July 11, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We’re very excited to welcome back AAC SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber to these pages. You may remember Tabi from the wonderful AAC training materials she shared (11 full modules) or used her Classroom CORE book. Maybe you downloaded her All-In-One Visual Support Tool, used some of her great suggestions about AAC therapy with young children, or were lucky enough to attend one of her conference presentations. Her expertise, generosity, clear command of AAC practices, and commitment to ethical service provision have enriched the AAC lives many of our readers. Today, Tabi launches a new 6-part series on one of our favorite topics: Visual Supports. Let’s get started! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Visual and Environmental Supports…4 – 3 – 2 – 1! Visual and environmental supports are the bread-and-butter of many a classroom with students with complex communication (and learning) needs. They may be presented on paper-based or electronic platforms. Understanding the purpose and process... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: downloads, Tabi Jones-Wohleber, visual supports
July 8, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It’s summer where we live and that means that most of us try to squeeze in a little more time for light reading. Looking for ways to freshen up your summer reading on AAC and related subjects? Here are a few suggestions for blogs to add to your list. AAC to the Core AACtual Talk AAC Is Where It’s At Are there other AAC-related blogs we should add to our list? We’d love to hear your ideas.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: blogs, reading, social media
July 7, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are a few posts from our busy week. Monday – How We Do It: The Talk Flock – Taking Care of Caregivers Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Unconventional Communication Thursday – Celebrating Independence Day with a Touch of AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In the mood for some more AAC browsing? We have a few suggestions for you. 5 Ways to Support Self-Advocacy in AAC Learners How We Do It: Using AAC to Repair Communication Breakdowns PrAACtically SLPs: Hungry for Bilingual AAC 5 Kinds of Pre-stored Messages That Put the AAC Learner in Control PrAACtical Perspectives: Randomness & AAC
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: multimodal communication, resources
July 4, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
in·de·pend·ence /indəˈpendəns/ noun 1. the fact or state of being independent. synonyms: self-government, self-rule, home rule, self-determination, sovereignty, autonomy, freedom, liberty What does independence mean to the AAC users in your world? Beth Moulam shared her thoughts on this years ago and we still love sharing them. ‘ Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnglMLoLWqU
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: self-determination
July 1, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
How can we better support parents and caregivers of children with AAC needs? Meredith Laverdure and Jaime Lawson, who are SLPs and former co-workers, wanted to do more for the families they served. Meredith is currently a doctoral student at Old Dominion University. Her clinical and research interests include building communicative competence for children with complex communication needs with group interventions, as well as family- and community-level support. Jaime has predominately worked with pediatric clients, focusing on AAC/AT evaluations and intervention. Her clinical and research interests include enhancing communicative opportunities for children across settings and in various social settings, group intervention, family-centered therapy, and communication partner training. In this post, Meredith and Jaime share their experiences in developing The Talk Flock, a parent education and support group. Enjoy! The Talk Flock: Taking Care of Caregivers As speech-language pathologists in the outpatient pediatric setting with a busy AAC/AT clinic, we tried to... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC partner training, caregivers, parent training
June 30, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! We’ve got a few posts for you to browse through from our prAACtical week. Monday – How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Teens Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Activities to Use in AAC Training Thursday – PrAACtically July: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you go, take a look and see if any of these are of interest. AAC Assessment Forms AAC Printables & Downloads AAC Assessment for People with Aphasia Book Adaptations: Resources and Materials 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aphasia, assessment, Books, Year of Core
June 27, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Know anyone who has access to AAC tools but doesn’t yet use them throughout the day? Keiran has a new AAC app that is well-populated with core vocabulary. Gabbie has had an SGD for a while but doesn’t use it as frequently as her team had hoped. Hudson is transitioning from PECS to an AAC device with more robust language. While different in many ways, each of these learners has a common need: frequent opportunities to learn about and use core vocabulary. To accomplish this, their SLPs, teachers, and families select a dozen or so core words and pay special attention to those each month. That allows them to highlight this small group of words using focused language stimulation, aided language input, and specific activities designed to teach or practice them. In previous years, we shared lists of some core words to help you do just that. Set 1... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core words, Year of Core Vocabulary
June 25, 2019
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 24, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to all who reached out to express appreciation for Katherine Dally’s series on making and using flipbooks for adults and teenagers with complex communication. Today, she continues that series with a case example of how she used this to support a young woman who communicates through multiple modalities, including an SGD. Katherine is an SLP who works both as an AT consultant for an educational service center and as a home health SLP serving adults with neurological conditions in Ohio. We’re grateful to Katherine for sharing her experiences and for the downloadable materials that are linked at the end of her post If you missed her previous posts in this series, you may want to check those out: How I Do It – Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens: Part 1, Part 2. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Teens Let’s go through a teen case example... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: communication book, flip book, teens
June 23, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Have some catching up to do? You’ve come to the right place. Monday – How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens, Part 2 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Using Sensory Activities to Build Communication & Literacy with Students who Have Visual & Multiple Disabilities Thursday – When Language Is Lost: AAC Supports for Individuals with Aphasia ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Are you looking for some AACtivity suggestions? Here’s a few from past posts. Sometimes I Feel Sunny: AT Recipes for Success from CHoR PrAACtical Supports for AAC Learners: AT Recipes for Success – Sensorimotor Activities Pete the Cat, Rockin’ in My School Shoes: AT Recipes for Success PrAACtical Supports for the Young AAC Learner: Recipes for Success (Bubbles, Cars) PrAACtical Supports for Older Learners: AT Recipes for Success (Computer, Scrapbooking)
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: activities, aphasia, flipbook, sensory activities