuck at an airport these days is that almost all of them have free internet connections. Some people surf the web for celebrity news, fashion tips, or recipes. AAC people, on the other hand, never miss an opportunity to search out interesting tools and resources. Here are a few from my latest airport adventure. Communication Games and Activities from AAC Scotland: Lots of fun and prAACtical ideas, like the Roving Reporter activity. Graphic Organizers  with Teaching Notes: Graphic organizers are some of my favorite tools, but it takes time to convert the paper-based ones to interactive PDFs that our AAC learners can use. When I found this site from Holt McDougal (part of Houghton Mifflin), I squealed with joy. It’s a real time-saver! Story Visualizer: This website from the Education Team at Lego is a great way to motivate kids to communicate and build narratives.... [Read More...]

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Beyond The Core: Guide to Teaching New Words for Students Who Use AAC

July 13, 2015 by - Leave your thoughts


Beyond The Core: Guide to Teaching New Words for Students Who Use AAC

Teaching AAC learners to expand their vocabularies beyond a basic set of core words is an important goal to target in language development, and a topic that we’ve written a lot about in this space. For the student to be successful, SLPs need to think of vocabulary instruction as an ongoing process that has a clear 3-part structure.       Introduction: Word is used in context, defined, and produced by the learner. Students assess their own knowledge of the word.       Explicit Instruction: Activities are created to help the student really understand what the word means and how to use it. Students begin using it throughout the session.       Continued Practice: We continue to use these words and help the student use the target words in the session. Engaging activities, often with technology, are used to help our learners deepen their understanding of the word. This will be accomplished over multiple sessions. In this... [Read More...]

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5 Ways to Use Judgment Tasks in AAC Therapy

July 9, 2015 by - 2 Comments


5 Ways to Use Judgment Tasks in AAC Therapy

Judgment tasks refer to situations in which we present some examples and have the learner pass judgment on them. They can be examples of words used correctly/incorrectly, word endings used properly/improperly, or responses that fit well/poorly with a situation. We can set them up so that the learner weighs in with a binary judgment (e.g. thumbs up/down), gives them points (e.g., 2 points=perfect, 1=good, 0=wrong), a letter grade (e.g., A+ to F), or rates on a scale (e.g.,Excellent Okay Terrible). There are several reasons why I love judgment tasks. It can be a fun, low-stress way to increase their awareness of specific linguistic concepts. Think of it as giving them receptive exposure to the concept. In these tasks, we’re highlighting the concept but not expecting them to produce it. They put the learner in a position of power. Our prAACtical friends often don’t get enough experiences with that role, so... [Read More...]

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How I Do It: Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips by Lindsay Oesch

July 6, 2015 by - 3 Comments


How I Do It: Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips by Lindsay Oesch

One of the things that I love most about where I live is the rich mix of cultural heritages and linguistic backgrounds in the clients we serve. It can be challenging to do a good assessment, though. Today, we hear from Lindsay Oesch who shares her thoughts on AAC assessments with children from bilingual environments. Don’t miss clicking through to get the parent questionnaires and other resources she shares in her post. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Beginning the AAC Assessment Process with Bilingual Children As a clinician in New York City, it is so exciting to be working with children ages 5-12 as a speech-language pathologist in one of the most culturally and linguistically dynamic places in the world.  It has also remained a major challenge to assess and treat children with speech and language impairment/delay who speak more than one language, in order to accommodate their specific language needs. Assessment for a communication... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically July: Core Word Calendar by Rachael Langley

July 2, 2015 by - 3 Comments


PrAACtically July: Core Word Calendar by Rachael Langley

Hats off to Rachael Langley for taking time to develop and share another calendar with ideas for core word practice. As with previous calendars, she’s included lots of fun and easy ways to highlight and practice some of the July words from the first Year of Core Words list.

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Core Vocabulary Resources for July

June 30, 2015 by - Leave your thoughts


Core Vocabulary Resources for July

We’re ready to tear another page off the calendar and head into July, which means a new group of core words to focus on. The plan is to highlight a different set of core words each month to help our AAC learners grow their expressive vocabularies. Whether you are following along with the 2013 Year of Core (12 words/month) or the 2014 A(nother) Year of Core: (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), or just getting started, here are some helpful resources. Our July words are listed below. 2013 Words: and, before, color, find, is, later, love, much, ready, same, they, with 2014 Words: black, bottom, cut, face, foot, grandfather, high, maybe, morning, one, really, share, something, then, wear, weather Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: 2013 words, 2014 words Minspeak/Unity version: 2013 words PCS versions: 2013 words Symbol Stix version: 2013 words What can... [Read More...]

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