January 16, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Communicative competence is a multi-faceted concept that was introduced to the AAC field by Dr. Janice Light over 3 decades ago. One area that is sometimes neglected is strategic competence. In this post, we offer suggestions for compensatory skills to target to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of AAC-mediated interactions. Attention-getting: While most AAC users get the attention of their communication partners before sharing their thoughts and messages, beginning communicators may need explicit instruction in this area. It is particularly important for those who use AAC tools that have no voice output, such as a no-tech eye gaze frame or a core communication board. This is also an important skill to teach to those who rely on a partner’s assistance to create messages, such as PODD book users. Modality switching: Ben is an effective keyword signer who prefers this modality over all others. This works well with others who sign... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
January 12, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
In just a few days, people around the US will be taking time to honor the slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior. If you are looking for ideas to mark the occasion with an AAC flair, take a look at some of the posts below. PrAACtically Martin Luther King, Jr Day PrAACtically Martin Luther King Jr Day: AAC Learning Suggestions It’s PrAACtically Martin Luther King Jr Day Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday: 5 Resources for AAC Learners
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
January 11, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
The AAC community lost a powerful voice recently. Today, we honor Rick Creech by looking back at his testimony at the US Senate Special Committee on Aging. Part 1 Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHuOoYMZ1Ls&ab_channel=TheMinspeakChannel Part 2 Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxtsjv6ecXA&ab_channel=TheMinspeakChannel
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
January 9, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so pleased to welcome PrAACtical AAC contributor Vicki Clarke back to these pages. While you may remember Vicki from her outstanding AAC Assessment Corner posts, her most recent efforts focus on strengthening our AAC practices. Throughout the series, Vicki draws on her experiences supporting AAC users and teams in clinical and school settings and shares prAACtical information that we can all learn from Introduction to AAC 101 Steps to Learning It is no small task to consider how we will help our students progress from communicating only through behaviors to communicating any message they desire independently and spontaneously. In fact, in 1997, Gloria Soto conducted survey research that tells us: Teachers have always believed that communication training for students is positive, and Communication training is a collaborative effort between teachers and SLPs, Despite these beliefs, there is still a prevalent hesitancy to begin to explicitly instruct students in AAC.... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 5, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
When university faculty and graduate students work together on AAC content, good things are bound to happen. In this post, we hear from Clinical Associate Professor and SLP Krista Davidson, a strong advocate for AAC, and Katie Gardner, a graduate student in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program at the University of Iowa. They collaborated on the development of a guide to voice banking and are now making it available to all. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I have a student project I’m thrilled to share with a larger audience! One of our second-year graduate students, Katie Gardner, created a thorough and detailed guide to voice and message banking. Although the developers of voice banking programs make every effort to design user-friendly software, the whole process can still be quite daunting to some clients and families. From the services to the devices, to the cost, setup, and recordings, there are many considerations that can... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 4, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
The work of Drs. Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver on comprehensive literacy instruction in AAC has inspired many educators and therapists to ramp their literacy support in education and therapy. In today’s featured video, SLP Kristin M. Ellis shares her ideas of how to infuse this into clinical work with children and adults who have complex communication needs. Many thanks to AbleNet and to Kristin for making this archived presentation available. You can access the slide handout here and the supplemental resource list here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zTUoFwbbhA&ab_channel=ableUOn-demandProfessionalDevelopment
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
January 2, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
With 2022 in the rear-view mirror, we’re excited to welcome some prAACtical additions in the New Year. Here are a few things to watch for in the months to come. AAC Implementation Series PrAACtical AAC contributor Vicki Clarke will be back with a limited series on strengthening our AAC practices. Here’s what she shared about the direction of this series. The journey from acquiring an AAC system to using it to communicate autonomously is a long one, with many different routes. Knowing where to begin is a challenge for all of us! AAC 101 Steps of Learning Process is our effort to define this process in our schools, to help professionals and families support their students. In this series of posts, we are considering 5 steps, to move from training to talking, offering a defined path for you and your student learner. Learning to communicate is a shared journey between... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 1, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Happy New Year, AAC friends! We are looking forward to some exciting changes in 2023, but for now, here are some past posts for you to catch up on. Monday – The Year’s Top AAC Posts: 2022 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Top AAC Videos of the Year: 2022 Thursday – January Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ready for a few more suggestions? Here are some past posts that you might enjoy. PrAACtical Ideas for Repurposing Older AAC Technology 5 AAC Downloads to Use and Share 5 Ways to Make Semantic Maps More Effective in AAC Therapy PrAACtical Resources on Language Development When Helping Isn’t Helping: Prompt Awareness in AAC Instruction
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
December 29, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for resources to support core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, remain popular with therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. Many other contributors added to these efforts over the years. The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
December 27, 2022
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 course 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: PrAACtical Thinking