February 21, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We have deep respect for clinicians and educators who are willing to share their approach to developing strong AAC instructional sessions. Today, we are excited to welcome SLP Jeanna Antrim to these pages. Jeanna has been an SLP for the past 7 years practicing at special education cooperatives in southern Illinois. She works both with students in a self-contained behavior school and as an AAC facilitator conducting AAC evaluations, providing direct therapy, and consulting with school teams. In this post, she shares her approach to developing AAC sessions using shared reading. (Don’t miss her book packet and handouts.) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: Literacy, Language, and AAC After graduating, it took me a few years of trial and error before I figured out (and don’t get me wrong I’m still figuring out) my niche. I absolutely love books and love how I can target any language and communication concept within a... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: book packet, core vocabulary, download, How I Do It, shared reading
February 18, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
There have been lots of wonderful AAC sessions at conferences in the past 12 months. Here are a handful of handouts from some of them. Effects of Embedding Core Vocabulary in Emergent Literacy Instructional Routines – Penny Hatch, Lori Geist & Karen Erickson, ISAAC 2018 The Cognitive Demands Checklist Thinking about Thinking for AAC – Melanie Fried-Oken, Aimee Mooney, & Michelle Kinsella The AAC Learning Center(s): Online Supports for Pre-service Instruction – Chris Klein & David McNaughton, ATIA 2019 Talking Early Mobility: Get Moving with AAC – Tami Altschuler, Daniella Klein, Amanda Tesoriero, & Ashley Carr Scully, ASHA 2018 Developing Communication and Access Skills for Children Who Face Severe Physical and Multiple Challenges – Linda Burkhart ATIA 2019 Did you attend an AAC session that was especially helpful? We’d love to hear about it. NOTE: Depending on the presenter and venue, these handouts may be available only for a limited... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASHA, ATIA, handouts, ISAAC
February 17, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Good morning, AAC friends. Busy week? Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – “My Students Don’t Have Much AAC Support at Home” Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Learning About Social Stories Thursday – A Different Kind of Valentine’s Day :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, stay awhile and browse the selection of AAC stories below. An AAC Journey: From “No to AAC” to “AAC All Day, Every Day” with Desirae Pillay Faces of AAC – Zainab Omar The Faces of AAC: Dianna and Brian The Faces of AAC: Justyna and Wiktoria Faces of AAC: Making It Work in A Busy Family
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: first person account, home, social narratives, summary post
February 14, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Here in our community, Valentine’s Day will never be the same. While we grieve and remember those whose lives were affected by gun violence, we renew our efforts to prevent future tragedies. After the flowers, cards, candy, and Valentine’s Day parties are over, please take some time to seriously consider ways to better prepare our clients with AAC needs for adverse events. Today, we’re reprinting a post with helpful resources. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Recent events, such as the horrific mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, have led us all to re-examine policies and procedures that impact school safety. Throughout the country, school communities are re-evaluating and fine-tuning their processes for keeping students and staff safe in the unlikely event of violent acts, such as bomb threats and active shooters. It seems surreal that we have to think about and plan for this, but that is our reality. We look at school safety drills... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Valentine's Day
February 11, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
At a conference last month, I had some wonderful interactions with teachers and SLPs who are incredibly dedicated to helping their students with AAC needs become more proficient communicators. A number of common threads emerged through comments like these. “It’s really frustrating! My student would make SO much more progress if there was carryover at home.” “I keep telling my student’s parents this but they don’t really follow through.” “I’ve told them about the research and shared a lot of web links with them, but nothing seems to change. My student’s family still doesn’t really use his AAC at home.” “The family tells me that they are modeling AAC, but when I look at the ‘history’ it shows that not much AAC is happening outside of school hours.” In person and through social media, professionals have shared their stories and expressed that they are sometimes surprised and puzzled but mostly disappointed... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: family, home, parents, partner skills
February 10, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts that may be of interest. Monday – Fun Finds at ATIA 2019 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader Thursday – PrAACtically Valentine’s Day: Resources for AAC Learners Have a few more minutes for AAC browsing? Check out these posts from our AAC archives. 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners Alphabet Books and AAC Implementation Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask (Click here or on the image for a printable copy.)
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, Books, reading, summary post
February 7, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
As our thoughts turn to Valentine’s Day, we polished up one of Robin’s old posts with lots of resources to explore. Enjoy! ——————————————————————————————————————— Valentine’s Day is a theme that seems to take center stage in February. When we use this theme, we like to focus on it before, during, and after February 14th because then there are a lot of opportunities to talk about it before, during, and after the holiday. This is like a conversation which involves so much more than talking about the ‘here & now’. Core Vocabulary Activities: Check out these fun ideas from teachers and clinicians. Use Candy Heart Generators and Word Clouds Create your own digital candy hearts with your own text with CryptoGram. Word clouds are a fun way to integrate a theme. You can read more about how to use them in AAC lessons here and here. You can also insert your own Valentine’s Day... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, robin parker, Valentine's Day
February 4, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
As expected, the ATIA Conference in Orlando last week had a robust selection of AAC learning opportunities. Here are two of the fun finds we thought you’d like to explore. The AAC Strand Spotlight Session This panel asked four thought leaders in AAC to each identify two intervention challenges and discuss their ideas for addressing them. The speakers were from a variety of practice settings and addressed a range of implementation issues. Christopher Bugaj, AAC and AT Specialist at Loudoun County Public Schools Transitions & Turnovers: Killers of Language Learning Progression Keeping Up With The Training Demand Vicki Clarke, SLP/CEO, Dynamic Therapy Associates, Inc. Addressing Opportunity Barriers to Participation Facilitator Attitude, Knowledge, & Skill Barriers Caroline Musselwhite, Literacy & AAC Specialist Facilitating Generalization Age-Respectful and Engaging Materials/Activities for Adolescents & Teens Gail VanTatenhove, SLP/CEO, AACell, Inc. Providing Person-Specific AAC Design in an App/MAP Happy World The Aging of AAC Users... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC implementation, ATIA 2019, handouts, professional development
February 3, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Hello, AAC friends! We’ve been busy at the ATIA conference, and have enjoyed connecting with several of you. Here are some of the posts from the week that you may have missed. Monday – Beginning Communicators: Learning Through Touch Cues Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Apps and Resources for Core Vocabulary Teaching Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC Instructional Strategies :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Stick around for some more AAC reading if you can. Here are some suggestions with info and resources from conferences in previous years. Enjoy! Resources to Review from the ATIA 2018 Conference Fun Finds at ATIA 5 AAC-related Handouts from ATIA 2015 PrAACtical Resources: Partner Strategies Handout 3 Presentation Handouts on Core Vocabulary Implementation
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ATIA, conferences, summary post
January 31, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Engaging activities and materials are important in AAC instruction, but the real magic happens when we implement appropriate intervention strategies with fidelity and on a consistent basis. For Throwback Thursday, we raided the archives to revisit some previous posts on several key intervention strategies. Aided Language Input: How Much Language Should We Model? Aided Language Input in AACtion “I’m Using Aided Language Input. Now what??” From Referential to Descriptive Teaching with AAC Learners Recasting: A Language Facilitation Strategy F is for Feedback
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC intervention, intervention strategies