December 3, 2021
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. Organized by Claudia Marimón, these posts also feature AAC work being done in Spanish-speaking countries. Today, Claudia shares a digital activity that focuses on AAC modeling. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Llegamos a Diciembre, un mes lleno de emociones que nos invita compartir con aquellos que queremos, un mes para revisar lo que hemos hecho y lo que nos queda por hacer antes de terminar el año. Disfruta este mes modelando CAA en español, una actividad cada día te permitirá no dejar mucho... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
December 2, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Teenagers are a fun and exciting group to work with. In today’s post, we reach into the archives for some past posts that address some of the issues that arise in serving this age group. Starting AAC in the Teen Years: 3 Considerations for Families & Practitioners How I Do It: Starting AAC with Teens & Young Adults by Angela Adams How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens, Part 2 How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Teens, Part 3 How I Do It: Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults by Angela Adams Faces of AAC – Zainab Omar Let’s Hit the Town, AAC Style Bridging Literacy and AAC for Adolescents Communication Strategies for Adolescents as They Transition through Adulthood AAC in Secondary School: Defining Age Respectful
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 29, 2021
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, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might like. Monday – AAC Fair Testing Practices: Implementation & Beyond Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: ‘Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving Thursday – A Day To Be Thankful Before you go, we have a few more posts that may be of interest. PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: I Eat Thanksgiving Dinner PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Hello, Holidays! 5 Different Gifts to Give To A Classroom PrAACtical Ideas: AAC Core Vocabulary Practice for Workshops and Inservices Video of the Week: Helping Students with Autism Prepare for Non-routine Events
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 25, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
grat·i·tude /ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/ noun the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness Today, 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 discussions, and through the sharing of images and... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 15, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
AAC SLP Vicki Clarke is known to long-time readers for her excellent series, AAC Assessment Corner, and her collaboration with Holly Schneider in creating the Dynamic AAC Goals Grid (DAGG-2). Today, we welcome her back to tell us about the revised version of her goal-setting guide designed especially for school settings. Join us in learning about the Classroom Communication Goals Grid and download a free copy. Classroom Communication Goals Grid- Revised https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/AAC-Classroom-Communication-Project-2021-Intro-and-Tools-4219461 It’s been over 5 years since I developed the Classroom Communication Goals Grid. During that time it’s been in use in many of our districts helping teachers and therapists assess the communication skills of their students, select goals relevant to the academic environment, and show progress at annual IEP time. The Grid needed some revision, a little more review of current research, a little reorganization of goals, and a facelift! This article is to introduce you to the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 14, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have a bunch of posts you might like. Monday – AAC in Secondary School: Centering AAC Users in the IEP Process Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Using Google Action Blocks to Support Communication Thursday – PrAACtical Perspectives: AAC and Special Education :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I also wanted to mention the ASHA AAC virtual conference next month, Expanding AAC: Accessible Strategies for Functional Communication. You can learn more about the sessions here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::; Before you leave, sample some of these posts from the archives. “But He Doesn’t Like It!” 5 Things to Try with AAC Learners Who Don’t Like Shared Reading Getting Acquainted with Tarheel Reader AAC on TpT: 5 Free Downloads Reading with AAC Across the Stages of Language Development 5 Ways to Build Increased Support for AAC Within an Organization
Filed under: Featured Posts
November 11, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
We love learning from people who use AAC and sharing their perspectives on things related to supports and services. So when Mike Hipple reached out with an offer to guest post, we jumped on the chance to publish his thoughts. In this post, Mike, an AAC user who founded the Wisconsin AAC Network, shares his experiences and thoughts on AAC and special education. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: There are many false facts about the augmentative alternative communication community that may interfere with students getting what they need. One AAC false fact that always bugs me as an AAC communicator is all AAC Communicators have a cognitive disability. Mmm, this couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, some do but there is a large number like me that do not. Google says 5.7% of students in public schools during the 2018-19 school year had a cognitive disability. Sadly, when doing research for this paper, I... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 9, 2021
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 8, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
In theory, teenage students with disabilities should play an important role in developing their IEPs and in meetings to discuss them. In practice, this rarely occurs. Today, we’re addressing this important topic with another post in our series focusing on supporting students using AAC during their high school years. AAC SLP Ashley Larisey, an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois, is here to discuss ways to support students who use AAC as they prepare to transition out of school. Ashley, who is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University, has some prAACtical suggestions that are important for school teams, students who use AAC, their families, and school administration. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Centering AAC Users in the IEP Process When supporting older students who use AAC and are quickly approaching adulthood, our Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), goal development, services, and progress monitoring will... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking