Tag Archive: resources
August 26, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
This week, we return to the team at the Autism and Tertiary Behavior Supports Project of the Kansas Technical Assistance Network. They have two wonderful videos by Jane Goetz and Lori Chambers on Pragmatically Organized Dynamic Displays. You can view ‘It’s All About the Interaction,” Part 1 and Part 2 . Also, look for the handout and tip sheet that accompanies these videos. –
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD, cerebral palsy, communication, communication book, developmental disability, intervention, partner assisted scanning, PODD, resources
August 25, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
It seems like only last week that I was enjoying ISAAC 2012, spending time with friends, and attending AAC sessions. Here are some links to handouts for a few of the sessions. 1. Sarah Blackstone and many others: Effective Patient Provider Communication: The Expanding Role of our Professions 2. Jane Farrall: What’s APPropriate: AAC Apps for iPhones, iPads and other devices 3. Melanie Fried-Oken: A Comparison of Communication Board Use for Conversations in Primary Progressive Aphasia and Alzheimer’s Disease 4. Janice Light and her colleagues: Effects of AAC Systems with “Just in Time” Programming For Children with Complex Communication Needs 5. Janice Light & David McNaughton: Evidence-based Literacy Intervention for Individuals with Autism who Require AAC
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Conference, handouts, ISAAC, resources
August 23, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Well, the school year is all of 3 days old and already we’ve had plenty of questions about AAC apps. Sigh. We’ve had our ups and downs with AAC on mobile devices, but there is no sense rehashing all of that here. Instead, we’ll focus on some of the tools we use when helping to determine which, if any, are a good fit for a particular communicator. AAC App Lists: Comprehensive AAC app list for iPhone and iPad by Jane Farrall Feature Match Checklists & Forms: Jessica Gosnell at Boston Children’s Hospital Scott Marfilius and Kelly Fonner Our Rubric for Evaluating the Language Aspects of the AAC App RELAACs Other Helpful Sources Scoop.It collection and Pinterest boards with AAC app sites and videos OCALI’s listing of apps for individuals with ASD Tech Connect’s Apps Assistant The App Academy’s site for app training videos
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, assessment, checklist, feature match, resources, rubric
August 5, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Cohesion is a tough concept for many of our learners who are developing their AAC skills and struggling to build relationships. In this week’s featured video, Joel Shaul, from Autism Teaching Strategies, discusses how to use two metaphors for building cohesive conversations. One is the idea of links in a chain and the other is the girders of a building. Of course, we are big fans of the use of visual supports whenever we talk and teach. — Although the focus here is learners with ASD, we’ve used this and similar strategies many kinds of learners. Hope you enjoy this informative video. – – – –
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Conversation, intervention, resources, visual supports
August 1, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Biennial Conference: ISAAC 2012 PrAACtically There: ISAAC 2012 Day 1 at ISAAC 2012: What You Should Know About AAC’s Expanding Role in Health Care ISAAC 2012, Day 2: AAC Goes to Preschool ISAAC 2012, Day 3: Let the Games Begin ISAAC 2012, Day 4 – The Fives 5+5 Commandments for Speech Output Communication 5 Under-Used Strategies in AAC 5 Online Notebooks Full of AAC 5 Adapted Play Resources for Children with Motor Impairment – PrAACtical Thinking 92 Free or Lite Versions of AAC Apps PrAACtical Alert: Free AAC Evaluation App This Week Visualize 9 Nice Things to Say to Students who AAC PrAACtical Thoughts About Challenging Behavior PrAACtical Resource: Searching for AAC Devices with SpeechBubble AAC Assessment Round-Up 5 Ways to Use Rating Scales to Enhance Communication with AAC PrAACtical Alert: The World’s AAC Conference Comes to You (Well, a little bit of it) Power of the Visual Planner: 20... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Conference, ISAAC, ISAAC 2012, resources
August 1, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Lots more ISAAC fun to tell about in Day 4! — My day started with a shorter version of the presentation on the preschool core language curriculum that I’m working on with Lori Wise. You can see the handout for that presentation here. — There is some fascinating work going on in the area in supporting the emotional development of children with AAC needs. Dr. Sarah Blackstone and colleagues talked about the developmental sequence in which emotional competence emerges. They are working on an observation and interview tool used to collect information on a child’s emotional development and the caregiver strategies. They are planning a pilot study with the tool they are developing and actively looking for volunteers to use this tool with children who are developmentally between 12 months and 10 years. – Terry Foss and and Jane Korsten did an interesting presentation called Promptology 101 where they reviewed some... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Conference, core vocabulary, Four Block, ISAAC 2012, Jane Farrall, presentations, resources, Sarah Blackstone
July 30, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Last week, one of our blog followers, Jeanne Tuthill, alerted us to the fact AAC Evaluation Genie, a software program from Hump Software, went mobile. This is a great program (now app) for doing direct assessment to answer clinical questions you have in doing AAC evaluations. Thanks, Jeanne! – There are 14 sub-tests: Visual Identification, Visual Discrimination, Noun Vocabulary, Function Vocabulary, Verb Vocabulary, Category Recognition, Word Association, Category Inclusion, Category Exclusion, Pixon Core Vocabulary, Unity Core Vocabulary, Unity Icon Patterns, Picture Description, and Word Prediction – Yesterday, I learned that the app will be free in honor of #ISAAC2012 for this week. You can download the app version of AAC Evaluation Genie here. –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, assessment, resources
July 28, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Throughout this month we focused on visual supports & strategies for positive behavior. We have discussed transition supports, environmental arrangements, and consequence mapping. As we wrap up, we don’t want to forget PrAACtical AAC strategies for self-calming. We like to think about self-calming like this- some weeks we need it more than others, some days we need it more than others. We all need self- calming strategies. Whether we vent to a friend, go for a run, knit, take deep breaths, or get a glass of wine (although we are not advocating this), we all use self-calming strategies. It makes a huge difference. Sometimes though helping our students self-calm at times may seem “easier said than done”, but we know it truly is ‘easier when SEEN‘. Self-calming strategies can help before, during, and after behavior challenges . We will often teach and use self calming strategies if we know a potentially stressful situation will... [Read More...]
Filed under: Strategy of the Month
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, resources, Self-Calming, strategies, visual supports
July 28, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Keeping track of all the AAC devices, vocabulary sets, and other features is a full time job and few of us have the time to do that. And, yet, when we’re considering the different AAC options for a particular client, we have to be able to access that information. Looking for SGDs that have a specific vocabulary set? Need to identify the small, handheld AAC devices? Looking for devices that do voice calling? – Finding an AAC device that is a good fit for the people with whom you work is much easier when you have a searchable database. In the US, many professionals are familiar with AbleData and use it to find equipment that fit the bill. SpeechBubble is another free resource that indexes AAC devices in the UK. – Search by Feature SpeechBubble makes it easy to search for features you know that your client needs. There is... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, resources, SGD
July 26, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Some posts that may be helpful for planning AAC assessments 92 Free or Lite Versions of AAC Apps Introducing RELAAACs: Rubric for Evaluating the Language of Apps for AAC PrAACtical Resources: Making Decisions about Reading Accessibility Options PrAACtical Questions: How Do I Find Good AAC Service Providers? PrAACtical Questions: How Can I Get AAC Devices for My Evaluations? 5 Tips to Make AAC Assessments Run Smoothly Sites We Love: Online AAC Assessment Tool 5 Things To Do Before You Choose an AAC App: Take A GULP
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, resources