PrAACtical Groups: AAC Groups Made Easy – How to Get Started 

May 6, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


PrAACtical Groups: AAC Groups Made Easy – How to Get Started 

Today we welcome two new guest authors, Marisa Portanova and Marnina Allis, to share their experiences in running AAC groups. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PrAACtical AAC Groups Made Easy – How to Get Started  All speech language pathologists do group therapy. It’s a great way to work on pragmatic skills, but lots of other skills too. It can also be motivating and fun for the participants. Have you thought about groups for AAC users but weren’t sure where to start? We are Marisa and Marnina, SLPs at Blythedale Children’s Hospital, and we started groups for our AAC users.  Over the next few blog posts, you will learn more about these, but today, we will discuss the overview and some tips and tricks that helped make them successful.    Marisa and Marnina are SLPs at Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Westchester County, NY.  They are part of the Assistive Technology team, where they do multi-disciplinary... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically Mother’s Day: AAC-friendly Ideas

May 2, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


PrAACtically Mother's Day: AAC-friendly Ideas

Here in the US, we’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day soon. If you’re looking for resources that you can incorporate into your AAC work, we have some ideas for you. These are great for highlighting core vocabulary, such as these: Pronouns: I, you, she, we, her, our Verbs: can, do, give, help, like, love, make, read, see, write Adjectives: good, nice, pretty, smart, strong Conjunctions: and, because, but, with Time Words: later, now, today, tomorrow Questions: what, who, where ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS Read about Mothers and Mother’s Day with some of these books. Mother’s Day Book for Early Communicators by AAC with Annie Mother’s Day book highlighting core words ‘like’ and ‘give’ from Speech by Carrie. You can also check out this one which focuses on the words ‘help’ and ‘make’ and offers practice with several pronouns. From Boardmaker  From Tarheel Reader (SDJ)   From Tarheel Reader (Nicolaus)   Cards and letters... [Read More...]

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May Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words

April 29, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


May Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words

We’re back with core vocabulary resources and focusing on a new set of words for May. 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... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week 17: April 2024

April 28, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week 17: April 2024

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts for you to browse. Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC in Shared Reading Thursday – School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for May ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have time for a little more? Here’s a small selection for you to peruse. “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 AAC at a Distance: 5 Ways to Use Video Chat & Videoconferencing to Boost Engagement  

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School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for May

April 25, 2024 by - 1 Comment


May School Year of Core Vocabulary Words - Lessons for Older Students

It’s prAACtically May! Guest authors Michaela Sullivan and Lindsay Dougherty are back with wonderful ideas for your older students who are building their skills with core vocabulary. Don’t miss the slide decks full of activities and the data collection forms specific to the May core words. In this post, they also discuss how the Participation Model and participation planning can support our AAC practices. SCHOOL YEAR OF CORE- Older Student Lessons  Access & Copy below: Weeks 1-2 Google Slides Weeks 3-4 Google Slides INTRODUCTION- MAY 2024 Welcome back to the School Year of Core – Older student lessons- May!  Summer is on the horizon, and we are kicking off the month of May with new core words and themes such as Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Cinco De Mayo, Climate change, recycling, thrifting, reflections of the year, planning for trips and the summer, new interests and hobbies, ways to relax, animals,... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week 16: April 2024

April 21, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week 16: April 2024

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might enjoy. Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Getting Ready for May School Year of Core Vocabulary Words Older Student Lessons Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC Support for People with Vision Challenges —————————————————————— And while you’re here, check out some of these past posts. 5 Ways to Promote Consistent AAC Use Twin Powers Unite: Teaching AAC and Sight Words Pragmatic Skill Instruction and AAC with Matthew Baud and Dr. Jill Senner Parent Collaboration in AAC Therapies PrAACtical Questions with Vicki Clarke: What’s the Role of Core Vocabulary? Video of the Week: Telepractice in AAC – Working with What You’ve Got For our prAACtical friends who celebrate Passover, we wish you a joyous and meaningful holiday.

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Throwback Thursday: AAC Support for People with Vision Challenges

April 18, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


Throwback Thursday: AAC Support for People with Vision Challenges

If you’re in the role of supporting people with AAC needs who have vision difficulties, this edition of Throwback Thursday is for you.  Check out these previously published articles and videos. Supporting Communication Development in Children with Vision and Hearing Impairments AAC & CVI: Can We Chat? Exploring the Complexity of CVI and CCN CVI – The Everyday Impact on People Who Use AAC Supporting the Communication Needs of Children with CVI The SLPs Role in Cortical Visual Impairment AAC for Students with Visual Challenges

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week 15: April 2024

April 14, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week 15: April 2024

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts you might enjoy. Monday – Building Awareness of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Talking Mats in School Settings Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Earth Day Resources :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you are looking to do some book-related AAC teaching this week, check out some of Karen Natoci’s popular literacy-focused posts from the archives. PraAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci It’s Okay To Be Different I Like Myself Yo! Yes? The Family Book Hello Baby The Five Senses Are You My Mother? Over on the Farm (with Karen Baca)

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Throwback Thursday: Earth Day Resources

April 11, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


Throwback Thursday: Earth Day Resources

Since 1970, people in the US have marked April 22 as a day to honor our planet and demonstrate support for environmental protection. Here are some AAC-friendly ideas and materials to celebrate Earth Day. Learn about the importance of Earth Day with this book from Boardmaker. Getting to the Core of Earth Day Let’s Read Let’s Create Write an acrostic poem like this one by Donna O’Reilly. Make infused water for a planet-friendly drink using these resources from the AAC Language Lab. Play Earth Day BINGO with these LessonPix materials by Liz Sturgill. Let’s Go Outside! Do some easy Earth Day crafts with these links curated by Special Learning House. Make some Earth Day waffles with this recipe from Shevi Greebel. Create a language experience survey. Here are some possible questions for your survey What are your favorite outdoor activities? Tell me about a time when you had an outdoor adventure.... [Read More...]

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Building Awareness of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

April 8, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts


Building Awareness of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

April is HIE Awareness Month, which offers a great opportunity to share information and resources for those who want to learn more. It doesn’t get as much attention as other disabilities in the AAC community, but some people with complex communication needs can trace the cause of their disability to Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE).  Let’s start by breaking down the term HIE. Hypoxic = lack of oxygen  Ischemic = restricted blood flow  Encephalopathy = affecting the brain Whether diagnosed as newborns or later in development, this form of brain injury is frequently associated with other conditions, such as cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, limited hearing and vision, feeding difficulties, and developmental challenges. There are many causes of HIE, including uterine ruptures and placental issues, near drowning, cardiac arrest, and other things that interrupt oxygen flow to the brain. By some estimates, 75-80% survive HIE, 50-70% experience seizures, and 40-50% develop a... [Read More...]

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