April 17, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve been writing about the Makers Movement for awhile, and couldn’t be happier with the way that the AT community has embraced it. When we posted a video about one of their DIY switch mount projects a few months ago, we were impressed by the number of you who asked for more. In today’s post, we dig deeper into this area by highlighting the AT Makers site. The AT Makers site aims to be a meeting place for AT specialists, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) and Robotics Clubs/Teams, and engineers. Here are the highlights: Glossary: DIY AT projects sometimes involve people from various backgrounds working together to solve problems. This handy glossary helps us speak the same language. Tutorials: The site currently has project plans, supply lists, videos, and directions for AT-related projects that it offers to the global community. For now, there are just a handful of projects... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AT, DIY
April 13, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a healthy sign when practitioners in any field examine their beliefs, reflect on their own practices, and revisit previously held assumptions. In this post, veteran SLP Alicia Garcia challenges us to think about some important questions. Do we hold people who use AAC to standards that are different from their speaking peers? How does that impact them? What, if any, adjustments in our thinking should be made to help them flourish? It’s a great day for us to slow down and think through questions like these, and Alicia’s guest post helps us do just that. The Curse of the Random Thought in AAC Situation: Young verbal children playing in a sand pit Child 1: My dad’s truck broke Child 2: Oh… my mom has a blue car and she’s coming over later Child 3: … I had a big candy bar all by myself… Communication is a messy... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: reflective practices, self-reflection
April 10, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Almost anyone who has done AAC trainings, consultations, and evaluations has spent at least part of their time educating others and busting myths about AAC principles, practices, and expected outcomes. We’re always on the lookout for easy-to-use resources that help us make our points and leave the participants with a meaningful way to remember the main points of our discussion. Today we’re revisiting a simple 1-page resource that can be used as a supplemental handout in trainings, shared with colleagues and families, and displayed in a classroom or office. Click on the image below to download a printable copy.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: downloads, reseources
April 9, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday: 5 Misconceptions About Core Vocabulary in AAC Wednesday: Video of the Week: From Presence to Contribution – A Family’s Journey Towards an Inclusive Life Thursday: PrAACtical Resources: Behavioral Supports for Young Children
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: ASD, summary post
April 6, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
One of the biggest stressors for therapists and educators who work with AAC is dealing with challenging behavior. In today’s post, we share a wonderful set of resources on positive approaches to preventing, minimizing, and de-escalating instances of challenging behavior. The Technical Assistance Center of Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children produced a number of resources that are available on their website here. Topics include: Tips and forms for getting started Using a Buddy System Teacher tools Turtle Technique Visual supports Using scripts Circle time tips Dealing with feelings Strategies for families to use at home There is also a helpful Tool Kit that can be accessed via the image below.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: behavior, positive behavior supports, preschool
April 3, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
When we first started writing about core vocabulary, it was largely due to the fact that most SGDs, AAC apps, and communication boards/ books had two big deficits. At the time, most of them lacked the words needed to function throughout the day and/or didn’t have the kinds of words that allow for progression of syntactic skills. Now things look very different. Over the years, the pendulum has moved quite dramatically and now core vocabulary permeates AAC systems that are considered to be ‘robust.’ That’s a lot of movement in a short period of time. When big changes happen rapidly, it stands to reason that there will be some cracks that open up. Misunderstandings, misinterpretations, misconceptions. Here are some of the ones we’ve observed in the recent past. Core words are all that are needed in an AAC system. (Not in most cases. We all want to talk about the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, misconception, myth
April 2, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
The start of April is always a busy time. We launched Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month by learning more about how to differentiate instruction in ways that let kids with autism and other communication challenges grow and shine. Thanks, Phyl Macomber and UM-NSU CARD for a great day of learning and connecting! Hope your start to the month was equally enriching. Monday: PrAACtically April: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words Tuesday: PrAACtical Alert: AAC App News (Throughout the month, we’ll keep updating this with news of AAC app discounts and other sales on autism-related materials). Wednesday: PrAACtically April: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words Thursday: 30 Ways to Support Autism Awareness & Acceptance Month
Filed under: Featured Posts
March 30, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
April is just around the corner and that means we’re getting ready to support the acceptance and inclusion of autistic people. Looking for ideas? Here are some to get you started. Treat yourself to some goodies from The Chocolate Spectrum (where you can order online, visit the cafe, or take a chocolate-making class) or other places that employ people with autism. Read and share 5 references that support the use of AAC & Autism. Help your family or community go beyond awareness and into acceptance. Learn and share information about Autism Safety – Be AWAARE! Know an autistic MineCraft lover? Introduce them to AutCraft. Educate yourself on terminology that relates to autism and people with ASD. We may have learned people-first language back in grad school, but there are different points of view on that. This is a great time to learn about identity-first language. Apply your critical reasoning skills to... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: acceptance, ASD
March 28, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
NOTE: Scroll down for the latest update on AAC app discounts and other sales. —————————————- Many of you know the work of Pennsylvania-based SLP Lauren Enders, whose contributions here and on Pinterest, Facebook, and other social media have been invaluable in our clinical and educational work. Lauren does a terrific job of identifying AAC, AT, and related resources and goes the extra mile in sharing them with others. Today, we feature a graphic that she developed to alert us of AAC apps that are discounted in support of Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month in the US app store. The discounts may be available in other areas as well. The graphic is not interactive so if you wish to purchase an app, you’ll need to visit the iTunes App Store and search for the app you’re interested in or visit the company’s website. OR you can scroll down to the bottom... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: acceptance, Apps, Autism Awareness Month
March 27, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
It’s almost time to turn the calendar to a new page and that gives us the opportunity to highlight a new set of core words. Whether you are following along with the Set 1 (2013) (12 words/month) or the Set 2 (2014) words (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), or are just getting started, this post has some helpful resources. We’re grateful to Nancy Inman, Brian Whitmer, Tina Lombardi, Barbara Fernandes Russell Cross, Gail Van Tatenhove, Allison Wade, Eric Sailers, Bill and Lori Binko, Heidi LoStracco, Rachael Langley, and all the others who have contributed to this effort. Our words for this month are as follows. Set 1 (2013) List: big, busy, do, drink, feel, he, in, make, out, some, tell, who Set 2 (2014) List: blue, brother, close, family, head, last, long, no, old, right, scared, soft, thing, top, wash, whole Here are some resources to help with implementation. Templates... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking