July 13, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Welcome back to another installment of TELL ME About It, guest authored by Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. In this series, they discuss how they support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students. Today, they walk us through the ways that they facilitate AAC use while focusing on the book ‘Max’s Breakfast’ Don’t miss their Lesson Plan, video demonstrations, and other resources at the end of the post. You can see their previous posts in the TELL ME About It series below. If You’re Angry and You Know It The Lunch Box Surprise Come Out and Play, Little Mouse No, David Go Away Big Green... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, TELL ME
July 12, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts that you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – AACtual Therapy: Using Aided Language Modeling Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Gaming & AAC Thursday – How I Do It: Pivoting to Teletherapy for AAC Learners :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for some resources to use in your AAC work? Check out some of those listed below. AAC 101 Flipbook Communication Partner Data Collection Form AAC Skills: Caught or Taught? AAC Modeling Handout Repairing Communication Breakdowns
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Aided Language Input/Stimulation, telepractice
July 9, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Over the past few months, I’ve been very impressed with the ways that educators and clinicians made a quick pivot from in-person teaching/therapy to providing support remotely. Some have taken what they’ve learned in this process and generously shared it with colleagues in their schools, clinics, and the broader AAC community. Today’s guest author, AAC SLP Sarah Gregory, is one such professional. Over the past few weeks, she’s not only served her own students but made the time to share what she has learned so that other professionals can benefit. In this post, Sarah discusses some of the YouTube videos that she created to help others become more comfortable with online therapy/teaching. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The end of the school year has given me time to reflect and organize some of the teletherapy tips, tricks and tools that I put into my YouTube videos this spring. I have really enjoyed giving and... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: telepractice, videos
July 7, 2020
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 camp 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
July 6, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Although we’ve written extensively on the role of modeling in AAC, there are always new perspectives to consider regarding this evidence-based and widely-used strategy. Today, we feature SLPs Kate Grandbois and Amy Wonkka who share their approach to aided language modeling. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Bringing it all Together: Aided Language Modeling Most SLPs working in AAC have come across a variety of different interventions in their practice. Some, like aided language modeling, are popular and commonly seen at conferences. They are the most popular option on the intervention buffet. Others, like discrete trial training, are like the mystery meat – you think you know what it is, you don’t think you’re going to like it, and you’re going to watch while someone else tries it first. Sometimes these teaching procedures are straightforward, and sometimes they are confusing, intimidating, or complicated. You may find that choosing which intervention to use is influenced by... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided communication, Aided Language Input/Stimulation, Language facilitation strategies
July 5, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some AAC posts for you. Monday – Site of the Month: Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC & Transition Planning – Supporting All Students to Make Decisions for the Future Thursday – When Repetition Becomes Problematic :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have an appetite for some AAC? Check out this sampling of past posts. SGDs for People with ASD “What Should I Program on the SGD?” Feature Match Chart 5 Features to Look for in SGDs and AAC Apps Making a Back-up for High-tech AAC
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Apps & Software, Feature Matching, Literacy & Literacy Instruction
July 2, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Have you worked with learners like these? Shameka wore a favorite t-shirt, featuring her beloved Moana, to her teletherapy session. She pointed to it to show her therapist and used her AAC device to say “Moana.” After acknowledging her Moana shirt and having a brief conversation about it, the therapist was ready to move on to the activities planned for that session. Shameka continued to bring up Moana many times throughout the session. Bryce’s love of pizza is no secret. It’s so important to him that Bryce can say ‘pizza’ with a word approximation, sign it with his unique version of the manual sign, or use a manual communication board or SGD to say the word. Most days, that’s a very good thing. But sometimes, Bryce starts mentioning pizza early in the morning and brings it up a few times an hour for the rest of the day. Many of... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Language facilitation strategies, partner skills & training, visual supports
June 30, 2020
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 camp 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
June 29, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for comprehensive information on effective literacy instruction and research-based strategies to support students with significant cognitive disabilities and complex communication needs? Today, we highlight the Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities website, a resource developed by the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium (ERLC) that can be used in planning a new literacy program or enhancing one already in existence. The site is broken down into 6 main areas. Getting Started provides a framework for this instruction and offers guidance for determining whether instruction for individual learners should focus on emergent or conventional literacy. The Access to Communication section offers a number of resources to support access to and early development of skills in the areas of linguistic, social, operational, and strategic competence. Access to appropriate reading material and to effective writing supports both contain important foundational information and practical resource suggestions. More in-depth information is also provided for emergent literacy... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: emergent literacy, emergent writing, reading, shared reading, shared writing, writing & spelling
June 28, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that may be of interest. Monday – Beyond AAC Modeling: 3 Things to Add to Your AAC Teaching Plan Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Pre-Symbolic Communicators, Core Vocabulary, & Aided Language Input Thursday – PrAACtically July – AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words: The Learn-at-Home Edition :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have the time, here are some past posts you may enjoy. AAC Skills Assessment for Direct Selectors Selecting AAC Apps & Devices: A Handful of Reasons Not to Skip the Trial Period Observational Assessment of Beginning Communicators Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips by Lindsay Oesch Say What?!? AAC Assessment for Children Who Speak with Dr. Jill Senner and Matthew Baud
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC assessment