March 8, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re pleased to welcome back Dr. Kathy Howery for another analysis of an AAC research article. 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. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::; Allen, A. A., Schlosser, R. W., Brock, K. L., & Shane, H. C. (2017). The effectiveness of aided augmented input techniques for persons with developmental disabilities: A systematic review. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 33, 149-159. What this Article is All About (The Focus of the Research) This article presents the results of a systematic review of the research into what the authors refer... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, augmented input, Kathy Howery, research
March 6, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
“The miracle is this: The more we share, the more we have.” (L. Nimoy) 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, 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 later in the... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
Tagged With: sharing
March 5, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Know any learners like these? Jacob takes his teacher over to the snack cupboard and uses his SGD to say ‘cracker.’ Mara watches her friend throw a book and signs ‘angry.’ Elisheva finishes her drink and uses a communication book to say ‘more’ Some AAC learners linger at the single word level for far longer than they need to. One of the strategies that we use to help them move forward is to expand on their utterance and build on their word to model a 2-word sentence. ‘Cracker’ becomes ‘Want cracker.’ ‘Angry’ is built into ‘Shoshana’s angry.’ ‘More’ turns into ‘more milk.’ Sounds simple, right? Well, the concept certainly is, but it’s easy to get stuck or draw a blank when trying to do these sorts of expansions in therapy sessions, classroom activities, or daily routines. If you find your team forgetting to expand the learners’ single word utterances, some examples... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: expansions, language intervention
March 4, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Good morning, AAC friends! If you had a busy week, you probably missed one or more of these posts from the week. Monday – PrAACtically March: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Wednesday – Video of the Week: Implementing Visual Supports Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: AAC Info to Use & Share Still in the mood for some more AAC? Here are a handful of previous posts to explore. Video of the Week: On Using Symbols with Beginning Communicators Video of the Week: Object Symbols and Core Vocabulary A PrAACtical Look at Getting Started with AAC Symbols Fast FAACt Friday: On Symbols and Reading Core Vocabulary: Making Sense of Symbols
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: summary post, symbols
March 1, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for information on alternative access for kids with significant motor limitations? Need a basic overview of communication and AAC for a para, parent, or colleague? Wanting to explore a variety of AAC resources? Check out the resources below. Working with Nonverbal Students with Autism: This was written by Susan Stokes under a contract with CESA 7 and funded by a discretionary grant from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. AAC Basics from Louisiana Assistive Technology Initiative’s AT Answers Indirect Access by Justin Sims Enjoy!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: access, ASD
February 26, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Do the AAC users in your life use only a fraction of the core words in their SGD, AAC app, or communication board? One way to help them move forward is to make a concerted effort to use, highlight, and provide additional teaching on a variety of words. It’s hard to do this without getting overwhelmed, so find a strategy that works for you. A few years ago, we decided to approach this by focusing on 12-16 core words each month. (If this is too much for the teams with whom you work, that’s not a problem. Just cut it back to 4-6 words/month.) Each month, we can highlight those words in our conversation (aided language input), direct intervention, and home programming activities with AAC learners. The repeated experiences with those 12-16 (or 4-6) words helps our AAC learners develop new skills, and keeps the team focused on the same destination. It’s... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 25, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning in our part of the world – just perfect for catching up on some posts from the week. Here’s what we’ve been up to: Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Scholarly Articles on Aided AAC Wednesday – Video of the Week: Creating AAC Implementation Plans Thursday – Dealing with Feelings: 5 Ways to Encourage Emotion-related Expression by AAC Learners Some of our AAC friends are beginning to prepare for upcoming IEPs so our thoughts have been turning to the classroom, curriculum, and academics. Here are some of the posts we’ve been revisiting. Take a look. Integrating AAC Instruction with Curriculum Standards Research Tuesday: Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities Educating Students with Complex Support Needs in a Standards-Aligned System PrAACtical Partnerships: AAC and Academics Helping the General Education Team Support Students Who Use AAC
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: summary post
February 22, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Words for emotions and feelings are pretty common in AAC devices and non-electronic communication aids, like PODD books and eye gaze boards. It’s wonderful when our clients can tell us they are sad or angry with words rather than using challenging behaviors or suffering in silence. What can we do to further their skills in this area? Here are some suggestions to get us thinking. Beyond the Basics: Consider going beyond the basic feeling words (i.e., happy, sad, mad, tired, scared) and including additional emotion words in the AAC system (e.g., frustrated, embarrassed, disappointed, lonely, worried). Don’t assume that this is inappropriate just because an individual has lower language levels or cognitive delays. To learn language, we have to have access to it. Model, model, model: Use these emotion words throughout the day to express your own feelings, and narrate your observations of how others are feeling (e.g., “Joey’s crying... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: emotions, feelings, visual supports
February 19, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Today we are excited to share a wonderful collection of articles that help to expand the theoretical underpinnings and empirical knowledge base in AAC. The Augmentative and Alternative Communication journal is providing free access to six articles that are part of an ongoing international collaboration of researchers and clinicians in 16 nations. You can access articles from this project, entitled “Becoming an Aided Communicator: Aided Language Skills in Children aged 5–15 years: A Multi-site and Cross-cultural Investigation,” below. Kudos to the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) and the journal co-editors (Drs. Martine Smith and Bronwyn Hemsley) and Dr. von Tetzchner for making this special issue so widely available. We hope you enjoy reading Aided Language Processes, Development, and Use: An International Perspective.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided communication, language development, research, theory
February 18, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It was a week that started out like any other, but ended in heartache and tragedy for our South Florida community. Thanks to all who reached out with words of kindness and support. Monday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Yo! Yes? Wednesday – Video of the Week: Using Apps to Engage Young AAC Learners From the Archives: No Words – “We’re Hurting, Too” ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Reading is a welcome distraction from pain and sorrow. If you have an appetite for a little more AAC, check out these past posts on assessment. Parent’s Guide to AAC Assessment AAC Assessment by Pat Ourand PrAACtical Resources: AAC Assessment Modules AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Standardized Tests For AAC Users AAC Assessment Forms ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: assessment, summary post