November 28, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
They are often the first thing we notice in looking at a new AAC app or device. Are they realistic or minimalist? Overly juvenile or age respectful? Dull or appealing? Transparent, translucent, or opaque? Familiar or novel? AAC symbols are among the many things that AAC practitioners have to think about when supporting people with significant communication challenges. Symbols are not the sexiest part of our AAC tools yet they play a critical role. Decisions about how to represent language should be made thoughtfully and with some data to justify our conclusions. Symbol Sets vs Symbol Systems Most AAC symbols are part of a set or collection. There are conventions for things like how movement is represented or how people are depicted, but there aren’t explicit rules governing how symbols are created. Symbol systems, on the other hand, do have concrete rules for how they are developed and used. In... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 27, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Enjoy some AAC reading and videos. Monday – Using Judgment & Discrimination Activities in AAC Instruction Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC Implementation Strategies Thursday – PrAACtically Thanksgiving ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few other AAC articles to read? We’ve got plenty for you to choose from. Video of the Week: AAC for Paraprofessionals PrAACtical Guessing: 5 Apps for Interactive Inferencing Supporting Children in the Pediatric ICU 5+ Things to Do to Help AAC Learners Communicate About Illness or Injury “What’s Wrong?” AAC Messages for Negative Emotions and Feelings
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
November 23, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
We love learning about literacy from Australian SLP Jane Farrall. In today’s featured video, she discusses the Writing with All Tools Continuum, a 34-item AT-friendly scale for assessing writing samples from developing writers. This is an important one for anyone focused on literacy and AAC. Many, many thanks to Jane and those who supported her in creating this incredibly useful tool Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lIhBcrCQJQ&ab_channel=JaneFarrall
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
November 22, 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
November 21, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Welcome to the first of a 5-part series on symbols in AAC. Today, we’re starting off with a simple list of graphic symbols used in aided AAC tools. Graphic symbols are 2-dimensional images used to represent words and ideas visually. Print or traditional orthography is the one we’re using right now for this post, but most AAC apps and SGDs use some form of pictographic symbol in addition to that. Some of those symbols are free and others are available only through an additional purchase option or a subscription service. These are the ones used most commonly in communication books/boards and AAC apps/devices by individuals with complex communication needs around the world. You’ll recognize the most commonly used symbols, but some of these may be less familiar depending on where you live, work, play, and learn. If we missed your favorite symbol set or system, please let us know so... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 17, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we’re gearing up to celebrate with friends and family on a day of gratitude. To honor the occasion, we’re reprising two posts you might enjoy. Video: ‘Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: I Eat Thanksgiving Dinner Although Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated everywhere, we share the opportunity to feel grateful.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
November 16, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
There is a lot to consider when putting AAC into practice. In today’s featured video, we get insight, information, and tips from AT specialists Terri Rosen and Elizabeth Barry from the Pacer Center’s Simon Technology Center. Many thanks to Terri, Elizabeth, and the Simon Technology Center for this webinar. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tVwiDzQRBA&list=PLi7mT6FWCWR0tLGQkL5_Wfhgo8Epsvod-&index=6&t=883s&ab_channel=SimonPacer
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
November 14, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
There are many paths to successful AAC use. For some people, access to language-rich AAC tools and communication partners who model AAC, use naturalistic methods of eliciting language, offer adequate wait time, and respond to communicative attempts in supportive ways, is sufficient. Many individuals, however, need additional support to develop robust language and AAC skills. For them, explicit AAC instruction can be very beneficial. In a previous post, we shared thoughts on strengthening our AAC services with the use of thoughtful instructional sequences. Discrimination learning can play a helpful role in sequencing our instructional activities. Learning to discriminate between one thing and another is a part of typical language development. Babies learn to discriminate between phonemes (e.g., /ma/ vs /ba/), for example. It also helps them to determine that ‘dog’ applies to some 4-legged, furry critters and not to others. As children mature, they learn a variety of linguistic concepts using... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
November 13, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Good morning, AAC friends. We have some AAC reading for you. Monday – Strengthening AAC Outcomes with Instructional Sequences Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Promoting Friendships Between Users of AAC & Their Peers Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Prompting in AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you’re interested in a bit more AAC reading, check out some of these past posts. Breaking Down Barriers to AAC Implementation AAC and Emergent Literacy: 5 Posts with Implementation Ideas AAC Intervention That Teaches More and Tests Less: Thoughts on Implementation AAC in the Classroom for Students with Significant Disabilities – Implementation & Data Collection Cooking with AAC Three Ways to Use AAC Goals to Strengthen Implementation
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
November 10, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
It gets a bad rap but when used thoughtfully, this powerful tool can be a game-changer. Today, we’re talking about the pitfalls and promises of prompting. Take a look. When Helping Isn’t Helping-Prompt Awareness in AAC Instruction Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 10 (Appropriate Prompting) 5 Things to Consider About Prompts in Teaching AAC Reducing Prompt Dependence in AAC Learners: 5 Things to Try
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking