August 1, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
A few years ago, I ran across someone who had difficulty getting the school staff to scan documents for an AAC learner who needed them to be in electronic format for accessibility purposes. The problem ultimately got solved when we helped the student program in two prestored messages to her SGD. The first was a politely-worded attempt at self advocacy: “Can you please scan this for me?” It usually worked, but when it didn’t, the student was able to follow-up with a second message. “It’s in my IEP.” The image of this young lady advocating for her needs still makes me smile. So when I ran across an adaptation that makes document scanners switch-accessible, I knew I had to share the Instructable with you. Kudos to Irete Hamdani and her colleagues for this wonderful modification.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: DIY
July 31, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Hope to see some of our prAACtical friends at the 2016 ISAAC Biennial Conference starting August 6th. If you’re headed to Toronto, let’s connect for some prAACtical conversations! Monday – PrAACtically August: Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Tuesday – AAC Core Word Calendars for August Wednesday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Standardized Tests for AAC Users Thursday – PrAACtical Supports for Young AAC Learners: Recipes for Success, Part 4
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: summary post
July 28, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to all of you who have reached out with appreciation for Sara Barnhill’s guest series entitled PrAACtical Supports for the Young AAC Learner. Sara and her colleagues at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) are generously sharing some of the resources they created to help families implement AAC at home. Through CHoR’s AT Program, one of few comprehensive AT programs in Central Virginia, a series of parent-friendly handouts were created to help families in Central Virginia facilitate core vocabulary learning by their young children. In the final post, we get to play with dolls and beach balls. You can get the link to download these parent handouts at the end of the post. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Let’s Play with Core! Recipes for Success Abandonment of AAC systems is a recognized problem in the field of AT. Therapists, teachers, and caregivers alike often feel uncomfortable and intimidated by AAC. We can all acknowledge that “it takes a village,” but... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beginning communicators, core vocabulary, downloads, parents, play
July 27, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Do you have a love-hate relationships with formal testing? Are you required to use normed tests with your minimally verbal clients? Looking for recommendations on which tests to use? AAC specialist Vicki Clarke has you covered! Like many of you, I’ve had mixed feeling when it comes to using normed assessment instruments with my AAC learners, particularly when we needed to modify the test materials or administration procedures in order for them to be able to participate and respond. If the client can’t point to pictures, give a verbal response, or sit through an entire test, we have no choice but to adapt how the test is administered. As we all know, when we adapt test materials (e.g., putting the test items on an eye gaze board) or procedures (e.g., partner-assisted scanning), we lose the ability to use the normative data. We can, though, compare our learners to themselves at... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, tests
July 26, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to prAACtice using core words? Rachael Langley has been incredibly generous with her time in creating and sharing calendars with daily activity ideas. The current calendar (2016) provides suggestions for our Year of Core Vocabulary Set 2 words. You can look back at the 2015 calendar for prAACtice suggestions for the August Set 1 words, too.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: A Year of Words, Calendar
July 25, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
The summer is flying by here in Florida and we’re starting to think about heading back to school. Teachers, therapists, and aides play a pivotal role in helping AAC learners develop skills with core vocabulary so that they have a body of words that can be used across activities, environments, and communication partners. There are lots of ‘right’ ways to support these students. Among them is an instructional approach in which a new set of core words is introduced every few weeks in order to build their experiences with AAC. Our Year of Core Words materials has two versions, one from 2013 (12 words/month) and one from 2014 (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words). If you’ve been following along, or are just getting started, these resources may be of interest. Set 1 (2013) Words: any, bring, day, fall, give, hot, job, know, other, sick, sorry, together Set 2... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core words, download, Year of Core Vocabulary
July 24, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Here are some AAC posts you may have missed in your prAACtical week. Monday – Make It Monday: More Words, Please! Expanding Our Manual Communication Boards Wednesday – Open Source AAC Thursday – PrAACtical Supports for Young AAC Learners: Recipes for Success, Part 3
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: summary post
July 21, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for resources so you can help families get comfortable with implementing AAC at home? SLP Sara Barnhill has you covered! In the third installment of the PrAACtical Supports for the Young AAC Learner, she generously shares some parent handouts created along with her colleagues at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR). As a member of the Assistive Technology (AT) Core team, she is involved in AAC evaluations and therapy in the hospital’s clinics, out-patient program and Transitional Care Unit. CHoR’s AT Program is one of few comprehensive AT programs in Central Virginia. The program provides AT evaluations, equipment and training to people of all ages, enabling children and adults with disabilities to function more independently. CHoR’s AT team consists of four SLPs, two OTs, one PT, and one Therapy Practice Assistant. In addition to completing transdiciplinary evaluations and treatments, CHoR’s AT team is responsible for supporting staff and sharing AT information to five CHoR... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beginning communicators, downloads, parents, play
July 20, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
What’s better than a bunch of bright, dedicated professionals who love improving the state of AAC? How about a group that facilitates the collegial sharing of this kind of information?! In today’s post, Dr. Joe Reddington discusses his efforts to promote open-source AAC solutions. You can read about an earlier project, CommuniKate, here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC Wins the Inclusive Technology Prize A few months ago, the nonprofit I run was given £50,000 to make open licensed resources (both materials and software) a key part of the AAC world. Figure 1: Kate McCallum and Dr Joe Reddington, winners of the Inclusive Technology Prize There are lots of definitions of open-licencing that make it sound more than what it is. Open-licencing is nothing more or less than letting people share. One of the reasons we really like PrAACtical AAC is that they release their work under Creative Commons, letting people make use of... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: collaboration, emerging technology, open source
July 18, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
It’s another Make It Monday, our series on preparing core vocabulary materials for use with AAC learners. When we left off last week, we selected or created manual communication boards (MCBs) with a starter set of core words. Today, we pick up that thread by adding more words. If you are working with teams that are new to AAC implementation, have a difficult time with change, or are showing resistance to this “whole AAC thing,” you might want to start off slowly and use just the main communication board for a few weeks to build everyone’s confidence. You can add more words once they are implementing it fairly well. The way I see it: Strong implementation of a basic core board is better than weak implementation of a more robust board. It doesn’t take very long, though, to realize that as versatile as our core word MCB is, there simply... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, Make It Monday