May 1, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy May Day! Anything new and interesting in your world of AAC? Each Tuesday, we invite you to share your own AAC-related goodness so that others may benefit from your efforts. 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. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed, so it may take a little while for your link to show up. Note: If you receive this post in your email inbox, you are probably getting it before anyone has had a chance to add their links.... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
Tagged With: AAC Link Up, ASHA, Better Hearing and Speech Month, BHSM
April 30, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Joaquin grabs my wrists when he wants me to play. Ariella bangs her fists together when she wants more of something. Brayden paces anxiously when he needs to use the restroom. Do you work learners like these? Beginning communicators often use signals that are unconventional to express their emotional states, wants, needs, and ideas. That can work really well when the people in their lives recognize those signals and respond to the communicator’s intent. But when the signals are subtle or idiosyncratic, team members may miss them or misinterpret them. That’s unfortunate because when we accidentally ignore the beginning communicator’s signal or when we don’t respond in a way that reinforces their use, communication progress stalls out. One way to help get everyone on board in recognizing those unconventional or subtle forms of communication is to create learner-specific ‘dictionaries’ that help those who are not intimately familiar with the individual... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beginning communicator, gesture dictionary
April 29, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s almost time to say goodbye to April and all of the wonderful autism awareness and acceptance activities. Before you head out to your busy week, take a look at some of our past posts. Monday – How I Do It: Building Friendship Skills with Peer-A-Mids Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: From Referential to Descriptive Teaching with AAC Learners Thursday – PrAACtically May: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Still have time for a little more? Here are a handful of posts to get you started. Vocabulary Activities: 5 Sites for Learning with Avatars PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci – The Family Book Using Metaphors to Support Vocabulary Teaching AAC In the High School Classroom – Where Core Vocabulary Meets Life Skills How I Do It: A Year of Core Words in AACtion
Filed under: Featured Posts
April 26, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It is just about time to flip the calendar to a new page, and that means it’s time for a new set of core words to model, elicit, and practice. In this post, we have a number of resources for those who are ready to try their hand at implementation. Thanks to all who’ve reached out with questions, comments, and words of appreciation for the Year of Core Vocabulary series. Here are some helpful resources for those who are using the words in Set 1 ( Year of Core Words) or Set 2 (Another Year of Core Words). If you are contemplating this approach, feel free to jump in at any time. The best time to start (or re-start) is right now. Don’t worry about retracing steps, or not ‘doing it right.’ The best way to get better at core vocabulary instruction is just to keep at it. It takes... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, implementation ideas
April 24, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
What’s new and interesting in your world of AAC? Each Tuesday, we invite you to share your own AAC-related goodness so that others may benefit from your efforts. 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. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed, so it may take a little while for your link to show up. Note: If you receive this post in your email inbox, you are probably getting it before anyone has had a chance to add their links. Check back... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Link Up
April 23, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Many of our AAC learners need help building the knowledge and skills that are important when trying to connect with others and develop true friendships. In this post, SLP Katie Bernadkin shares one approach that she uses with her students. Katie is a New York City native now working in San Diego middle and elementary schools. She focuses on autism, AAC, and social cognition. In this post, she explains how uses Social Thinking’s Peer-A-Mid concept to support her students. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Building a Peer-a-mid Do you have any kids on your caseload that have a hard time recognizing when other kids are attempting to befriend them? Conversely, do you know the student who seems to always end up with a “friendly” peer, who is daring them to say something naughty? Recognizing these signs is such a valuable skill for our socially challenged kids to learn. I like to start with the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: friendship, social cognition, social emotional development
April 22, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s hard to believe that we’re more than half-way through the month of April. Has it been as busy a month for you as it has been for us?! In case you missed them, here’s a wrap-up of our posts for the week. Monday – When Students are Reluctant to Use AAC: 5 Things to Try Tuesday – AAC Link Up (Check out AAC-related things that readers posted.) Wednesday – Video of the Week: Parent-implemented Intervention for Challenging Behavior Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: Promoting Inclusion and Participation for People Who Use AAC :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still in the mood for a little more AAC? Here is a potpourri of past posts. Build AAC Intervention Skills: Skillful Use of Time Delay Pragmatic Skill Intervention Developing Skills for Switch Use 10 AAC Intervention Strategies We Can’t Live Without Beyond Requesting: Routines to Increase AAC Use at Mealtime
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: summary post
April 19, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so pleased to discover a new resource created by Talking Mats through a partnership with Scotland’s National Health Service Education. This guide, Promoting Inclusion and Participation A holistic approach to working with children and young people who use AAC, has lots of useful information, embedded video clips, discussion questions, and more. You can download the book here. (Note: It is a large file that takes awhile to download.) Kudos to the wonderful team at Talking Mats for their fine work on this project, and to NHS Education Scotland for making it available on their website!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: community, inclusion, schools
April 17, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
What’s new and interesting in your world of AAC? Each Tuesday, we invite you to share your own AAC-related goodness so that others may benefit from your efforts. 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. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed, so it may take a little while for your link to show up. Note: If you receive this post in your email inbox, you are probably getting it before anyone has had a chance to add their links. Check back... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Link Up
April 16, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Work with students who are reluctant to use their AAC in front of others? Sometimes students become self-conscious and hesitate to use SGDs or other forms of AAC out of the fear that it will make them stick out. Of course, we do our best to encourage them but what else can we do? Here are a few things to try. Normalize AAC use: When lots of people use AAC, it reduces the student’s feeling that they stick out. Be relentless in your own modeling, and help others to build the habit of using AAC when they speak. Connect them with an AAC mentor: Role models can have a powerful influence on our perception of our world and ourselves. Connect students to others who use AAC successfully. If there aren’t older students or adults in your community, consider making online connections using social media. There are quite a few people... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: emotional competence, emotional support, peer supports, reluctant communicator, self-esteem