December 5, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Data isn’t the only thing we use in AAC decision-making, but it’s a good-sized slice of the pie. Those using the feature match approach to AAC device/app selection, a gold standard for several decades, use direct assessment procedures to guide the selection of AAC devices and apps based on the features they contain. The symbol set(s) or systems(s) available in each AAC tool is one of the features that we consider. In this post, we share some of the assessment tasks that can be used to gain insight into how individuals do with different types of AAC symbols. In each one, the task is repeated with a specific type of symbol, so that we can make an apples-to-apples comparison. This part of the assessment is time-consuming and generally done over multiple sessions. These are drawn from the work of the later Dr. David Beukelman, and his co-authors, Dr. Pat Mirenda... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
December 4, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some AAC reading for you to catch up on. Monday – PrAACtical Questions: “How important is symbol selection in choosing AAC devices/apps?” Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Sending AAC Home Thursday – December Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados: CAA Con Links – Diciembre 2022 Many thanks to the team at Feedspot for honoring us with the top spot in their list of 20 Best AAC Blogs & Websites. Congratulations to all the organizations who were recognized. If AAC is your jam, check out the list for groups who publish regularly about AAC topics. Still have time for a little more AAC? Here are some of our suggestions. Personal Narrative Writing & AAC Helping Beginning Communicators Expand Their Sentence Length 5 Ways to Make Semantic Maps More Effective in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts
December 2, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Each month we feature a Spanish version of our AAC Link Up, CAA con Links. If you have AAC-related announcements, materials, or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. You’ll find the place to add that information at the very bottom of this post. Organized by Claudia Marimón, these monthly posts also feature AAC work being done in Spanish-speaking countries and offer translations of material that can help families and service providers. Today’s post focuses on supporting literacy and AAC featuring a fun Christmas book. Take a look and don’t forget to scroll to the bottom to add your link and see what others are sharing. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Comenzando Diciembre queremos invitar a nuestra comunidad... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
December 1, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
In 2013, when schools and other clinical programs were expanding their emphasis on teaching core vocabulary words, PrAACtical AAC published a set of resources for families and professionals that included symbol cards, sample sentences to model, activity suggestions, and more. All of these were based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Over the years, the resources were expanded and grew to include a wonderful series of calendars with daily activity suggestions developed by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. In 2020, a new series was launched, School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, and... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 28, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
They are often the first thing we notice in looking at a new AAC app or device. Are they realistic or minimalist? Overly juvenile or age respectful? Dull or appealing? Transparent, translucent, or opaque? Familiar or novel? AAC symbols are among the many things that AAC practitioners have to think about when supporting people with significant communication challenges. Symbols are not the sexiest part of our AAC tools yet they play a critical role. Decisions about how to represent language should be made thoughtfully and with some data to justify our conclusions. Symbol Sets vs Symbol Systems Most AAC symbols are part of a set or collection. There are conventions for things like how movement is represented or how people are depicted, but there aren’t explicit rules governing how symbols are created. Symbol systems, on the other hand, do have concrete rules for how they are developed and used. In... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 24, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
grat·i·tude /ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/ noun the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness In the spirit of our American tradition of Thanksgiving, we pause to reflect on our blessings and offer thanks. We’re grateful for: The people who use AAC and their families for all they do to help us get better at this business of supporting communication Service providers in homes, schools, clinics, hospitals, and community agencies The university programs that have a dedicated AAC class, especially if they have a permanent faculty member with expertise in this area Bonus thanks to those that also offer supervised clinical or student teaching experiences with AAC mentorship opportunities or an AAC lab with SGDs, AAC apps, switches, and mounts. The professional and service organizations that support AAC through professional development opportunities, grants, mentorship programs The power of e-communication platforms for the AAC support on listservs, blogs, groups, threaded... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts
November 21, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Welcome to the first of a 5-part series on symbols in AAC. Today, we’re starting off with a simple list of graphic symbols used in aided AAC tools. Graphic symbols are 2-dimensional images used to represent words and ideas visually. Print or traditional orthography is the one we’re using right now for this post, but most AAC apps and SGDs use some form of pictographic symbol in addition to that. Some of those symbols are free and others are available only through an additional purchase option or a subscription service. These are the ones used most commonly in communication books/boards and AAC apps/devices by individuals with complex communication needs around the world. You’ll recognize the most commonly used symbols, but some of these may be less familiar depending on where you live, work, play, and learn. If we missed your favorite symbol set or system, please let us know so... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 20, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you might enjoy. Monday – Using Judgment & Discrimination Activities in AAC Instruction Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC Implementation Strategies Thursday – PrAACtically Thanksgiving ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few more places to browse? Here are some selected posts on making and using visual supports. Free Resources for Making AAC and Visual Supports How I Do It – Using an App to Make AAC Materials and Visual Supports AAC Teaching Tips on Scaffolding and Visual Supports Designing and Using Visual Supports for Older Students 5 Visual Supports for the AAC Classroom Wishing a meaningful week to all who celebrate Thanksgiving!
Filed under: Featured Posts
November 15, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week we invite you to share your own AAC-related content, product news, or anything else that you’d like others in the AAC community to know about. 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 course 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. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed so it may take a little... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
November 14, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
There are many paths to successful AAC use. For some people, access to language-rich AAC tools and communication partners who model AAC, use naturalistic methods of eliciting language, offer adequate wait time, and respond to communicative attempts in supportive ways, is sufficient. Many individuals, however, need additional support to develop robust language and AAC skills. For them, explicit AAC instruction can be very beneficial. In a previous post, we shared thoughts on strengthening our AAC services with the use of thoughtful instructional sequences. Discrimination learning can play a helpful role in sequencing our instructional activities. Learning to discriminate between one thing and another is a part of typical language development. Babies learn to discriminate between phonemes (e.g., /ma/ vs /ba/), for example. It also helps them to determine that ‘dog’ applies to some 4-legged, furry critters and not to others. As children mature, they learn a variety of linguistic concepts using... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking