February 7, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Terminology has always been a challenge in the field of AAC, at least in English. Why does it take 14 syllables (“aug-men-ta-tive and al-ter-na-tive com-mu-ni-ca-tion”) to refer to a field that emerged to support individuals for whom speech is intensely problematic? I remember spirited discussions on what to call this work back when I was at Purdue University on an AAC doctoral fellowship, just after the birth of the International AAC Society (ISAAC) in 1983. When the US Society for AAC was started in 1991, those debates continued. The terms ‘nonvocal,’ ‘nonoral,’ ‘nonspeech,’ and ‘nonspeaking’ were used by many in the early days. Those terms eventually dwindled in popularity, primarily because so many children and adults who needed the support of AAC were able to talk and/or make sounds. Often, their speech was difficult to understand, slow and exhausting to produce, and limited in terms of conventional structures for expressing... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 6, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you might enjoy. Monday – 3 Ways to Use Visual Schedules to Enhance AAC Learning Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC Do’s & Don’ts Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC-friendly Valentine’s Day Resources Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados Con Links – Febrero 2022 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In the mood for a little more AAC reading? Here are some suggestions. Getting ready for a core vocabulary journey Make It Monday: Manual communication boards with core vocabulary Make It Monday: More words, please! Expanding our manual communication boards Super Size It: 5 ideas for making large communication boards Beyond requesting: A week of routines to increase AAC use at mealtimes 5 ways to build understanding Free resources for making AAC and visual supports 5 places for shared AAC materials
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 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, she shares the story of Jorge Salfate, whose role as a father of a child with Angelman Syndrome inspired him to create a more welcoming hospital environment for all children. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Este mes los invitamos a compartir links en español, queremos comentar sobre la importancia del acceso a... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
February 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
It’s prAACtically Valentine’s Day so we’re reprising this past post with AAC-friendly resources for one of our favorite holidays. Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love and romance, is just around the corner. We’re keeping up the tradition of sharing ideas for an AAC-friendly holiday so that you can focus your attention on the supportive strategies that facilitate AAC learning. Take a look. Have fun with this animated PowerPoint poem, 5 Little Valentines, from Bloom. Print and send these Valentine’s Day cards from CoughDrop Valentine’s Day Is Here: Enjoy a video sing along with the Swingset Mamas Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2S1AanFmFOY-W42JGdsuloRizrpmEE9e-YcrqU_Aqmo4McFJpqRfDnokY&v=Rbtgl9n3mJg&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=Swingsetmamas Supporting someone in a virtual platform? Check out these Boom cards From Beautiful Speech Life: I LIKE Activity From Welcome to Words: Cupid, Cupid, What Do You See? Make a bracelet with Valentine’s Day vocabulary and print out fun gift tags with this packet from... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
February 1, 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
January 31, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Visual schedules are a go-to strategy for helping AAC learners understand the plan for therapy or instructional session or a whole day. They have great utility beyond that, though. If you’re looking for ways to increase your use of this evidence-based strategy, here are some ideas to consider. Create a Visual Representation of an Activity: A powerful way to build understanding of and cooperation with an activity is to show what will be happening. This is particularly helpful when doing an activity that has a logical sequence or set of steps to be followed, such as making a smoothie or building a Lego car. We can create and teach the use of mini schedules depicting each element of the process to help our AAC clients/students become more comfortable and independent with the process. Parts of a Problem-solving Process: When AAC learners confront challenging situations, particularly those with a social or... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 30, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that may be of interest. Monday – February Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Tips for Talking with AAC Users Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC & Friendship :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more posts to sample before you go. PrAACtical Questions with Vicki Clarke: What’s the Role of Core Vocabulary? AAC Goes to High School: Community-based Instruction Communication Boards: Colorful Considerations Helping Others Model AAC Language Development Across the School Day
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 27, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
friend /frend/ noun: a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations. (Oxford Dictionaries) Hubert Humphrey said it was life’s most important gift. Elie Wiesel told us that it marks our lives more deeply than love. Thomas Aquinas felt that nothing on earth was more prized. Friendship matters. To all of us. Today, we look back at some past posts on how we can support friendship-building with people who use AAC. How I Do It: Building Friendship Skills with Peer-A-Mids Video of the Week: Social Closeness in AAC Intervention 5 Ways SLPs Can Support Friendships for People who Use AAC 5 (More) Resources for Supporting Friendships in Individuals who use AAC Video of the Week: A Recipe For Friendship Communication Circles: With A Little Help From My Friends Back to School-Making Friends Fresh Look: Friendship Skills for... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 25, 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
January 24, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
It takes time and effort to plan 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... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking