May 29, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s that time again! Once a week, we invite you to share your own AAC-related content so that others may learn from you and benefit from your efforts. 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 camp 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. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed, so it may take a little while for your link to show up. Note: If you receive this post in your email inbox, you are probably getting it before anyone has had a chance to add their links. Check back later... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Link Up
May 28, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Some thoughts for the day as we reflect on the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for our country. “We must be strong enough to create peace where it does not exist and strong enough to protect it where it does.” -R. Reagan
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, remember
May 27, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a holiday weekend here in the US and that means a little more time to relax and catch up on things. If your day includes catching up on some AAC reading, check out our posts from the past week. Monday – Message and Voice Banking Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Thinking About the Communication Bill of Rights Thursday – PrAACtically June: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words Have time for a little more light reading? Here are a few topics you might like to explore. Using Structure to Support Participation Designing & Using Visual Supports for Older Students Using Scripts in AAC Therapy 5 Ways to Use Anchor Charts & Other Visual Supports in AAC Therapy 5 Visual Supports for AAC Learners Before you go, you may wish to review our privacy policies, which were updated as required by the General Data Protection Regulations which... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: participation, summary post, visual support
May 24, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we’re preparing for a holiday weekend and getting ready to flip the calendar to a new page. That means it’s time to prepare to highlight a new set of core words to keep our AAC learners moving forward and expanding their use of AAC throughout the day. If you’re helping an AAC learner become more capable in using high-frequency words to express themselves, we hope you join us in highlighting the June words and creating opportunities for our AAC learners to use them throughout the day. Whether you are following along with the 2013 Year of Core (Set 1-12 words/month) or the 2014 A(nother) Year of Core: (Set 2-16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), or just getting started, here are some helpful resources. Our June words are listed below. Set 1 List: after, am/be/is, because, can, cold, fast, fun, have, hungry, let, need, talk Set... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, downloads, resources
May 22, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s that time again! Once a week, we invite you to share your own AAC-related content so that others may learn from you and benefit from your efforts. 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 camp 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. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed, so it may take a little while for your link to show up. Note: If you receive this post in your email inbox, you are probably getting it before anyone has had a chance to add their links. Check back later... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Link Up
May 21, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
People with declining speech abilities may wish to preserve some aspects of their speech through voice banking, message banking, and/or digital legacies. These are strategies used to digitally record speech by people with degenerative conditions, such as ALS/MND, for later use once their speech abilities decline. You can learn more about each strategy here. Voice Banking Voice banking is a strategy for creating a synthetic version of someone’s voice for later use on speech generating devices (SGD). It involves recording hundreds or thousands of sentences so that the computer can sample the person’s vocal qualities in different linguistic contexts and use that information to create a synthetic voice modeled after the person’s own speech. Options for Voice Banking include: Model Talker CereVoice Me VocalID My Own Voice Message Banking Message banking is a strategy for creating a pool of pre-recorded messages using a person’s natural speech while it is... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ALS, digital legacy, message banking, voice banking
May 20, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hello, Sunday! As AAC service providers, the work we do often keeps us too busy to do much reading. And so, we often use the weekends to catch up. If you’re in that mode today, check out our posts from last week. Monday: PrAACtical Resources: Lockdown, Code Red, & Other School Safety Drills Tuesday: AAC Link Up Wednesday: Video of the Week: AAC in Acute Care Thursday: Throwback Thursday: Extension Activities for AAC Practice Still have an appetite for some more AAC? Here are a few past posts to sink your teeth into. 3 Ways to Use AAC Goals to Strengthen AAC Intervention Using Visual Supports for Goal Setting Conversations PrAACtically Pinteresting with Lauren Enders: Writing AAC Goals Building Linguistic Competence in AAC Learners: 3 Areas to Consider Targeting Writing AAC Goals for Students Who Use AAC If you’re local, take a look at this opportunity to learn from Dr. Caroline Musselwhite on teaching early... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Caroline Musselwhite, goals, literacy, summary post
May 17, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we’re revisiting some past posts for those who are looking to add more AAC practice activities into their routines. Happy talking! AT Recipes for Success: Shared Reading Sometimes I Feel Sunny Pete the Cat Bark, George Bear Wants More AT Recipes for Success: Sensorimotor Activities Fun with Balls & Dolls Fun with Cars & Bubbles Fun with Paint Daubers & Crayons Fun with Animal Puzzles & Potato Head AT Recipes for Success: Older Learners Fun with Scrapbooking & Computer Games Fun with Nail Polish & Magazines Fun with Cooking
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC activities, extension activities, home practice
May 15, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hello, AAC friends! Once a week, we invite you to share your own AAC-related content so that others may learn from you and benefit from your efforts. 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 camp 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. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed, so it may take a little while for your link to show up. Note: If you receive this post in your email inbox, you are probably getting it before anyone has had a chance to add their links. Check back later in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Link Up, literacy
May 14, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
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 for Code Red and lockdowns with a greater degree of importance and a heightened level of urgency. Our students with AAC needs are among the most vulnerable in any emergency situation and this is no different. Our students may have difficulty understanding what is happening in a drill or its implications. They may have difficulty moving quickly to get to a safe space or staying quiet once they get there.... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Emergency, emergency preparedness, safety, schools