December 31, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Before we say goodbye to 2018, let’s look back on the posts that were most popular among PrAACtical AAC readers. How I Do It: Writing IEP Goals for Students Who Use AAC with Lauren Enders How I Do It: Using PODD books and Aided Language Displays with Young Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder Core Samples PrAACtical AAC Goals 5 Great Resources for Pre-Made Communication Boards AAC Assessment Forms Teaching Core Vocabulary Make It Monday: Manual Communication Boards with Core Vocabulary Literacy for Everyone with Adapted Books How I Do It by Rachael Langley – PODD in the Classroom: Portable, Wearable, & Comfortable Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list? We’d love to hear about it.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: communication boards, Lauren Enders, literacy, PODD, Rachel Langley
December 30, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you are having a happy, healthy holiday season, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed amongst all the festivities. Monday – ‘Twas the Night Before an AAC Christmas Tuesday – Merry Christmas! Wednesday – Top AAC Videos of 2018 Thursday – PrAACtically January: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words Saturday – PrAACtical AAC Question of the Month: Terminology :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Interested in a few more articles to browse? Here’s a selection to choose from. Got Holiday Cards? 5 PrAACtical Suggestions AACtual Therapy with Deanna Wagner: Why Cook When You Can’t Eat? Communication Access Cards Visual Organization, Themes, & Duct Tape Beyond Requesting: Thoughts on Teaching Information Transfer Before you go, would you take 2 minutes to answer a 4-question survey? We’re providing some feedback to authors who write AAC textbooks and journal articles and they want your opinion on terminology. Loading…
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beyond requesting, core vocabulary, holiday, survey
December 29, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” (W. Shakespeare) It has always irked me that a field which emerged to support individuals with communication challenges has such a long and complex name. Aug-men-ta-tive and al-ter-na-tive com-mu-ni-ca-tion can get a bit tiresome, particularly in writing. Recently, an AAC scholar asked us to get input on terminology from our PrAACtical AAC readers. Do you have an opinion about what terminology we should use when writing about AAC concepts, tools, and strategies in textbooks, journal articles, etc? Here’s your chance to weigh in. Loading…
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: terminology
December 27, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
As we prepare to take down our 2018 calendars, we’re looking ahead to January and gearing up to model and teach some more core words to our AAC learners. If you have some prep time this week, join us! This is a great time to get the word cards and other materials for the Year of Words (Set 1; Set 2) ready to use with the AAC learners in our lives. Thanks to the generous spirit of PrAACtical AAC readers we have posts with a variety of resources: Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words Minspeak/Unity version: Set 1 PCS versions: Set 1, Set 2 Speak for Yourself version: Set 2 SymbolStix version: Set 1 Lesson Pix: Set 1 Smarty Symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words CoughDrop: Set 1 words; Set 2 words WordPower: Set 1 words (Note: This is a large file that contains... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Another Year of Core Words, downloads, Year of Core Vocabulary
December 24, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town, Not a creature was stirring, they were all safe and sound. The stockings were hung by their chimneys with care, In hopes that AAC Elves would soon visit there. The teachers were nestled all snug in their beds, With visions of lesson plans banished from their heads. The therapists with data sheets and the strategies they love best, Had just settled in for a good winter-break rest. When outside the schoolyard, there arose such a clatter I rushed toward the window to see what was the matter. Stepping on Legos (does that pain ever fade?) I ran to the window and lifted the shade. With her silvery face, the moon shone from the night sky, Illuminating the landscape from her perch way up high. And what to my sleep-deprived eyes should appear But an accessible sleigh, and 8 AT reindeer.... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Christmas, poem
December 23, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you are enjoying the holiday season, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed amid the hustle and bustle. Monday – AAC Goes to High School: The Power of Peers Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Helping Students with Autism Prepare for Non-routine Events Thursday – Christmas, AAC Style ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you can squeeze in a few more, take a look at some of these posts from the archives. How We Do It: Using AAC to Repair Communication Breakdowns Data Collection for the Beginning AAC User: Essential Things to Measure AAC & ASD: Beyond Scripting More Words, Please! Expanding Our Manual Communication Boards Activity Schedule AACtion
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, holiday, summary post
December 20, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: holiday, songs
December 18, 2018
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 while... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, Featured Posts
December 17, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so pleased to welcome back Sarah Mueller, who teaches high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Rochester, Michigan. In this post, she shares her experiences in working with peer mentors and how she has helped to facilitate meaningful relationships between students with and without disabilities. Don’t miss her video or the links to download some of the materials they used. Enjoy! The Power of Peers We often talk about the functions of communication and their importance in developing and expanding the students’ communicative repertoire. Moving beyond requesting to protesting, commenting, and greeting and other functions is often the focus. But as high schoolers included in the school community, my students want to be social with their peers without disabilities. What does that look like for students with complex communication needs? How, as a teacher, can you structure social opportunities to teach and practice core? What... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: friendships, high school, peer mentors, school
December 16, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – AAC Goes to High School: Community-based Instruction Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Journal Writing & AAC Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC for Young Children ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have a few minutes for some more AAC content? Here are a few more for you to browse through. From Conversation to Skill-building AAC Mythology v2.0: A Few Misconceptions About AAC Intervention Increasing Core Vocabulary Use at Home, Therapy, and In School Building AAC Intervention Skills: Skillful Use of Time Delay Supporting Language Growth in AAC Learners: Part 1
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language therapy, summary post