When teaching AAC, it can be helpful to have multimedia materials to supplement our explicit instruction. In today’s post, we’re reprising a guest post by Special Educator Angie Sheets and SLP Nicole Wingate explaining how they create brief videos to illustrate the meaning of core words their students are learning. Take a look.
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Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – Make It Monday: Manual Communication Boards Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Creating a Literacy & Communication Rich Environment in Early Intervention Settings Thursday – Stepping into AAC: PrAACtically Ready ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We’ve got a few more posts for you to browse. On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals From Referential to Descriptive Teaching with AAC Learners Aided Language Input – How Much Language Should We Model? PrAACtical Resources: Promoting Inclusion and Participation for People Who Use AAC When Students are Reluctant to Use AAC: 5 Things to Try
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Stepping into AAC is a set of materials designed to help families begin using AAC and integrating it into daily life. If you’re ready to get started on that journey, you can access the materials through the Introduction page. If you’d like to learn a bit more about the process and what to expect, you might want to browse through these blog posts. A PrAACtical Guide to Stepping into AAC Starting a Journey with Stepping into AAC (Week 1) Building a Foundation with Stepping into AAC (Weeks 2-5) Customizing AAC Tools with Stepping into AAC (Weeks 6-8) Getting More Comfortable with AAC Practices Using Stepping into AAC (Weeks 9-12) AAC & Reading with Stepping into AAC (Weeks 13-14) AAC in Everyday Life with Stepping into AAC (Weeks 15-17) AAC & Community with Stepping into AAC (Weeks 18-19)
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We’re reprising Make It Monday, a series in which we hope to inspire your team to create communication boards and instructional materials for students who need or already use core vocabulary. In the first post, Getting Ready for a Core Vocabulary Journey, we talked about getting set up to make materials for expressive and receptive language use. Today, we get into making manual communication boards (MCBs). About Manual Communication Boards The term manual communication board refers to a ‘no-tech’ AAC support that students can use to express themselves. Typically printed on paper and laminated, most MCBs have grids of words organized by part of speech (e.g., verbs in one area, adjectives in another). MCBs that are designed for use in a particular activity, such as doing an art project or participating in Circle Time, are called activity-based communication displays, or ABCDs. ABCDs were very popular in the early days of... [Read More...]
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Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might enjoy. Monday – AAC in the Workplace Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: SLPs in the Classroom to Support AAC Learning Thursday – AAC Resources for School Teams ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In the mood for some more AAC? Here are some selections from our archives. Video Modeling & AAC Boosting Communication with Video Modeling PrAACtical Teaching in the ASD Classroom: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary How We Do It: AAC Videos for Core Word Modeling
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Happy first Friday, AAC friends! On the first Friday of each month, we publish a post in Spanish by guest author Claudia Marimón to highlight AAC work being done in Spanish-speaking countries and offer translations of material that can help families and service providers. In this month’s post, Claudia shares information about the upcoming online conference hosted by ISAAC. Hope to see you there! ¡Atención comunidad hispanohablante! Comenzamos Septiembre, animando a toda la comunidad hispanohablante a participar en el evento virtual de ISAAC https://isaac-online.org/english/home/ Acompáñenos al Evento Virtual ISAAC 2025: “Innovación, Inclusión y Defensa en la CAA”. La conferencia se centrará en impulsar el campo de la Comunicación Aumentativa y Alternativa (CAA) mediante la exploración de investigaciones de vanguardia, avances tecnológicos y prácticas inclusivas. Reuniremos a personas que usan CAA y sus familias, investigadores, profesionales, ingenieros, proveedores y defensores para discutir el acceso a la comunicación, la autodeterminación, la salud mental,... [Read More...]
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In the US, the new school year is underway in some places, and others are gearing up for the return in a few weeks. Here are a few things from previous posts that might come in handy. AAC 101 Flipbook This all-in-one resource contains information on how to implement key AAC support strategies: AAC 101 Handout. AAC Options Ensure that every student who needs AAC has access to at least a starter set of words and phrases. There are plenty of core communication boards and flipbooks to choose from, and this post has links to a variety of them: Core Boards. Hands-on AAC Interactive experiences where communication partners get to try out and use AAC to learn and express themselves can be very powerful. If you need ideas or materials to use, check out the options we shared in an earlier post: Hands-On Activities. Parent Training Materials The Stepping into... [Read More...]
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Looking for information on supporting AAC users in the world of work? These past posts may be helpful. Transitioning to the Workplace: Resources for AAC Learners with Significant Disabilities PrAACtical Thoughts on Labor Day Employment is for Everyone! National Quilting Day & Employment Learning About Augmentative Communication Empowerment and Supports (ACES) How We Do It: Navigating Successful Post-Secondary Transitions in a Virtual World
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Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts you may have missed. Monday – September AAC Year of Core Vocabulary Resources: PreK Through High School Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC Tips for Starting Back to School Thursday – AAC in Middle & High School ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more for your browsing pleasure. AAC and Visual Supports for Storms and Hurricanes: 10 Useful Resources How I Do It: Cooking in the Classroom with Carol Goossens’ How I Do It: Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults by Angela Adams On AAC Training: Skill Building for AAC Team Members PrAACtical Resources: AAC 101 Flipbook Handout
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Do you work with AAC learners in middle or high school? Ashley Larisey’s wonderful series on AAC in Secondary School Series has a great deal of information and ideas that may be of interest. Take a look. Centering AAC Users in the IEP Process Collaborative Teaming for High School Students Who Use AAC Social Media 5 AACtionable Steps to Support the Transition Process 5 Progress Monitoring Tips for Secondary Students Using Games to Support AAC Learning for Older Students Defining Age Respectful AACcessibility during Community-Based Instruction Using Surveys to Support Language Learning Research Project AACtivity Party Planning AACtivity
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