June 4, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Engaging activities and materials are important in AAC instruction, but the real magic happens when we implement appropriate intervention strategies with fidelity and on a consistent basis. For Throwback Thursday, we raided the archives to revisit some previous posts on several key intervention strategies. Aided Language Input: How Much Language Should We Model? Aided Language Input in AACtion “I’m Using Aided Language Input. Now what??” From Referential to Descriptive Teaching with AAC Learners Recasting: A Language Facilitation Strategy F is for Feedback
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language intervention
June 1, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Whether it is the normal stresses of the day, or more timely issues related to the impact of coronavirus or civil unrest, there is value in taking time for calm reflection. In today’s post, we share a resource that can be used in face-to-face therapy, online instruction, and family counseling. The Virtual Calming Room, developed by Osseo Area Learning Center in Minnesota, is worth a look. You can select from a range of calming videos in several categories: Sound and Music, Visual Relaxation, and Guided Practice. Each one has a selection of short videos (1-6 minutes) that can be used in a variety of ways. There are also app suggestions to take these calming practices with us as we go through the day, and a resource section. You can view a tutorial here or the full site below. Enjoy! Many thanks to the Osseo Area Learning Center for creating... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC activities, Self-Calming
May 31, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are a few posts that might be of interest. Monday – PrAACtically June – AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words: The Learn-at-Home Edition Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AACtivity Ideas to Jumpstart Learning Thursday – Growing AAC Professionals: Learning about Safeguarding Practices Friday – AACtivity Calendar for June Core Words :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And if you are thirsty for more, check out some past posts on activities and materials for AAC therapy and instruction. Magic Moments with Verb Circus PrAACtical Ways to Make Decisions about Thematic Therapy Materials Why We Love AAC Language Experience Activities Vocabulary Activities: 5 Sites About Learning with Avatars AAC Intervention: 5 Activities with PrAACtical Potential
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC activities, preservice training
May 29, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Rachael Langley has created a perpetual calendar to help us practice the core vocabulary words for June. Whether or not you are following along with the Year of Core Vocabulary, you’ll find a lot of prAACtical suggestions in this wonderful resource.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Rachael Langley, Year of Core Vocabulary Words
May 28, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
There are some things we’d rather not talk about. Sexual abuse toward people with complex communication needs is one of them. In today’s post, Vicki Haddix, a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis, is back to share the experiences of her most recent students and a project they completed to educate young AAC users about this topic. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve tried to incorporate the principles of UDL when designing my AAC course. Another way I do that is by giving students choices within assignments of blogs, webinars, and podcasts to read, view, and listen to in order to gain other perspectives on AAC. Hopefully, this also encourages lifelong learning, as we cannot possibly cover everything future SLPs need to know about AAC in a single class. But PrAACtical AAC as well as blogs by people who use AAC, ongoing webinar series like... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: abuse, Books, preservice training, reducing vulnerability, safeguarding
May 26, 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
May 25, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It’s just about time to flip the calendar to a new page. That means it’s time to prepare to highlight a new set of core words to keep our AAC learners moving forward and expanding their use of AAC throughout the day. We have some learn-at-home ideas that can help you incorporate our June core words into some easy activities and resources to help you have some prAACtical fun with the AAC learners in your life. If you’re helping an AAC learner become more capable in using high-frequency words to express themselves, we hope you join us in highlighting the June words and creating opportunities for our AAC learners to use them throughout the day. Whether you are following along with the 2013 Year of Core (Set 1-12 words/month) or the 2014 A(nother) Year of Core: (Set 2-16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), or just getting started,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: A Year of Core Words
May 24, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts for you to check out. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Assessing Distress in Individuals with Communication Challenges Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Tech Tips for Modeling in Tele-AAC Activities Thursday – Growing AAC Professionals: When Learning Meets Service ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have a little more time? These might be of interest. Five Places for Shared AAC Materials Five AAC and Related Resources to Explore AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #1 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #2 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #3 (downloadable) AAC: More Teaching, Less Testing (downloadable)
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: pain, teaming, telepractice
May 21, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Teaching AAC to future SLPs is a longstanding passion of mine so when a fellow instructor, Vicki Haddix, reached out to talk about the AAC projects her graduate students had done, I knew that I wanted to share them with you. In today’s post, Vicki, a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis, tells us about her most recent students and their projects. The materials they created can be used by parents and professionals alike. Make sure to check out the link at the bottom to access the full array of materials that these talented students created. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: As a professor, it’s always exciting when you see the great work that graduate students are doing and think about the potential that they are bringing to the field. I’ve taught the AAC class at the University of Memphis’s SLP graduate program for 5 spring semesters, and I always learn... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: downloads, literacy, preservice AAC
May 19, 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