December 27, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
As we prepare to take down our 2018 calendars, we’re looking ahead to January and gearing up to model and teach some more core words to our AAC learners. If you have some prep time this week, join us! This is a great time to get the word cards and other materials for the Year of Words (Set 1; Set 2) ready to use with the AAC learners in our lives. Thanks to the generous spirit of PrAACtical AAC readers we have posts with a variety of resources: Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words Minspeak/Unity version: Set 1 PCS versions: Set 1, Set 2 Speak for Yourself version: Set 2 SymbolStix version: Set 1 Lesson Pix: Set 1 Smarty Symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words CoughDrop: Set 1 words; Set 2 words WordPower: Set 1 words (Note: This is a large file that contains... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Another Year of Core Words, downloads, Year of Core Vocabulary
December 24, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town, Not a creature was stirring, they were all safe and sound. The stockings were hung by their chimneys with care, In hopes that AAC Elves would soon visit there. The teachers were nestled all snug in their beds, With visions of lesson plans banished from their heads. The therapists with data sheets and the strategies they love best, Had just settled in for a good winter-break rest. When outside the schoolyard, there arose such a clatter I rushed toward the window to see what was the matter. Stepping on Legos (does that pain ever fade?) I ran to the window and lifted the shade. With her silvery face, the moon shone from the night sky, Illuminating the landscape from her perch way up high. And what to my sleep-deprived eyes should appear But an accessible sleigh, and 8 AT reindeer.... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Christmas, poem
December 23, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you are enjoying the holiday season, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed amid the hustle and bustle. Monday – AAC Goes to High School: The Power of Peers Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Helping Students with Autism Prepare for Non-routine Events Thursday – Christmas, AAC Style ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you can squeeze in a few more, take a look at some of these posts from the archives. How We Do It: Using AAC to Repair Communication Breakdowns Data Collection for the Beginning AAC User: Essential Things to Measure AAC & ASD: Beyond Scripting More Words, Please! Expanding Our Manual Communication Boards Activity Schedule AACtion
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, holiday, summary post
December 20, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: holiday, songs
December 18, 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
December 17, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so pleased to welcome back Sarah Mueller, who teaches high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Rochester, Michigan. In this post, she shares her experiences in working with peer mentors and how she has helped to facilitate meaningful relationships between students with and without disabilities. Don’t miss her video or the links to download some of the materials they used. Enjoy! The Power of Peers We often talk about the functions of communication and their importance in developing and expanding the students’ communicative repertoire. Moving beyond requesting to protesting, commenting, and greeting and other functions is often the focus. But as high schoolers included in the school community, my students want to be social with their peers without disabilities. What does that look like for students with complex communication needs? How, as a teacher, can you structure social opportunities to teach and practice core? What... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: friendships, high school, peer mentors, school
December 16, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – AAC Goes to High School: Community-based Instruction Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Journal Writing & AAC Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC for Young Children ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have a few minutes for some more AAC content? Here are a few more for you to browse through. From Conversation to Skill-building AAC Mythology v2.0: A Few Misconceptions About AAC Intervention Increasing Core Vocabulary Use at Home, Therapy, and In School Building AAC Intervention Skills: Skillful Use of Time Delay Supporting Language Growth in AAC Learners: Part 1
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language therapy, summary post
December 13, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
In recent weeks, we’ve been getting lots of questions about using AAC with young children. There are lots of ways to approach this so today we are looking back at some of our earlier posts on AAC at the preschool level. If this is a topic of special interest to you, don’t miss the announcement about a giveaway at the end of the post. Using Vest Displays with Preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum with guest author Dr. Carol Goossens’ Mining the Preschool Routine for PrAACtical AAC Opportunities Supporting Preschoolers with AAC Needs: A Case Study Visual Supports in Action in the Preschool Classroom TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom Attainment, the publisher of TELL ME (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is generously providing a free copy of the program through a contest they are running. TELL ME your AAC story for a chance to win a... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ATIA, Carol Goossens', preschool AAC
December 10, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so glad to share the work of Sarah Mueller, a special education teacher in Rochester, Michigan, who returns to talk about AAC with older students. Sarah teaches high school and works with many students who have developmental disabilities. She strives to embed language and communication throughout her students’ entire school experience and help them become strong self-advocates as they prepare for adult life. In this post, Sarah talks about supporting AAC learners who are working with AAC systems rich in core vocabulary as they prepare for their weekly trips into the community. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Core in the Community Core vocabulary is often embedded in the typical instructional tasks of the school day: communication exchanges, calendar time, literacy, etc. Like most high school teachers for students with intellectual disabilities, community-based instruction (CBI) is a component of my classroom program. My classroom becomes the community every single week! It is yet another setting where I... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: community, core vocabulary, high school
December 9, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! It’s a busy time of year for all of us but if you have time to catch up on some AAC reading, take a look at these posts from the week and scroll down to the bottom for news about upcoming AAC opportunities. Monday – Thoughts on Embracing Multilingualism and Diversity in AAC Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Implementing AAC in an Elementary Classroom Thursday – Let’s Read! Online Books for the Holiday Season ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re at it, here are some previous posts that may be of interest. PrAACtical Questions with Vicki Clarke: What’s the Role of Core Vocabulary? Communication Boards: Colorful Considerations Let Me Tell You Something- Narratives for the Beginning Communicator Holiday Shopping with a Purpose Hello Holidays! AAC Ideas for Your Celebration Before you leave, here are two upcoming opportunities for AAC connection. Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 pm... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: bilingual, holiday, summary post