June 16, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you may not have seen during your busy week. Monday – How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Mental Health & AAC Thursday – PrAACtical AAC: Giving Readers a Voice (Please help with this if you can, friends.) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have a few more minutes, stick around and explore some more. From Activity-based AAC to Robust Language Activity Schedule AACtion AACtual Therapy with Jeanne Tuthill: An Informal Assessment Activity A PrAACtical Literacy Activity for Beginning Communicators 10 Posts on Activity Ideas for Language Therapy with AAC
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: AAC activities, summary post
June 13, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Can you spare a few minutes to help us out? Since Robin and I first started the blog in 2011, PrAACtical AAC has published lots of original content and featured many wonderful contributions of professionals, families, and AAC users from around the world. With hundreds of posts under our belt, I thought it was finally time to give YOU a voice. We’d love to know more about you and what you’d like to see at PrAACtical AAC as we continue to move forward in sharing AAC content. Are there specific topics you’d like to know more about or particular guest authors you want to hear more from? What kinds of materials or resources would be most helpful to you? How you would like to see things grouped or organized? What other ways can PrAACtical AAC support the work you do to address complex communication needs? Help us figure out what... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: feedback, survey
June 11, 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
Tagged With: feedback
June 10, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
There is no doubt that adults with complex communication needs are an underserved population, something that is on our minds a lot during June, which is Aphasia Awareness Month. We feel fortunate to have a guest post today from Ohio-based SLP Katherine Dally, who works both as an AT consultant for an educational service center and as a home health SLP serving adults with neurological conditions. Katherine has served as the SLP on an ALS clinic focusing AAC evaluations, the use of voice banking, and no-tech/low tech communication. In today’s post, she provides some wonderful ideas for using activity-specific communication books with adults and teenagers and shares her templates for you to download. Pocket Mini-Communication Flipbooks Need a low-tech idea that’s pocket-sized and accessible everywhere for adults? Take a look at these pocket mini-communication flip books. These flip books were originally created for clients with a diagnosis of ALS to... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: adults, COmmunication Books, flipbooks, teens
June 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It is wonderful to see the ways that SLPs and educators are collaborating to support AAC implementation in the classroom. Today, we hear from SLP Kristen Ponce who works at the Gerner Family Early Education Center in the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Missouri. Kristen has a particular interest in working with preschoolers with autism and AAC needs and is passionate about teaching her students to become competent and independent communicators. In this post, she shares her experiences in collaborating with classroom teachers to promote the use of AAC throughout the school day. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Incorporating Core Throughout the School Day The majority of my caseload is preschoolers who have autism spectrum disorder and who use AAC. We usually introduce communication and how to use an AAC device through learning to request. It is easy to teach that communication is fun when you have a very tangible and... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, school
June 4, 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: Featured Posts
Tagged With: AAC Link Up
June 3, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we’re finishing up school and, for some, it wouldn’t be summer without a little time away at camp. We’ve gotten lots of requests for information on camps that support AAC use in the past few weeks. For those who are interested, we keep a running list here. If you know of a camp that should be added to this list, please let us know so that we can expand the offerings.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: camp, summer
June 2, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you might enjoy. Monday – Honoring Memorial Day Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Ready, Set, Goal Thursday – How We Do It: AAC in the Special Education Classroom – Continuing the Journey ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you head out the door, here are a few posts to explore in honor of Aphasia Awareness Month. Making It Work: 6 AAC Strategies for People with Aphasia Low Tech AAC for Adults with Aphasia: What Does That Mean? A Fresh Look at AAC & Aphasia with Dr. Kristy Weissling 5 Questions about Aphasia & Communication Books Bridging the Gap: Helping People with Aphasia to Compensate for Their Language Difficulties
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: summary post
May 30, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It’s such a pleasure to have Angi Pearce back on these pages to share her experiences and passion for teaching students with AAC needs. Angi is a teacher at Kowhai Special School in Hastings, New Zealand, and serves as the team leader for the Junior School classes (ages 5-11). Her initial post (see that here) introduced us to the ways that she embraced AAC and integrated it into her classroom. In today’s post, she talks about how things have evolved. Enjoy the journey! How We Do It: AAC in the Special Education Classroom – Continuing the Journey This is my fifth year teaching in a school for children with special needs. Five years ago, AAC was a new term for me. Core vocabulary boards were the first tools which were introduced to me, which I did not understand the benefit and purpose of until I observed the way it enhanced... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Angi Pearce, classroom, literacy, school
May 27, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Taking time today to remember and honor all those who have sacrificed so much in service of their countries. Wishing all of you a meaningful day of reflection and remembrance.
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: Memorial Day, memory, remembrance