Tag Archive: assessment

AACtual Therapy: Informal Assessment Activity with Jeanne Tuthill

July 31, 2014 by - Leave your thoughts

AACtual Therapy: Informal Assessment Activity with Jeanne Tuthill

We are so pleased to have a return visit by SLP Jeanne Tuthill. In this post, she shares an informal assessment activity based around a Book of Favorites. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Greetings from Massachusetts! My work at the Collaborative for Educational Services is on a school-year contract so I’m currently on summer break with my three girls.  We’ve been plenty busy with fun summer activities but my learning and growing as an AAC therapist isn’t tied to my contract dates.  I’ve also been busy watching webinars, reading some great books (educational as well as pleasure-reading), and following the Facebook feeds of some of my favorite AAC peeps!  I really wish I could have attended ISAAC in Lisbon, Portugal this year…I loved seeing everyone’s photos and posts from what looked to be a spectacular conference! In my last post on assessment I shared with you an ice-breaker activity that is low-stress for... [Read More...]

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Watch It Wednesday: Client Priorities Drive AAC Assessment Recommendations

June 25, 2014 by - Leave your thoughts

Watch It Wednesday: Client Priorities Drive AAC Assessment Recommendations

We love seeing ways in which clients are ‘heard’ in the course of AAC evaluations. Today, we return to the ACE Centre North, to see a specific example. In Shelley’s case, the need to use for the AAC device to be compatible with other technology was a driving force in the recommendations. Take a look! Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UzV-x7vF84&list=UUMCsugUQwzWK3mOzuVSSmaw  

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AACtual Therapy with Jeanne Tuthill: AAC Assessment Activity

March 20, 2014 by - Leave your thoughts

AACtual Therapy with Jeanne Tuthill: AAC Assessment Activity

We’re so excited to introduce a new AACtual therapist, Jeanne Tuthill. Jeanne has been an SLP for over 15 years and has specialized in AAC for the past 6 years.  As an AT specialist for the Collaborative Center for Assistive Technology and Training (CCATT) in Northampton, Massachusetts, Jeanne evaluates and provides consultation services for K-12 students in schools throughout Western  Massachusetts. In addition, she provides workshops and professional development training in that region.  Since 2012, Jeanne has served as an adjunct faculty member for the Assistive Technology Graduate Program at Simmons College. She has also presented at a number of regional and national conferences. You can see Jeanne here with her long-time student Lauren Suprenant, who is using a Step-by-Step Communicator, to share information about how she communicates with others (introduction strategy). Jeanne shares a little bit about her work and then discusses an activity that is used in their AAC... [Read More...]

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Tracking Early Communication Skills: A PrAACtical Resource

December 30, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

Tracking Early Communication: A PrAACtical Resource

This month, we’ve been talking about ways to support beginning communicators, particularly those at the pre-intentional stage. In this brief post, we share a resource that you can use for graphing data. You can download the packet here or go to the e-Toolbox and look in the Downloads area.  Direct Link to File – https://praacticalaac.org/?wpfb_dl=95

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Teach Me Tuesday: AAC Evaluation Genie

December 3, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

Teach Me Tuesday: AAC Evaluation Genie

Anything that can help SLPs do better AAC evals gets a double thumbs up from us. We’ve blogged about the app AAC Eval Genie (Hump Software) before. In this Teach Me Tuesday post, we share some resources to help you get started learning this helpful tool. Quick Start Guide Video Tutorial Facebook Page Where to Go for Help: webmaster@humpsoftware.com  

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Strategy of the Month: Building Participation

October 5, 2013 by - 4 Comments

Do you know any of our friends? Jenna can use a talking switch with only a little bit of support. But at calendar time, no one thinks of asking her a question. Hao knows almost two dozen signs and can use a communication wallet with non-signers. But at social gatherings, he’s mostly off to the side playing a game on his iPhone. Isaac uses his SGD capably and can create grammatically correct sentences that include noun phrases and conjunctions. But in Chemistry, his lab group conducts their experiments and writes up the lab report without his contributions. Sienna is able to choose between preferred and non-preferred items in a field of three and is learning to do so in a field of four. But the only time she gets to make a choice is at mealtimes. Like many of you, we put in countless hours helping children and adults who... [Read More...]

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5 Things to Love About the SETT Framework

September 6, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

5 Things to Love About the SETT Framework

The SETT Framework by Dr. Joy Zabala (Director of Technical Assistance at CAST) is a widely used approach for collaborative decision-making in AT. It’s a tool we love, teach about, and use, but many SLPs aren’t that familiar with it. Here are some of the reasons we think it deserves your consideration. 1. It gives everyone a common focus. We all look at the student from our own perspective and sometimes fail to think about how our priorities intersect with those of other team members. The SETT Framework helps us to all look at the same thing at the same time. 2. Defensive, who me? When you focus on a framework or process, people are less likely to become defensive when we’re trying to make things better for the student. 3. It becomes a way of thinking. Teams that are in the habit of using the SETT Framework are generally... [Read More...]

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5 Things to Consider About Data Collection in AAC

August 22, 2013 by - 8 Comments

5 Things to Consider About Data Collection in AAC

As a rule, SLPs are pretty good about collecting data in their clinical work. Here are some of our prAACtical thoughts about data collection. 1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. We’ve visited several programs where the client data filled a huge 3-ring binder. In some places, they logged the data daily, reviewed it frequently, and actually USED it to make programmatic decisions. If that works for you, great! But most programs only reviewed the data when they had to report it or prior to a visit by someone who might want to see and discuss those data. In those cases, the data really wasn’t serving it’s original purpose: to see how instruction might need to be tweaked for a client who was learning quickly, slowly, or not at all. The takeaway: Don’t collect more data than you’re prepared to review and put to use. 2. We should... [Read More...]

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