April 4, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Special educators Lauren Pawlowski and Amy Devin are back with tips for making AAC work in the classroom. In their first post, they talked about using a large communication board that is rich in core vocabulary for aided language input and AAC instruction. Today, they share some of the things they’ve learned to make this more manageable in a busy classroom. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We hope that many of you were able to make your Big Core boards for group instruction. Now what?? Using Big Core can take a while to get used to. Even after using it for several years, sometimes we still struggle with finding the words quickly. Don’t worry about this because our students can’t always find words quickly and it is good for them to see that everyone struggles with language at times. It can also be empowering to them if you ask for their help! The... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, core, education, teaching
April 3, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you had a great start to Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month! Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Video Explainers for Aided Language Input Wednesday – Video of the Week: Getting Started with PODD Friday – PrAACtically April: Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary Words
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: summary
April 1, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
April showers bring May flowers…and a new set of core words for us to highlight. 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. Many, many thanks to Tina Lombardi, 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 for you to plug in your own symbols: Set 1words, Set 2 words Minspeak/Unity version:... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: download, resource, Year of Core Vocabulary
March 28, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
A growing number of clinicians, families, and educational teams are prioritizing the use of aided language input as a foundational strategy for AAC learners. When we first started writing about this strategy, it was rare to see adults using AAC to talk with AAC learners.Consistent implementation is still a challenge, but more and more of you are speaking AAC to teach AAC. And quite of few of you are doing your best to influence other stakeholders to support augmented communicators in this way. If you are doing inservices, teaching classes, or guiding teams toward better AAC intervention, the videos listed below may be useful to you in those efforts. Chris Bugaj developed this clear and engaging cartoon explaining the concept for people new to this strategy. Caroline Musselwhite recorded a full webinar with detailed information on aided language input. Communicare, a clinical practice with a strong focus on AAC,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, video
March 24, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
It’s gratifying to hear from so many of you who are including storybook reading in your AAC instruction and therapy. We welcome back Karen Natoci, Assistant Professor and SLP Oregon Health and Science University’s Child Development Rehabilitation Center. She serves on the Neurodevelopment and Rett Evaluation teams and has a caseload of children with Complex Communication Needs and AAC. Karen tells us that “I know very well the feeling of being overwhelmed by the high needs of students with complex communication needs and will readily admit that you have to have a very large ‘toolbox’ of ideas!” Currently, she is on the charter development team to create the Communication Matrix- Virtual Community of Practice with Charity Rowland. At the end of the day, Karen enjoys running, practicing piano, and exploring Portland and the Oregon coast. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Book: April Fool’s Day Written and Illustrated by Dee Smith (Also available from Deesignery.com) Core Vocabulary focus: Look,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, literacy, reading
March 23, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for a research-supported strategy to accelerate communication learning? Consider adding video models to your AAC intervention plan. In previous posts, we’ve written about our love for this strategy and shared resources . Today, we visit one our our favorite preschool teachers, Lindy McDaniel of The Considerate Classroom, to look at an example of how she uses this strategy to support young learners.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: video modeling
March 21, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Among the things that our prAACtical value the most are videos of AAC in action. Lauren Enders once again comes to our rescue with dozens of them to explore. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For this installment of PrAACtically Pinteresting, I’d like to highlight one of the boards that I reference most when working with SLPs, teachers, support staff, and parents who support individuals who are learning to use AAC. This board is called AAC: Video Examples of Implementation/Aided Language Input and is a compilation of videos that show clinicians, teachers, and parents demonstrating excellent aided language input/stimulation skills with AAC users. Whenever I come across a new video that is an wonderful example of how to support language development and system learning in an AAC user, I pin it to this board. When pinning videos, I do my best to represent an array of AAC system types. You will see videos showing various dedicated devices,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Pinterest, video
March 17, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome back Vicki Clarke, a regular contributor to PrAACtical AAC, with another edition of AAC Assessment Corner. In this post, Vicki shares her thoughts on feature matching for AAC device selection. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Feature matching has been the gold standard for AAC evaluation for the last 20 years. It is research based and clinically proven as the best technique for selecting an AAC solution for an individual. The tide of real-life practice, however, is turning and there has been increasing discussion at conferences, in social media and blogs questioning why we continue to use feature matching to place AAC systems in the hands of students. In a recent assistive technology on-line chat, a noted AT specialist remarked: “I wonder if at a district level it might not be better to have a go-to AAC system everyone tries first. If that doesn’t work then adjust.” Does this mean that we throw... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, feature match
March 14, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today we launch a new series, PrAACtical Teaching in an ASD Classroom, which will address the nuts and bolts of infusing AAC throughout the school day. I couldn’t be more delighted to introduce you to two talented special educators, Amy Devin and Lauren Pawlowski, who work in the public school system in Michigan. Amy and Lauren began teaching in self‐contained ASD elementary classrooms in 2009 and taught in resource rooms prior to that. When they first started with their own classrooms, there was not much talk about core language, let alone how to implement it on a classroom-wide basis. They started with a 32-cell core board on a digitized speech device and now use a 64-location core vocabulary on a manual communication board, large instructional core boards, and individual AAC devices. They are passionate literacy teachers and believe that every child can read, write and communicate. Enjoy their post and... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, group, school
March 10, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Is it summer yet? Not where we live, but that doesn’t stop us from making plans. In today’s post, we hear about the Summer 2016 Augmentative Communication Empowerment and Supports (ACES) Program at Temple University which will run from July 18-29, 2016. SLP Kathryn Helland, AAC Services Coordinator at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, shares information on this innovative program for young adults who use AAC. Kathryn provides training, AAC evaluations, device demonstrations, and AT consultations to consumers of Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology (PIAT). True to its name, this program has a rich tradition of changing lives and empowering adults who use AAC. ——————————————————– ACES – What’s it all about? It is a steamy hot day at the end of July. Temple University’s already diverse campus is further enriched by the presence of students in wheelchairs. They sit, chatting under the ginkgo biloba trees. They are all young adults, with... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: adults, camp