December 18, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
What’s better that modeling AAC? Doing it with a pal, of course! In this post, we hear from special education teacher Carissa Thompson and SLP Hannah Sellers who work at Princeton House Charter School (PHCS) where they serve students with autism spectrum disorder. Both work with students who use a variety of AAC to communicate and access their curricula. PHCS uses a daily integrated language therapy model which allows for increased opportunities to collaborate with teachers and to organically meet the communication needs of their students. Today, Hannah and Carissa share ways in which they team up to provide AAC supports with a fun twist. AAC & Autism: Making Core Words Fun with Bluebee Pals In this post, we would like to introduce you to a recently discovered therapy and classroom tool that has made core words fun for our students! Meet Bluebee Pals Bluebee Pals are a group of... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
December 17, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Busy with end-of-semester paperwork and holiday preparations? Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Communication Supports Inventory for Children and Youth Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC, ASD, & Individual Differences Thursday – PrAACtical Collaboration: Teaming Up to Build Communication with a Treat Cart (Part 2) If you’re in the mood to check out some other posts, take a look at some of the past posts on AAC in the family. Family Collaboration by Dr. Barry Prizant From Presence to Contribution – A Family’s Journey Towards an Inclusive Life AAC at Home Connecting with Caregivers to Support AAC Learning: 3 Things to Try PrAACtical Families: 5 Grants That Support AAC
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: summary post
December 14, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we hear more from Colorad0-based SLP Kimberly Walker who explains more about how they use the Treat Cart activity to support the communicative development of her students with AAC needs. You can see the first part of her post here. ——————————————————— The Treat Cart has made our co-treating planning so simple. The first Thursday of the month we take inventory to see what things we need to buy to restock our cart. We have done this by making a graph with paper and also doing an actual object graph with the products and sticky notes to simulate the products gone. We target the language of more and less and also work on making a list to take to the store. On the second Thursday of the month, we work on identifying environmental print of the products we are selling and practice selling to each other targeting the skills in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC activities, classroom, education, school
December 11, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
As AAC practitioners well know, children who use some form of augmentative communication need a wide array of supports in order to be successful. In this post, we share a useful tool to systematically gather information about those supports to help teams with educational planning. Developed by Drs. Charity Rowland and Melanie Fried-Oken and Ms. Sandra Steiner, The Communication Supports Inventory – Children & Youth (CSI-CY) is designed to make goal writing easier for teachers and SLPs who work with students who have AAC needs. It is a wonderful way to build collaboration and get the team pointed in the same direction. Learn more about the CSI- CY here. You can access it online or download it for a hard copy.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, assessment tools, classroom, downloads, education, school
December 10, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Baking, shopping, wrapping. Grading, report-writing. Ugly sweaters, Secret Santas, Elf on a Shelf, Mensch on a Bench. December is zooming by. If you missed a few posts, we get it. Put your feet up, take a breath, and click away! Monday – PrAACtical Research: AAC Intervention for Children with ASD Wednesday – Video of the Week: Parent’s Guide to AAC Assessment Thursday – PrAACtical Collaboration: Teaming Up to Build Communication with a Treat Cart (Part 1) Saturday – When Disaster Strikes: USSAAC’s Response to Families with AAC Needs Still in the AAC mood? Here’s a sampling of previous posts on cooking and AAC for your browsing pleasure. PrAACtical Supports for Older Learners: AT Recipes for Success, Part 5 – Let’s Cook! How I Do It: Cooking in the Classroom with Carol Goossens’ Literacy: Cookies & Core AACtual Therapy with Deanna Wagner: Why Cook When You Can’t Eat? PrAACtical Peek: Decorating Cookies
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: cooking, summary post
December 9, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
I’m honored to have AAC pioneer Dr. Sarah Blackstone join us today for a guest post that highlights the work that is being done by the US chapter of the International AAC Society (ISAAC). The US chapter, known as USSAAC, has a long-standing commitment to supporting the AAC community in times of national disaster. Dr. Blackstone is both a past president of ISAAC and a founding member of USSAAC. She has authored many AAC-related texts and articles and is a partner emerita of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Communication Enhancement. She has served the AAC community with distinction, having been granted honors and awards by ASHA, ISAAC, USSAAC, and other organizations. Dr. Blackstone previously practiced at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, and in a private practice that serving children with AAC needs. Currently, Dr. Blackstone is on USSAAC’s Board of Directors. She and Harvey Pressman co-chair USSAAC’s AAC Disaster... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: disaster, Emergency, USSAAC
December 7, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to give your AAC learners the opportunity to communicate with a broader range of communication partners? Interested in practicing AAC skills outside of the classroom? When I saw this fun learning experience that SLP Kimberly Walker and her colleagues developed, I knew it would spark the imaginations of some of our prAACtical friends. I am continually amazed by the creativity of teachers, SLPs, OTs, and others who are passionate about helping students become more proficient with their AAC and language. Based in Colorado, Kimberly works with students in kindergarten through grade 5 at Tarver Elementary. In this post, she explains how they set up a Treat Cart in order to spice up the opportunities for AAC, language, and literacy learning. ——————————————————— Finding ways for our AAC users to see the power of communication by using their AAC device is hard at times. My Occupational Therapist and I... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: education, generalization, school
December 4, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Dr. Kathy Howery is back with another helpful post an AAC research. Kathy is based in Alberta, Canada, and has worked in the field of AT and special education for over three decades. In the past year, she completed her doctoral studies where she used phenomenological methods to seek to understand the lived experience of speaking with/through a speech generating device. Kathy is currently working as a consultant to schools and school districts across Alberta focusing primarily on children and youth with complex communication needs. In this article, she discusses research on AAC interventions. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Almirall, D. , DiStefano, C., Chang, Y.-C., Shire, S., Kaiser, A., Lu X, Nahum-Shani, I., Landa, R., Mathy, P. & Kasari, C. (2016). Longitudinal Effects of Adaptive Interventions with a Speech-Generating Device in Minimally Verbal Children with ASD. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 45(4), 442-456. What this article is all about (the focus... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Kathy Howery, research
December 3, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Hello, December! Life seems to be speeding up these days, with little time for reading blog posts. Here are a few that you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtically December: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Wednesday – Video of the Week: CVI – The Everyday Impact on People Who Use AAC Thursday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Hello, Holidays! Shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating…all part of the holiday preparations. But, as AAC interventionists, we’re also thinking about preparations of a different sort – helping our AAC learners get ready for the holidays. Holidays can be tough, not just because of the change in routine, but also because there are so many expectations for conversation. Here are some past posts related to conversational skills. Balance Pans: A Learning Toy that Helps Build Conversation Skills From Conversation to Skill-Building Conversations with Adults who have Intellectual Disabilities AAC Conversation Club Holiday Talk: AAC... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: summary post
November 30, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Getting ready for the holidays? Karen Natoci has some ideas and downloadable materials to help you plan your therapy and instruction. In today’s post, she shares some PowerPoint books (with audio) that you can download and use, as well as activity suggestions. Karen has supported AAC learners in different capacities throughout her career and is currently an AAC Supervisor with The Speech Pathology Group in Walnut Creek, California. Enjoy! PrAACtically Reading: Hello, Holidays! Books: Holiday Themed Powerpoint stories (downloadable) This month I want to share a wonderful way to integrate reading through the use of seasonal materials that are meaningful and emotional. This activity works well in preschool and elementary classrooms through the continued sharing of life from home to school. What could be more fun than sharing holiday traditions through the creation of a power point book! Please download and use the power point stories. Include family input so that you... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Christmas, download, holidays, reading