October 6, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Telling stories is such an integral part of the human experience. While any symbolic communicator can create or co-create narratives, it’s not something that is taught as often as it should be. If you’re looking to enhance intervention to build narrative skills, these posts may be of interest. Helping People with AAC Needs Develop Personal Narratives Video: Personal Narrative Writing & AAC PrAACtical AAC & Personal Narratives Let Me Tell You Something- Narratives for the Beginning Communicator Narrative Assessment and People who Use AAC Narrative Skills for People With AAC Needs The PrAACtical Power of Co-Construction in AAC Support Video: Narrative Skills in Students with ASD
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
October 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Established in 2007 by ISAAC’s LEAD Committee, AAC Awareness month invites us to spread the word about all things AAC, and it’s pretty exciting to think back on all we’ve done and also to plan for the current year. Each week during AAC Awareness Month we’ll share suggestions for things to do to help others learn about a field that emerged to support children and adults with complex communication needs. This week, we’ll focus on hands-on activities. A popular approach to AAC Awareness Month is to invite a group of colleagues or families to come together and communicate only through AAC for the event. Some years, we’ve held ‘Silent Snack’ events before class where we put out a variety of board games and invited some of our AAC clients to come in and play along. They enjoyed serving as our AAC Ambassadors, meeting new people, and ‘wow-ing’ the crowd with... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
October 2, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. If you’re looking for some reading to honor AAC Awareness Month, we have some suggestions for you. Monday – Gearing Up for AAC App Sales with Lauren Gonzales Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: DIY Keyguards for AAC Thursday – October Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, see if one of these past posts piques your interest. PrAACtically SLPs: Hungry for Bilingual AAC TELL ME Virtual Classrooms Talking Mats: A PrAACtical Tool Using Metaphors to Support Vocabulary Teaching AACtual Therapy: “At first I was afraid, I was petrified…” AACtual Therapy: Running AAC Groups
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 29, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Our two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, Year of Core Vocabulary Words and School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, continue to be used by therapists, educators, and families. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, and Beth Lytle, was first published in 2020. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
September 28, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
If you have access to a 3-D printer and a need for keyguards, check out this detailed presentation by Ken Hackbarth of Volksswitch. Many thanks to Ken and to Matt Provost from TechACCESS of Rhode Island for hosting this webinar. You can obtain the handouts here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A7rLMP2qmg&ab_channel=Volksswitch The Volksswitch site has a lot of in-depth information on 3-D printing for keyguards and other AT topics.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 26, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
It’s almost that time of year, AAC friends. With AAC Awareness Month right around the corner, AAC and AT Specialist, Lauren Gonzales is upholding her tradition of creating a graphic that shows all of the upcoming AAC app sales. You can see the updated version of each graphic by clicking here or on the image below. Thank you, Lauren, and all of the AAC companies who provide deep discounts in support of the AAC community.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 25, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some suggestions for your AAC reading list. Monday – Overlooked AAC, Part 5 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Strengthening Our Interactive Reading Practices with AAC Users Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Supporting AAC Teams ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are some from the archives that may also be of interest. Adapting Books with Visual Scenes AAC-friendly Accessible Books Make It PrAACtical: Display Stand for Visual Supports or Books 5 Books Featuring Children Who Use AAC Reading with AAC Across the Stages of Language Development Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask Reading with AAC at the Beenleigh School
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 22, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
If you’re in a role that requires you to provide support to a team and strengthen their AAC practices, today’s post may have something of value. Take a look. Tech Tools for Supporting AAC Team Collaboration AAC Team Leadership Supporting Young AAC Teams: 5 Considerations for Facilitating Growth Teaming with Related Services to Support AAC Users Strategies for Supporting Team Buy-in and Implementation PrAACtical Research: Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members’ Voices On AAC Training: Skill Building for AAC Team Members Helping the General Education Team Support Students Who Use AAC How I Do It with Rachael Langley: PODD in the Classroom – Quick Tips for Teams On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals AAC in Secondary School: Collaborative Teaming for High School Students Who Use AAC AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #1 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #2 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #3 (downloadable)... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 21, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
If you’ve been using interactive reading in your AAC work, you’ll find lots to love about today’s featured video. Originally presented at AAC in the Cloud, hosted by CoughDrop, this archived session by special educator and AT specialist Sharon Redmon provides some important information on how to build background knowledge and vocabulary in engaging ways. Many thanks to Sharon and the fine team at CoughDrop for making this video available. You can obtain the handouts for this session here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4I_N-QnCg&ab_channel=CoughDrop You can learn more from Sharon here.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 19, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Whether they are therapists, educators, or come from some other background, AAC practitioners tend to be overworked and under-resourced. The day-to-day work of planning instruction, measuring growth, documenting services, communicating with other team members, creating or adapting materials, making adjustments on the SGD/AAC app, and advocating on behalf of the AAC user leaves little time for the other types of support that are needed. Thus, things that need attention but can wait for another day when there is more time and energy often get moved to the side. Today, we continue our series of things that get overlooked even by the best professionals and most dedicated families. Time and energy are always in short supply. We’ve already talked about the importance of backing up AAC apps/SGDs but did you know that depending on the specific equipment and software, you’re not always backing up everything you need? (If you missed the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking