November 19, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
For beginning communicators, the pairing of storybook reading with aided language input is a powerful combination. Today, Dr. Kimberly Ho, SLP and Director of Speech, Language and AAC Services at Confidence Connection, shares her thoughts on selecting which words to model and also shares a number of video examples. Modeling for Children with ASD: Which Words Should We Choose? We know that many individuals with ASD have complex communication needs. It is estimated that 50% of individuals on the Autism Spectrum can’t meet their communication needs with speech alone (Light, Roberts, DeMarco, & Greiner, 1998). This is not surprising to clinicians and educators who have seen their caseloads swell with children with ASD who require AAC. Modeling is the most frequently used instructional method by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with children with ASD who use AAC (Clark & Williams, 2020). Clinically, the intent of providing a model is NOT... [Read More...]
April 3, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Our guest post for today is from SLP Kimberly Ho, an AAC specialist who operates a private practice, AAC Services. I met Dr. Ho many years ago when she was getting her master’s degree at Purdue University. She went on to get her doctorate and now consults for a number of public schools and works with individuals with AAC needs from preschoolers to adults. Kimberly is active in teaching (undergraduate and graduate courses), writing (published three articles in peer reviewed journals) and public speaking (15 presentations at regional, national and international conferences). In this post, she discusses some concepts in teaching grammar to people who are learning AAC. Traditionally, individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) were provided with communication boards or speech generating devices (SGDs) filled with topic specific vocabulary often called fringe words. The field of AAC is only just beginning to provide early communicators with access to Core... [Read More...]
November 3, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome Dr. Kimberly Ho, SLP and Director of Speech, Language and AAC Services at Confidence Connection in Needham, Massachusetts. In this post, she discusses how professionals in her organization are supporting AAC learners with autism on the journey toward flexible, generative language. I am the Director of Speech, Language and AAC Services at an ABA clinic, so naturally we serve many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) of all ages. A vast number of learners with ASD can speak, but their speech is not functional to meet their communication needs. We have begun to provide word-based AAC systems for these students to move beyond scripting. Many individuals with ASD “script.” That is, they may not produce novel utterances, but rather chunks of phrases and sometimes entire sentences they have memorized. Sometimes this scripting is based on a character from a TV show or movie. Other times the script has been memorized in... [Read More...]
December 7, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to give your AAC learners the opportunity to communicate with a broader range of communication partners? Interested in practicing AAC skills outside of the classroom? When I saw this fun learning experience that SLP Kimberly Walker and her colleagues developed, I knew it would spark the imaginations of some of our prAACtical friends. I am continually amazed by the creativity of teachers, SLPs, OTs, and others who are passionate about helping students become more proficient with their AAC and language. Based in Colorado, Kimberly works with students in kindergarten through grade 5 at Tarver Elementary. In this post, she explains how they set up a Treat Cart in order to spice up the opportunities for AAC, language, and literacy learning. ——————————————————— Finding ways for our AAC users to see the power of communication by using their AAC device is hard at times. My Occupational Therapist and I... [Read More...]