164 Search Results for rachael langley

How We Do It: A Classroom Journey with PODD by Rachael Langley

November 9, 2015 by - 5 Comments

How We Do It: A Classroom Journey with PODD by Rachael Langley

Let’s face it. Good AAC implementation takes commitment and requires a lot of effort from those who are with the AAC learners throughout the day. Sometimes an AAC tool or strategy that seemed promising at first, doesn’t pan out to be as successful as expected. Other times, it’s a challenge to keep up with the demands of the classroom, therapy session, and life and still find the energy to consistently implement good AAC practices. In the real world, teams struggle with these issues every single day. So when Rachael Langley, a Michigan-based SLP and AAC specialist, offered to provide insight into what that process has been like in classrooms she supports, I was thrilled. Rachael’s original post about using PODD in the classroom and her follow-up post on implementation tips gave us insight into the journey that one elementary school classroom team is taking to better serve their students with little or no... [Read More...]

PrAACtically May: Core Word Calendar by Rachael Langley

April 28, 2015 by - 1 Comment

PrAACtically May: Core Word Calendar by Rachael Langley

Michigan-based SLP Rachael Langely is at it again! She developed a wonderful calendar of activities for those following along with our Year of Core Words. In addition, she provided some sample sentences that can be modeled, using Touch Chat as an example for the staff in classrooms that she supports. Enjoy! May Calendar  (Click on the image to download) Examples of Things to Model (click to download or visit the AAC eToolbox, Downloads area)   Note that these are just examples, and not a sequence of sentences to teach or practice as homework.

How I Do It by Rachael Langley – PODD in the Classroom: Portable, Wearable, & Comfortable

October 23, 2014 by - 11 Comments

How I Do It by Rachael Langley - PODD in the Classroom: Portable, Wearable, & Comfortable

We return to Michigan today to hear more from school-based SLP, Rachael Langley. In this post, Rachael shares some prAACtical thoughts on making PODD books always available for communication. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The PODD system offers a complete language approach through carefully organized symbol sets. Because the PODD system promotes a language immersion model, there is no pressure on our language-learners reproducing specific words or patterns at a specific rate. The primary requirement is that adults are modeling PODD for our language-learners. In order to be sure that the PODD books were being used throughout the day, the books had to be PORTABLE, WEARABLE, and COMFORTABLE. Forget any of these three features and PODD books are at a high risk of being stuck on a shelf. My new hobby has become collecting other people’s ideas for how to make PODD books comfortable to carry around. I’ll spare you the pictures of my... [Read More...]

How I Do It with Rachael Langley: PODD in the Classroom – Quick Tips for Teams

October 9, 2014 by - 4 Comments

How I Do It by Rachael Langley: PODD in the Classroom

Today we welcome SLP Rachael Langley, who  has been working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist for over 12 years. Currently working as an AAC Specialist in Mid-Michigan, Rachael tells us that she strives to spread the message about the importance of AAC and unlocking the communication potential of all students. In this post, Rachael shares some of her best tips for building communication with learners who are getting started with PODD books. The PODD system offers a complete language approach through carefully organized symbol sets. Because the PODD system promotes a language immersion model, there is no pressure on our language-learners reproducing specific words or patterns at a specific rate. Here are some quick tips I share with classroom teams who are starting out with PODD:  Input before output! Model, model, model! – Without digging too deep into the importance of Aided Language Stimulation, we want to make sure... [Read More...]

July AAC Year of Core Vocabulary Resources: PreK Throught High School

June 30, 2025 by - Leave your thoughts

July AAC Year of Core Vocabulary Resources: PreK Through High School

Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words has resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising a past post for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial Year of Core Vocabulary series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. Many other contributors over the years added to these efforts. You can access the resources for July words by clicking on the image below. Set 1 & Set 2 Words  

June Year of Core Vocabulary Resources: PreK Thru High School

May 29, 2025 by - 1 Comment

June Year of Core Vocabulary Resources: PreK Thru High School

Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons, three series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, each have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re revisiting those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by many people in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these... [Read More...]

May Year of Core Vocabulary Resources: PreK Thru High School

April 28, 2025 by - Leave your thoughts

May Year of Core Vocabulary Resources: PreK Thru High School

Looking for resources to support core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words remain popular with therapists, educators, and families. We’re revisiting those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by numerous individuals in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. Many other contributors added to these efforts over the years. The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, and Beth Lytle, was first published in 2020. Finally, the Year... [Read More...]