September 3, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for information to help you round out your services to beginning communicators? Here are some previous posts to explore. Intervention Core Words, Direct Vocabulary Instruction, and Beginning Communicators Helping Beginning Communicators Expand Their Sentence Length Let Me Tell You Something: Narratives for the Beginning Communicator Breaking Through with Emerging Intentional and Beginning Communicators of All Ages A PrAACtical Literacy Activity for Beginning Communicators Ideas About Vocabulary Instruction for Beginning Communicators Videos Recommended Practices for Beginning Communicators Teaching Prelinguistic Communication to Beginning Communicators Using Symbols with Beginning Communicators Other 5 Facebook Groups for Families of Beginning Communicators
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beginning communicator
September 1, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Get ready to read! Interactive storybook reading is one of my favorite ways to build AAC skills. No matter what the age or kind of disability, it seems like my therapy always includes ssome type of reading material. We are so fortunate to welcome back Karen Natoci, a Michigan SLP who shares our passion for literacy and AAC. You can explore some of Karen’s previous PrAACtically Reading posts here. In this post, Karen introduces us to a book about differences, and shares her ideas for using it to build AAC fluency. Be sure to check out her lesson plan and the video clips that she is so generously sharing. ——————————————————————————————- Book: It’s Okay to Be Different, by Todd Parr Core Vocabulary: all gone, big, different, do, don’t, finished, get, go, he, help, here, I, it, like, look, me, more, no, not, out, she, small, some, that, uh oh, want, where, who, you Additional Vocabulary-... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Karen Natoci, reading
August 31, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
It’s hard to believe that summer is just about over (at least here in Florida). If you are supporting a child or adult who has a core vocabulary based AAC system, you know how much it takes to help them learn to use all of the wonderful words at their disposal. One strategy is to select a subset of their words to highlight each month. We can then take this small subset of their core words and: make an extra effort to model them on their device or a facsimile do specific instructional activities to teach the word meaning plan games and tasks to help them better recognize and understand the symbols for those words, and, plan specific opportunities for them to say these words daily conversation and instructional tasks. Our prAACtical friends need practice, practice, and more practice. Over time, they will gain more fluency and automaticity with the... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, download, resources, Year of Core
August 30, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday – AAC Printables Tuesday – AAC in the Classroom: Presentations You May Have Missed Wednesday – Video of the Week: Angel Voices AAC Group by Kate Ahern Thursday – AAC Teamwork: PrAACtical Tool #2
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
August 27, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Even when everyone has good intentions, AAC implementation doesn’t happen overnight. Strengthening our resolve to learn the student’s AAC system, model it as we speak to them, provide instruction, and give ample opportunities for practice takes commitment and leadership. In the past, we’ve talked about strategies to get the team onboard with skills like aided language input, using no-tech communication boards to build language, and shared training materials. In this series, we’re sharing some printables to recognize the efforts of our team members, and keep them energized to keep going. Here is the second set of tags/bookmarks to share with your teams. You can download them here. If you missed the first set, you can get those here.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, collaboration
August 25, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
It’s so gratifying to see the growing number of AAC presentations that are being offered around the country. If you serve school-aged children, here are a few presentation handouts that might be of interest. Building Classroom Communities to Support AAC Users by Ashley Robinson AAC Implementation Strategies by Vicki Clarke and Jenna Coyer Making AAC Work in the Classroom by Ann Kuhlmeier
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, education, handout, presentation, schools
August 24, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to all of you who are working tirelessly to spread the word about AAC.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: download, resources
August 23, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday – The Crust of AAC Tuesday – Boosting AAC Implementation in the Classroom: 6 Things to Try Wednesday – Video of the Week: Uniquely Human by Dr. Barry Prizant Thursday – AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues – PrAACtical Tool #1
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
August 20, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Do you feel it? Something really important is happening in schools across the world. AAC implementation is getting stronger! SLPs, educators, paraprofessionals, administrators, AT specialists, OTs, and families are doing their best to support students with AAC needs. It isn’t easy, though. To keep things moving in the right direction, we have to continue to recognize and support one another. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing tips and tools to do just that. To get the ball rolling, here’s a printable that can be used as a bookmark or tag. Print both pages, assemble them front-to-back, and laminate. Share them with colleagues and families who are with you on this journey to acknowledge their efforts, celebrate their successes, and empower them as advocates. You can download them here or visit the AAC eToolbox and peruse the Downloads section.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC team, bookmark, colleagues, teaming
August 18, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Classrooms are busy places, and sometimes the AAC gets lost in the hustle and bustle. If you’re interested in boosting AAC use during the school day, here are some things to try. Co-teach or teach a lesson: Think it’s easy to model AAC and elicit it at the same time you’re providing whole class or small group instruction? Try it. Better yet, make teaching a co-teaching a lesson in the classroom part of your regular service delivery schedule. It’s scary at first, but hang in there. You’ll gain valuable information about what it takes to make AAC successful under real-world conditions, and gain credibility with the rest of the team. Offer support: “What can I do to make it easier for classroom staff to implement the AAC strategies?” “Ms. Aide, how can I help you use the device more when you talk to Shayna?” Make the data available to everyone... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking