September 25, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week, we invite you to share your own AAC-related content, product news, or anything else that you’d like others in the AAC community to know about. It may be a recent post you’ve written, a slide deck from your AAC presentation, a handout, video, or meme that you’ve posted online, an AAC product you’ve created, an announcement for an AAC camp or conference, or any other prAACtical content you developed and want to share with the AAC community. To post your own link, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and complete the form. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed, so it may take a little while... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
September 24, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Know any AAC learners like these? Jeremiah has an SGD with thousands of core and fringe words, but he uses less than 100 of them in day-to-day life. Bella used an AAC app with visual scene displays to interact at playtime and during daily routines for the past several months. Her team just added an app with a grid-based vocabulary so that she can begin to create novel sentences and expand her language abilities. Mason was recently evaluated for an AAC device, but it will likely take a few months to get the funding situation straightened out. In the meantime, his team created a manual communication board that mirrors the main screen of the SGD’s language software. Each of them needs lots of practice to become fluent with the core words in their AAC systems. Are you looking for resources to support your use of core words in therapy, in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: downloads, resources, Year of Core Vocabulary
September 23, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts from our prAACtical week that may be of interest. Monday – PrAACtical AAC Question of the Month: Who Is On Your AAC Team? Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Assumptions, Attitudes, and Adventures Thursday – Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 5 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have an appetite for a little more AAC, explore these past posts. Understanding and Supporting Families of AAC Learners Before We Read: Using Predictions for PrAACtical Learning AAC and Change: Some Thoughts on Influencing Behavior 5 Tips for Helping AAC Assessments Run Smoothly AAC ‘Must Haves’ for the Classroom and Speech Room And while you have AAC on your mind, we’d love to hear what you are planning for AAC Awareness Month. Comment below or message us if you’d like to be featured on PrAACtical AAC. Have a great week, everyone!
Filed under: Featured Posts
September 20, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Our AAC Training Series continues today and we are incredibly grateful to Tabi Jones-Wohleber for sharing these presentation materials with us. Today’s training materials center on a topic that is near and dear to my prAACtical heart: Using statements more often than questions. The instructional time for Module 5 is about 90-120 minutes which allows time for discussion and practice. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 5: Statements More Than Questions Facilitator Guidelines STATEMENTS MORE THAN QUESTIONS Questions are necessary to help us learn about the things, people, and activities in our environment and beyond. However, interactions heavily weighted with questions do not often yield the quality exchanges required to build relationships, gain understanding, foster autonomous communication or facilitate initiation. This module explores the power of statements (aka nondirective language and descriptive teaching) in shaping meaningful engagement for learning and socially interacting. It includes interactive activities, video links, lots... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC training
September 18, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week, we invite you to share your own AAC-related content so that others may learn from you and benefit from your efforts. Schedules are often a little more relaxed in the summer, so share away! It may be a recent post you’ve written, a slide deck from your AAC presentation, a handout, video, or meme that you’ve posted online, an AAC product you’ve created, an announcement for an AAC camp or conference, or any other prAACtical content you developed and want to share with the AAC community. To post your own link, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and complete the form. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
Tagged With: AAC Resources, download
September 17, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Once a month we like to turn the tables and see how PrAACtical AAC readers respond to a quick question. Our first AAC Question of the Month asked: What AAC skill is your biggest strength? Here’s how readers weighed in. Aided language input 38.1% Coaching communication partners 9.5% Assessment 8.3% Creating visual supports 7.1% Programming SGDs/AAC apps 6% Teaching early communicative functions 6% None, I don’t feel strong in any of these areas. 4.8% Collaborating with other service providers 3.6% Supporting AAC families 3.6% Report-writing and documentation 2.4% Supporting eye gaze users 2.4% Signing 1.2% PECS 1.2% Today, we turn our attention to AAC teams and who is one them. In the textbook, there are lots of disciplines listed but there is probably wide variability in which ones actually participate in AAC teams in different parts of the world. Take a minute, if you can, to tell us which... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC implementation skills, AAC team, question
September 16, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re wrapping up the week with a summary of posts. Here are some AAC posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – Building Your AAC SLP Toolkit: Obtaining Free Apps for AAC Evaluations Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Integrating AAC into the Classroom Thursday – Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 4 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have time for a little more reading? Here are some additional posts for you to explore. Beyond Requesting: Thoughts on Teaching Information Transfer How I Do It: Encouraging AAC Implementation (Lauren Enders) PrAACtical Ways to Make Decisions About Thematic Therapy Materials In the Treasure Bag: Using Sharing Time to Focus on Vocabulary AAC in Motion: Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk with Tanna Neufeld
Filed under: Featured Posts
September 13, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Ready for more AAC training materials? In today’s post, Tabi Jones-Wohleber is sharing another module in the MASTER PAL series. This 30-minute session focuses on the role of multiple modalities in AAC. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 4: Accept Multiple Modalities Facilitator Guidelines We all use multiple modalities to communicate…speech, text, email, a gesture, facial expressions. In much the same way we encourage young children to interact by assigning meaning to their gestures, expressions, and utterances, responding meaningfully to the communicative attempts of those who use AAC validates and encourages the effort. Honor all modalities and respond by modeling AAC as much as possible(regardless of the modality used by the PWUAAC) teaches AAC. Seize the opportunity to teach and expand language. After all, multi-modal communication shapes the human experience. For this training you will need: The Presentation Slides The Presentation Handout The Facilitator’s Guide Warm-up Discussion: Thinking Prompt... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC partner training, AAC Resources, Tabi Jones-Wohleber
September 11, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week, we invite you to share your own AAC-related content so that others may learn from you and benefit from your efforts. Schedules are often a little more relaxed in the summer, so share away! It may be a recent post you’ve written, a slide deck from your AAC presentation, a handout, video, or meme that you’ve posted online, an AAC product you’ve created, an announcement for an AAC camp or conference, or any other prAACtical content you developed and want to share with the AAC community. To post your own link, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and complete the form. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
Tagged With: AAC Link Up
September 10, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
A carpenter without a hammer? A painter without a brush? A surgeon without a scalpel? No matter how skilled these professionals are, they can’t do their work without the tools necessary for the job. SLPs need their tools, too. Sometimes those tools are tangible items, like formal tests, mirrors, computers, and penlights. And sometimes those tools are less tangible, like software, digital subscriptions, and apps. Most service delivery settings where AAC evaluations take place (e.g., clinics, schools, hospitals), though, fail to provide SLPs with the adequate range of AAC tools they need to do their jobs well. And, as any practicing SLP knows, the budget for materials ranges from minimal to non-existent. So, what’s a clinician to do? Savvy SLPs have a variety of strategies for getting the resources they need. It’s disheartening that they need to even do this, but, for many, the reality is that either the SLPs... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC apps, AAC evaluation, Angela Moorad, Omazing Kids