Tag Archive: assessment

AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: AAC Assessment for Emergent Communicators

June 1, 2016 by - 3 Comments

AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: AAC Assessment for Emergent Communicators

Today, we welcome back Vicki Clarke with more helpful information on conducting AAC assessments. If you work with individual who are at the early stages of communicative development, this post is for you! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Some of my most favorite students are those who, at first, may not seem to notice me at all.   Sometimes these students seem to exist in their own worlds.  They don’t seem to respond in ways we would expect: looking, attending, listening, or gesturing.  They may have a diagnosis of Autism, significant developmental delay, epilepsy, or any number of syndromes. I love these kids, and unfortunately, these are often the students who don’t get referred to me.  Sometimes it takes years of working in a district before I get to see students with significant developmental delays.  These children are typically served in classrooms for students considered to be severe/profound or multi-handicapped.  Honestly, I usually get the... [Read More...]

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Video of the Week: More on Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners

May 25, 2016 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: More on Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners

Today, we feature the second part of the presentation by Dr. Rae Sonnenmeier on assessing barriers to AAC. (You can see Part 1 here). In this video, she provides more in-depth information and prAACtical solution strategies. Many thanks to the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire for making this available. Direct Link to Video – https://vimeo.com/86724224

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Video of the Week: Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners

May 18, 2016 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners

We’re continuing our journey of strengthening AAC assessment practices. In today’s featured video, we return to the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire to consider additional ways to make our evaluation practices more meaningful. Many thanks to their AT team and Dr. Rae Sonnenmeier for this helpful information. Direct Link to Video – https://vimeo.com/80741615 Links to client videos referred to in the presentation Tyler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzqNPx1OVTU Holly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woCsgnXwOyg

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Video of the Week: Assessing Communication Needs in AAC Learners

May 11, 2016 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Assessing Communication Needs in AAC Learners

Looking to strengthen your AAC assessment practices? Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting some videos that provide frameworks and prAACtical suggestions that may be helpful. In today’s video, Dr. Rae Sonnenmeier, of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, discusses processes and strategies that make our AAC assessments more effective and meaningful. Direct Link to Video: https://vimeo.com/88019903 The Communication Success Screening Tool referred to in this video can be accessed here. Thanks to Tobii Dynavox for making that available.

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AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: The Eyes Have It-Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access

May 5, 2016 by - 11 Comments

AAC assessment is an area that most professionals struggle with for one reason or another. I am so grateful to Vicki Clarke for returning to share her thoughts on the prAACticalities of conducting these evaluations. If you are looking for tips on assessing someone who needs high tech eye gaze AAC, this post is for you. For other posts authored by Vicki, click here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Eyes Have It:  Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access Eye gaze control for AAC device access is a hallmark technological achievement in the world of speech generating devices.  For people with significant motor challenges we are no longer limited to scanning as our one choice for AAC access.  AAC Specialists have been using light tech eye gaze boards and PVC pipe frames with these friends for years, but now we are able to offer voice output. Eye gaze is for a much... [Read More...]

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AAC Assessment Corner by Vicki Clarke: Is AAC Feature Matching Still Relevant?

March 17, 2016 by - 8 Comments

AAC Assessment Corner by Vicki Clarke: Is AAC Feature Matching Still Relevant?

Today, we welcome back Vicki Clarke, a regular contributor to PrAACtical AAC, with another edition of AAC Assessment Corner. In this post, Vicki shares her thoughts on feature matching for AAC device selection. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Feature matching has been the gold standard for AAC evaluation for the last 20 years. It is research based and clinically proven as the best technique for selecting an AAC solution for an individual. The tide of real-life practice, however, is turning and there has been increasing discussion at conferences, in social media and blogs questioning why we continue to use feature matching to place AAC systems in the hands of students. In a recent assistive technology on-line chat, a noted AT specialist remarked: “I wonder if at a district level it might not be better to have a go-to AAC system everyone tries first. If that doesn’t work then adjust.”  Does this mean that we throw... [Read More...]

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AAC Assessment Corner by Vicki Clarke: Thinking Inside the Box for AAC Evaluations

February 25, 2016 by - 3 Comments

AAC Assessment Corner by Vicki Clarke: Thinking Inside the Box for AAC Evaluations

AAC assessment is a challenge in almost every service delivery setting, and many of you have reached out to us to ask for advice on how to strengthen your assessment practices. Luckily, Vicki Clarke, an AAC Chick who has a great deal of experience assessing learners in clinical and educational settings, has tips and resources to share. In this continuation of the AAC Assessment Corner series, Vicki talks about a key feature in any AAC system: vocabulary organization. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Thinking Inside the Box for AAC Evaluations: What Type of Vocabulary Organization is Right For Your AAC User? Professionals often spend a great deal of time concerning themselves with which box they should get their AAC user.  Should I pick a Prentke Romich or a Tobii Dynavox?  But what about the iPad?  And what about the money?  Should I pick a CheapTalk or a GoTalk instead? Here’s the good news: The box is not the... [Read More...]

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AAC Assessment Corner by Vicki Clarke: Procedural Resources

January 11, 2016 by - 8 Comments

AAC Assessment Corner by Vicki Clarke: Procedural Resources

The new year is bringing some changes to PrAACtical AAC, and one that I am most excited about is a regular monthly article by SLP Vicki Clarke. Vicki is a phenomenal clinician with a private practice in Georgia who has been specializing in AAC since 1991. Her practice, Dynamic Therapy Associates, averages around 50 AAC evaluations a year, so she was the perfect choice to write about AAC assessment practices. Vicki’s assessments are for both for individuals and school districts, and include clients of all ages (peds through adults) who have a variety of challenges and etiologies (e.g., motor disorders, memory, attention and learning difficulties, sensory impairment, neurological differences, syndromes and seizure disorders, congenital and acquired difficulties). Click on these links to learn more about Vicki’s life as an AAC therapist and the kinds of supports provided at Dynamic Therapy Associates. I know you will appreciate the resources, ideas, and tips that Vicki... [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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Say What?!? AAC Assessment for Children Who Speak with Dr. Jill Senner and Matthew Baud

May 12, 2015 by - 8 Comments

Say What?!? AAC Assessment for Children Who Speak. with Dr. Jill Senner and Matthew Baud

While the Index of Augmented Speech Comprehensibility in Children (I-ASCC) has been around for almost 20 years, few clinicians know and use it. In this post, we welcome back Matthew Baud and Jill Senner to talk about how they are using this assessment tool. Enjoy! AAC evaluations can be challenging, especially if there is disagreement among team members as to whether AAC is necessary or not.  We frequently see disagreements about AAC arise when a student is able to speak.  Let’s examine the following case. Mrs. Brown has had Johnny in her class for the last 2 years and she “understands everything” he is saying during their routine calendar time.  The new SLP, who only sees Johnny once weekly for 30 minutes, tried to elicit information about his weekend at home and reported that she “didn’t understand anything.” What is going on here?  How can two communication partners have such vastly... [Read More...]

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