March 8, 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
March 7, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Professionals who teach people with complex communication needs to express themselves with AAC frequently ask about the evidence base for AAC devices and apps. Evidence-based practice (EBP) has three basic pillars: Clinical expertise, external and internal evidence, and the perspectives of clients and caregivers. We have good evidence for the effectiveness of SGDs and AAC apps as a general category of communication tools, rooted in a strong array of research studies, a great deal of clinical expertise, and extensive experiences of consumers and families. As in many areas of clinical practice, though, more work still needs to be done. It’s not as easy to get this sort of research evidence as it may seem. A medical device like a speaking valve may have an evidence base tied to a specific brand and model of the equipment because there isn’t a great deal of variability in what it is expected to... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
March 6, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some good posts for you to explore today. Monday –The PrAACtical Power of Co-Construction in AAC Support Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Alternative Access for AT & AAC Thursday – PrAACtical Reading for March: AAC-friendly Book Suggestions Friday – CAA Con Links: Marzo 2022 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have a little more time, stick around to browse some of these past posts. “Can I Ask You a Question?” Language Experience Surveys Language Experience Surveys: 8 Fun Ideas Strengthening the Communication Environment Barriers to Access for AAC Learners Living an Accessible Life
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
March 4, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
On the first Friday of every 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. Today, it’s all about traveling as she shares two versions of a lovely book that you can download and complete. Want to see some AAC in AACtion? Check out the videos of the travelers first featured in the January CAA Con Links Post, later in the post. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
March 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for some books to use in your AAC support? In today’s Throwback Thursday, we’re highlighting 8 books that PrAACtical AAC guest authors Karen Natoci, Maggie Judson, and Jeanna Antrim discussed in previous posts. Check out their articles for supportive strategies, extension activities, read-aloud videos, and more. Karen Natoci In My Pot of Gold I Like Myself Yo! Yes? April Fool’s Day Maggie Judson & Jeanna Antrim The Skin You Live In Where’s Spot? Not a Box! I Know a Lot Happy reading!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 28, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Independence is so highly valued in our society that the contributions of interdependence often get overlooked. Today, we’ll dive into an approach to AAC support that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. Co-construction In a general sense, co-construction is a collaborative process where two or more parties work together to build or create something. When this is applied to teaching and learning, co-constructive approaches feature collaborations, partnerships, coordination, and cooperation. With young children, for example, we co-construct meaning by having sustained interactions in contexts where they feel respected and secure in their sense of agency. We play a supportive role in their play, activities of daily living, and formal learning experiences by… In the world of language, co-construction has a more specific meaning. Linguists use the term to indicate a single syntactic entity developed jointly within a conversation. In discourse, co-construction happens when sentences are built collaboratively by two... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 27, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We’ve got some great articles and videos for you to catch up on. Monday – Speaking of the Weather: 5 AAC-friendly Ideas Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Objects of Inspiration Thursday – March Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have the time, here are a few more posts to check out. Tarheel Shared Reader PrAACtical Teaching in the ASD Classroom: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary PrAACtical Resources: AAC Assessment Modules A Tool for Identifying Features for AT Selection Supporting People with Significant Communication Challenges in Medical Encounters AAC Apps and Devices: Thoughts on Conducting AAC Trials
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 24, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, both have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial series was 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). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 22, 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
February 21, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
It makes a regular appearance at Circle Time and Morning Meetings. It’s part of our casual conversation on a daily basis. We learn about it in Science classes and it often plays a role in the books we read. Everyone talks about the weather. How can we take advantage of this ubiquitous topic to strengthen AAC learning? Here are a few ideas of language concepts to address. Core Vocabulary: Weather-related discussions offer many opportunities to model and elicit core words, both by themselves and in the context of longer sentences. Single words: Feel, it, like, look, see, that, what Multi-word combinations: I can see rain/snow/sun. Look at that. What is it like outside? Can you feel it? I don’t like when it is ___. More Advanced Vocabulary: Many AAC users have vocabularies that are smaller than we would expect, even when no cognitive issues are present. Talking about the weather... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking