June 23, 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 22, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It is hard to overstate the role of aided language input and other forms of AAC modeling when interacting with those who are still developing their language and communication skills. Seeing and hearing others use AAC is important for many reasons. Some AAC users pick up language and AAC skills just through that kind of exposure. Most, however, benefit from explicit instruction on specific skills, such as creating longer and more complex sentences, using morphological endings to change the form of the word, or expanding the range of words they use. They also need support to move from using these skills only during therapy/instruction to using them in a range of functional contexts. Here are some things to add to our intervention to strengthen their AAC learning. Think Aloud Strategy: Narrate the steps of finding what you want to say in their AAC system as you create your message (e..g.,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: carryover, generalization, Language Experiences & Activities, Language facilitation strategies, loose training
June 21, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends, and Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there. Here are some posts that might be of interest. Monday – PrAACtically Juneteenth: AAC Ideas for Learning & Celebration Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week – Effective Coaching of AAC Partners Thursday – Asking Good Questions During Interactive Book Reading with AAC Learners :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have an appetite for AAC? Here are a handful of past posts to browse. Faces of AAC: Making It Work in a Busy Family PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: The Family Book Family Collaboration by Dr. Barry Prizant From Presence to Contribution: A Family’s Journey Toward and Inclusive Life From ‘No AAC’ to ‘AAC All Day, Every Day!’ Autism and AAC: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
June 18, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Books are a terrific way to build language, and we often use shared reading to facilitate learning and provide practice in using specific skills. When we read, we go beyond the text in the book to comment on the narrative and illustrations (e.g., “Oh no! He fell out of the tree.” “This one is my favorite. I love his shiny scales”), and ask questions (e.g., “What happened to his pants?” “How does he feel?”). Interactive book reading helps to background knowledge, and connect things in the book to the learner’s own life experiences, among other things. Asking questions is a big part of what we do in interactive book reading. Not only do they help us keep the learner engaged, but we also use them to model and provide practice on specific language targets. However, too many questions can cause learners to shut down, so we have to ensure that... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Books, questions, reading
June 15, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
In the US, June 19th is a day that commemorates the ending of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863, it took an additional two and half years for it to take root in all of the states. It wasn’t until June 19th, 1865 that Texas became the final state to uphold the proclamation. There are other days that memorialize the freedom of enslaved people, but Juneteenth is the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration. Traditionally marked primarily by African Americans, there is a growing awareness of Juneteenth across a broad spectrum of people. In modern times, it has become a day to gather, reflect, and celebrate African American freedom and achievement. In these troubled times, it offers us an opportunity to learn about the history and lived experiences of black Americans, examine our own commitment to build a just society, and challenge ourselves to dismantle racism at all... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: holiday, justice
June 14, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. It’s been a long week and we’re glad you’re here. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘If You’re Angry & You Know It’ Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Social Networks Inventory Thursday – Alternative Learning Experiences in Clinical Education: An AAC Video Case Study If you have a little time before you have to leave, take a few minutes to browse through these past posts. If you’re in a hurry, please skip down to the end. Core Values: Suggestions for Language Building with AAC Learners AAC & Personal Narratives AAC Site of the Month: Centre for AAC AAC: 4 Ways to Develop Self Advocacy Skills & Become A Self Advocate 5 Ways to Support Self-Advocacy in AAC Learners :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” (James... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: communication partner, narrative language, preservice AAC, self-advocacy
June 11, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
When SLP students are connected with real-world AAC situations, there can be a deep and lasting impact. Today, guest author and SLP Clinical Educator Krista Davidson shares her experiences in connecting graduate students with Kim Rankin and her son, Nathaniel, who uses AAC. Initially connected through social media, they worked together to build a valuable learning experience for these future SLPs. Alternative Learning Experiences in Clinical Education: An AAC Video Case Study I am a clinical associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at The University of Iowa. At Iowa, our graduate students rotate through a variety of clinical teams, mine being the AAC team. Each semester I have a new group of students to educate, supervise, and mentor as they provide therapy to my caseload of clients who use AAC at the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic. Due to the recent pandemic, like most universities,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: case study, clinical education, preservice training
June 9, 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 8, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Welcome to a new edition of TELL ME ABout It, a series looking at ways to use children’s trade books to build AAC core vocabulary and literacy skills. Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim are back with more great ideas for AAC intervention, this time focusing on the book, ‘If You’re Angry and You Know It.’ Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in central Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings. You can see their previous posts in the TELL ME About It series below. The Lunch Box Surprise Come Out and Play, Little Mouse No, David Go Away Big Green Monster What Do You Like? Here Are My Hands From Head to Toe I Went Walking Brown Bear, Brown Bear TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits Don’t miss their videos... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: shared reading, shared writing, TELL ME
June 7, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Virtual Calming Room Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Engaging AAC Learners with Complex Bodies Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Strategies for Teaching AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, check out some of these previously published posts. 5 Ways to Tell If Your Students are Becoming Competent Communicators A Look at PODD Books Using Visual Supports to Bring Music Alive Supports for When Modeling AAC is Hard AACtual Therapy: Use Your Best Spud to Teach Vocabulary With Tanna Neufeld How We Do It: Changing AAC Mindsets & Outcomes
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking