June 13, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
In the US, Juneteenth is one of our newest federal holidays and many are now getting ready to celebrate it. Whether you are relatively new to an understanding of Juneteenth or have been honoring it for decades, we hope today’s post has some ideas for integrating it into the AAC work you do. First published a few years back, we’ve updated it with some additional books, videos, and other resources. PrAACtically Juneteenth In the US, June 19th is a day that commemorates the ending of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863, it took an additional two and half years for it to take root in all of the states. It wasn’t until June 19th, 1865 that Texas became the final state to uphold the proclamation. There are other days that memorialize the freedom of enslaved people, but Juneteenth is the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration. Traditionally marked... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts
June 9, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – Building a Foundation with Stepping into AAC (Weeks 2-5) Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Exploring Text-based AAC Apps Thursday – Gearing Up for an AAC-friendly Summer Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados: CAA Con Links – Junio 2024 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, check out some of these previously published posts. 5 Ways to Tell If Your Students are Becoming Competent Communicators A Look at PODD Books Using Visual Supports to Bring Music Alive Supports for When Modeling AAC is Hard AACtual Therapy: Use Your Best Spud to Teach Vocabulary With Tanna Neufeld How We Do It: Changing AAC Mindsets & Outcomes Engaging AAC Learners with Complex Bodies
Filed under: Featured Posts
June 6, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
It’s almost time for a change in the seasons here in our part of the world. Today, we’re reaching into the archives for past posts with a summery bent and sharing some resources for summer-themed activities. Take a look. PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: How Do You Know It’s Summer? A Recipe for Summer AAC Summer Reading A Few AAC Blog Suggestions 5 AAC Suggestions 3 Book Suggestions Apps to Prepare, Learn, & Talk About Summer Vacation Core Words & July 4th: Get Ready, Get Set, Go PrAACtical Summer Activities AAC-friendly Camps Summer Fun with AAC Other Resources for an AAC-friendly Summer From Susan Berkowitz Free Summer Communication Activities Calendar for AAC Speech Therapy Free AAC Core Vocabulary at the Beach Summer Communication From Ladybug Speech Summer Core Boards AAC From Melissa Clark AAC Core Word Summer Calendar From SLP Collective AAC Bug Hunt – Summer Activity From Traveling Talker Time Summer Polaroid Activity
Filed under: Featured Posts
June 2, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might enjoy. Monday – PrAACtical Groups: Tips, Tricks, & Positive Outcomes Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Voice Banking with Acapela My-Own-Voice Thursday – School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for June :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And if you are thirsty for more, check out some past posts on activities and materials for AAC therapy and instruction. AACtivity Ideas to Jumpstart Learning Magic Moments with Verb Circus PrAACtical Ways to Make Decisions about Thematic Therapy Materials Why We Love AAC Language Experience Activities Vocabulary Activities: 5 Sites About Learning with Avatars AAC Intervention: 5 Activities with PrAACtical Potential
Filed under: Featured Posts
May 30, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, the school year is just about over, but there’s still enough time to welcome back guest authors Michaela Sullivan and Lindsay Dougherty for another set of Older Student Lessons in the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words series. As usual, they share some wonderful resources including two slide decks full of activities and the data collection forms specific to the June core words. They also provide a perspective on the presumption of competence and share their thoughts on its role in AAC. SCHOOL YEAR OF CORE- Older Student Lessons Access & Copy below: Weeks 1-2 Google Slides Weeks 3-4 Google Slides INTRODUCTION- JUNE 2024 Welcome back to the School Year of Core – Older Student Lessons: June! Summer is finally here, and we are celebrating with new core words and themes for the month of June. Engage in core word-centered activities centered around the end of... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts
May 27, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
We hope that guest authors Marisa Portanova and Marnina Allis have inspired you to develop AAC groups for the children and adults you serve. Today, they wrap up their series with some final tips for creating and running successful groups. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PrAACtical AAC Groups Made Easy – Positive Outcome and Tips and Tricks Our AAC groups were a hit, and we want to help you all knock it out of the park as well! We had some great positive outcomes we would like to share to help with motivation to get started. Variety of communication opportunities – talking about their weekends, playing fun games like HeadBandz, giving opinions about a book read Language learning opportunities – within literacy contexts and natural social environments Social interaction opportunities are hard to accomplish in 1:1 settings between child and therapist. These groups allowed for peer-to-peer interaction as well. They allowed children to see other... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts
May 26, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you might enjoy. Monday – PrAACtical Groups: Let’s Be Authors Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Getting Ready for June School Year of Core Vocabulary Words Older Student Lessons Thursday – Starting a Journey with Stepping into AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have a little more time? These might be of interest. Five Places for Shared AAC Materials Five AAC and Related Resources to Explore AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #1 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #2 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #3 (downloadable) AAC: More Teaching, Less Testing (downloadable)
Filed under: Featured Posts
May 20, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Our series on AAC group therapy continues with guest authors Marisa Portanova and Marnina Allis. In today’s post, they share ideas for helping young AAC users enhance their literacy skills. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PrAACtical AAC Groups Made Easy – Let’s Be Authors Last week, we discussed our ongoing weekly groups. Once we had success and saw progress made in the weekly groups, we came up with the concept of “AAC intensive groups,” where children would come in over a school break for a week and participate in the AAC groups for 5 consecutive days, for a longer stretch (about two and a half hours). This gave children a chance to interact with children from different classes and helped reduce the regression of learned AAC skills over the school break. During those weeks, we picked one book per day for the first 4 days. Day 5 was for review, discussing opinions of each... [Read More...]
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May 19, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might enjoy. Monday – PrAACtical Groups: AAC Let’s Have a Weekly Social Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Eyegaze & ALS Thursday – A PrAACtical Guide to Stepping into AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re at it, here are some previous posts that may be of interest. Helping Beginning Communicators Expand Their Sentence Length 5 Ways to Make Semantic Maps More Effective in AAC Therapy PrAACtical Questions with Vicki Clarke: What’s the Role of Core Vocabulary? Communication Boards: Colorful Considerations Zooming, Masking, Distancing, & More: AAC-friendly Resources for Managing Coronavirus Challenges Let Me Tell You Something- Narratives for the Beginning Communicator
Filed under: Featured Posts
May 16, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Parents of children, teens, and adults who are learning to use AAC often find themselves in need of more support than they typically receive. Today, we are excited to launch a new series that addresses this need. This series is built around a unique collaboration between PrAACtical AAC and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF), bringing together our expertise to create a set of training materials that caregivers can use to build an AAC presence in their lives or expand its use in daily living situations. These materials are now available on both of our websites, ready to empower and support you in your AAC journey. In today’s post, you’ll learn about the Stepping Into AAC program and how to access the materials. Future posts will focus on the implementation of AAC by families who want to enhance communication at home and in the community. Who is the target audience for... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, Stepping Into AAC