February 23, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
It’s been quite a while since we’ve done a Magic Moments post, and I’ve got a backlog of digital tools and tangible materials that we’ve used in our prAACtical therapy sessions and too little time to write about them. In this post, let’s look at word clouds. You may not be familiar with the term, but you certainly know them when you see them. Word clouds are images made from text. The larger the word in the image, the more frequently it appeared in the text. Here’s one made from the paragraph you are reading right now. Take a look to see which words are the largest and you’ll know which ones were repeated most often in this paragraph. There are lots of sites and apps that you can use to make word clouds and there are links to some of them at the end of this post. But, first, let’s... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ABCya, Magic Moments, Tagul, Tagxedo, word clouds, Word It Out, Wordle
February 22, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday: AAC Goes to the Dentist Tuesday: PrAACtically Reading : Writing to Read with Karen Natoci Wednesday: Video of the Week – Headpointer AACtion Thursday: 5 AAC-related Handouts from ATIA 2015
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
February 19, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
The 2015 ATIA conferences was one of the strongest in recent memory, with lots of AAC presentations to choose from. As you can see, I had a blast! There was AAC in every direction, from the Town Hall Meetings, App Smackdowns, expanded poster sessions, traditional sessions, and, of course, the exhibit hall. If professional development in AAC is a priority for you, be sure to put the 2016 conference (in Orlando) on your radar for February 2-6, 2016. In the meantime, here are some of the handouts to whet your appetite. Lori Wise and Marlene Sotelo’s terrific talk on using iPads to build social engagement with people who have ASD along with their app lists here and here was one of my favorite presentations of the conference. [Note: Their handouts are hosted on the ATIA conference site and may only be available for a limited time. Grab them while you can!] Gretchen... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ATIA 2015, handouts
February 17, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
We are so pleased to have SLP Karen Natoci back with the second edition of PrAACtically Reading. You can see her first post here. I love that this lesson focuses on older students, providing an age respectful activity (who else loves Mad Libs?!) and a prAACtical way for students with lower verbal skills to develop their reading abilities. Writing to Read: Mad Lib, Core Words, and Literacy Instruction Core Vocabulary focus: like, dislike, uh-oh, again Sometimes it is fun to just write our own BIG BOOK and this month, we decided to do that by using a simplified “mad libs” format. Honestly, I’m not sure who had more fun, the teachers, the student authors or myself! I was inspired by the work of Gretchen Hanser. I attended her workshop on writing at Oakland Schools (MI) in the fall of 2013. She showed us that all students develop writing and experience... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Karen Natoci, literacy, Mad Libs, older learners, reading, writing
February 16, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
If you are among those who believe that AAC is a 24/7 proposition, then, like us, you may be looking for ways that we SLPs can better support our clients in the community. Like the rest of us, our AAC clients want and need to be active participants in their healthcare, and we can play an important role in helping them build the receptive and expressive communication skills to be more successful in that. In today’s post, we hear from Dr. Rachel Menzies (Email: r.menzies@dundee.ac.uk) from the AAC Research Group in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. Dr. Menzies shares ways in which her team is developing social narratives around visiting the dentist. I’ve never been a fan of going to the dentist, but I am lucky. I have the cognitive capacity and understanding to consider the consequences of NOT going to the dentist and to regulate my emotions when I... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
February 15, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday: How We Do It – Stirring Up Some Fun! Professional Development Our Way with the LCPS AT Team Tuesday: Materials for February Core Words Wednesday: Video of the Week – Technology for Us, Too! Thursday: AAC Goes to Summer Camp
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
February 12, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Those of you who are still digging your way out of the most recent snowstorm may not believe it, but it’s almost time to make plans for summer. There are quite a few AAC camps, some that are quite well established and others that have been running for only a few years (see our AAC Camp Pinterest board here). In this post, we hear about one of them from Tina Moreno, an SLP and mom of Mateo, who uses PicturePower 100 on the Maestro to communicate, maintain friendships with his teammates on the cross country team, advocate for himself, reveal his wicked sense of humor, and even sing the National Anthem for his high school’s basketball games. Tina blogs at Voices4All. With the help of Drs. Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver, she and her friend Gina Cunningham created Camp ALEC together in memory of Gina’s son Alec, who never gave up, and... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: camp, Camp ALEC, flip book, letter board, literacy, Tina Moreno
February 10, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to all who’ve reached out to let us know that you are following along with the Year of Core Words. It’s exciting to know that so many classrooms, therapy rooms, and homes have found them helpful and are using the resources to build language skills. We’re returning to that topic today, due to the kindness of SLP Alison Wade. Alison created this document with our 2013 set of February core words represented by PCS, SymbolStix, and traditional orthography. You can download it by clicking on one of the images below, or by visiting the Download section of our eToolbox. Thanks, Alison, for letting us share your work!
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Alison Wade, download, PCS, Symbol Stix
February 9, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
How does the AT team at Virginia’s Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) set out to influence their colleagues to learn more about AAC? With digital technologies, of course, along with a heaping dose of fun. In this post, OT Judith Schoonover and SLP Sally Norton Darr share some of the team’s favorite strategies for professional development. Judie has practiced in schools since 1975, working as an OT, elementary school teacher, and an AT trainer in that time. She is a strand advisor for ATIA, and has authored chapters and presented nationally on topics including UDL, adapting books, the relationship between OT and AT, and low tech supports for students. Sally is an SLP and AT trainer for LCPS. She enjoys her work in the public schools and has fun presenting internationally, regionally, and virtually to diverse audiences on a wide range of low to high-tech strategies, interventions, and solutions. Sally is the... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Judith Schoonover, Loudon County AT Team, professional development
February 8, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday: Fun Finds at #ATIA15 Tuesday: Core Words for February – Putting Sentences Together Wednesday: Video of the Week – Auditory & Visual Scanning with Jack and Mary-Louise Thursday: 5 Things Families May Not Know About SLPs and AAC Assessment
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking