August 27, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Are you supporting AAC learners who have SGDs or communication boards/books with high-frequency words? If so, join us as we work to model, practice, and teach these words throughout the day. It can feel overwhelming, so we tend to focus on a subset of words each month. The Year of Core Vocabulary approach isn’t a developmental list of words to be introduced in a specific order, but rather a way of gradually exposing learners to more and more words over time. We do that by modeling them on their device or communication aid when we talk, and plan specific instructional activities to teach word meanings, play games to help them better recognize and understand the symbols for those words, and, elicit them frequently from those who are just learning their AAC systems. Our AAC friends need practice, practice, and more practice. Over time, they will gain more fluency and automaticity with the words in their AAC... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Books, Calendar, Year of Core
August 26, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a beautiful day to catch up on some AAC reading. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – Letters from Camp, Day 1 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC on the Move Thursday – Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 1 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have an appetite for some AAC? Check out this sampling of past posts. SGDs for People with ASD “What Should I Program on the SGD?” Feature Match Chart 5 Features to Look for in SGDs and AAC Apps Making a Back-up for High-tech AAC :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Join us in January for a full day of preschool AAC! Use the slider on the right side of the graphic for more information. You can also download a PDF of it here.
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: preschool, SGD, summary post
August 23, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Are you… Hoping to train team members to be better communication partners for their AAC students/clients but overwhelmed by the thought of all the preparation? Relatively new to AAC and not sure what content to share in your training? Looking for additional resources to utilize in your existing training sessions? Good news, AAC friends! This post is for you. We’re so happy to have SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber returning to the blog to share more of her wonderful AAC resources. Tabi works with young children at the West Virginia Birth to Three program and serves on the AT Team for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland. Today, she launches a new series on partner training that focuses on the use of aided language input and other facilitative strategies. There are 11 modules in all (1 overview for administrative discussions and 10 for communication partners) and each one includes slides, handouts, discussion prompts, links... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC partner training, inservice, Tabi Jones-Wohleber, Training
August 21, 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
August 20, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Mosquitos and sunscreen Swimming, canoeing, and fishing Frogs, grasshoppers, and lightning bugs Campfires, s’mores, and ghost stories AAC devices and alternative pencils?? It’s hard to believe that 3 years have gone by since guest author Tina Moreno first shared her experiences at Camp ALEC with our PrAACtical AAC readers. (You can read that article here.) This year, Tina is back to share some of the activities that the staff and volunteers are using to help AAC learners strengthen their skills in reading and writing. Take a peek at the Day 1 Literacy Activities. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Camp ALEC is underway at beautiful Indian Trails Camp in Grand Rapids, MI this week. Twenty-one campers arrived on Sunday evening to spend the week on their own while engaged in motivating reading and writing activities, plus typical summer camp experiences. Sixteen educators and speech-language pathologists traveled from as far away as New Zealand to obtain... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: camp, Camp ALEC, literacy
August 19, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Busy week, AAC friends? Here are some posts that you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Core Vocabulary Flipbook for August Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Achieving Authentic Communication Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC Resources for Supporting Teams ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still hungry for some AAC reading? Visual Supports for Places Around School (downloadable) Visual Supports for Places We Go (downloadable) AAC Intervention for Children with ASD Teaching Communication Partners Through Video Self-modeling Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: bilingual AAC, summary post, visual supports
August 16, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s another Throwback Thursday and we’re revisiting some posts with shareable tips and resources. Let’s get our AAC teams moving in the same direction! Five Places for Shared AAC Materials Five AAC and Related Resources to Explore AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #1 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #2 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #3 (downloadable) AAC: More Teaching, Less Testing (downloadable)
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: collaboration, downloads, resources, teamwork
August 14, 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
August 13, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for some additional resources that can help you implement A Year of Core Vocabulary Words? Help yourself to this flipbook with sentence suggestions for a variety of activities. It goes along with our monthly series of core words and features the August words, but works well with any system that is rich in core vocabulary. You can download the file for it here. Happy talking!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: A Year of Core Words
August 12, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hello, AAC friends, and happy Sunday! Here are a handful of posts that may have been overlooked in your busy week. Monday – “I’m using Aided Language Input. Now what?” Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Thumbs Up for AAC Support in The Community Thursday – 3 AAC Tips You Might Not Have Tried Yet :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And, wait! There’s more! PrAACtical Resources: Lockdown, Code Red, and Other School Safety Drills PrAACtical Resources: AAC for School Staff Preschool AAC and Visual Supports from Orange County Public Schools Who Can Pay for AAC Devices for Public School Students? Preventing Problem Behavior in Schools by Dr. Barry Prizant Have a great week, AAC friends!
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: summary post