How I Do It: Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips by Lindsay Oesch

July 6, 2015 by - 3 Comments

How I Do It: Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips by Lindsay Oesch

One of the things that I love most about where I live is the rich mix of cultural heritages and linguistic backgrounds in the clients we serve. It can be challenging to do a good assessment, though. Today, we hear from Lindsay Oesch who shares her thoughts on AAC assessments with children from bilingual environments. Don’t miss clicking through to get the parent questionnaires and other resources she shares in her post. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Beginning the AAC Assessment Process with Bilingual Children As a clinician in New York City, it is so exciting to be working with children ages 5-12 as a speech-language pathologist in one of the most culturally and linguistically dynamic places in the world.  It has also remained a major challenge to assess and treat children with speech and language impairment/delay who speak more than one language, in order to accommodate their specific language needs. Assessment for a communication... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically July: Core Word Calendar by Rachael Langley

July 2, 2015 by - 3 Comments

PrAACtically July: Core Word Calendar by Rachael Langley

Hats off to Rachael Langley for taking time to develop and share another calendar with ideas for core word practice. As with previous calendars, she’s included lots of fun and easy ways to highlight and practice some of the July words from the first Year of Core Words list.

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Core Vocabulary Resources for July

June 30, 2015 by - Leave your thoughts

Core Vocabulary Resources for July

We’re ready to tear another page off the calendar and head into July, which means a new group of core words to focus on. The plan is to highlight a different set of core words each month to help our AAC learners grow their expressive vocabularies. Whether you are following along with the 2013 Year of Core (12 words/month) or the 2014 A(nother) Year of Core: (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), or just getting started, here are some helpful resources. Our July words are listed below. 2013 Words: and, before, color, find, is, later, love, much, ready, same, they, with 2014 Words: black, bottom, cut, face, foot, grandfather, high, maybe, morning, one, really, share, something, then, wear, weather Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: 2013 words, 2014 words Minspeak/Unity version: 2013 words PCS versions: 2013 words Symbol Stix version: 2013 words What can... [Read More...]

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Appy Learning with The Speech Techie

June 29, 2015 by - Leave your thoughts

Appy Learning with the Speech Techie

  What a wonderful way to start off a summer of learning! Last week, I was fortunate to be able to sit alongside a wonderful group of SLPs, OTs, teachers, and graduate students and participate in two full days of learning from  Sean Sweeney, known to many of you as The Speech Techie. Thanks to the generous support of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Centers for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD) and the Partnership for Effective Programs for Students with Autism (PEPSA), funded by the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, we were able to offer this workshop for free. The topic, Apps in Context: Aligning Technology with Methodologies and Clinical Objectives for Students with Autism, is one that is near and dear to my heart. Like many on you, I am always looking for new ways to engage AAC learners, and using fun apps is a great... [Read More...]

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Video of the Week: When Children Need AAC – Families Talking to Families

June 24, 2015 by - Leave your thoughts

When Children Need AAC - Families Talking to Families

As much as we bring to the discussion when families are considering AAC, most of us are not able to speak authentically about what it is like to raise children who use AAC. In this video, Dana Nieder, author of the popular blog Uncommon Sense, talks about this issues from a parent’s perspective. This is a great video to share with families and team members who may be new to AAC. Thanks to the Center on Technology and Disability for making this available.

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How I Do It: Starting AAC with Teens & Young Adults by Angela Adams

June 22, 2015 by - 1 Comment

How I Do It: Starting AAC with Teens & Young Adults by Angela Adams

Today, we welcome back Angela Adams, a Washington-based SLP. She currently works with students aged 11- 21 years in a small school district in the Pacific Northwest. Angela has 14 years experience, in both private practice and public school settings. She has a passion for helping adolescents and young adults with AAC needs develeop their communication skills. In this post, she shares some thoughts on getting older students started on AAC. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: What do you do when the new user of AAC is a teen or young adult? Core vocabulary, phrase-based communication, category- and topic-based pages….so many options for the new AAC user. THE CHALLENGES ARE REAL: What happens when the new user is a teen or a young adult? When in the public school system, what happens when this teen or young adult will only be our student 5 more years or 3 more or 1 more? What about our new AAC users... [Read More...]

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