March 11, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We all remember certain ‘firsts’ – your first bike, your first plane ride, your first car. One of my memorable ‘firsts’ is the first book I was ever given that was ‘just for me.’ I have fond memories of lazy summer afternoons with The Wishing Well, one of the Alice and Jerry basal readers. I may have broadened my library since that was given to me for my 4th birthday, but it still sits on my shelf and just paging through it brings back memories of being transported to another world. We can hardly imagine what life would be like without books. Reading brings us more than information. It allows us to explore, escape, relax, and dream. What must it be like to be deprived of the chance to learn and enjoy the printed word? Sadly, that is the reality for too many children and adults with AAC needs. In... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: literacy, Research Tuesday
March 8, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you had an AAC-filled week! Here are some posts you might have missed. Sunday: Video of the Week – Supporting Early Writers Monday: Strategy of the Month – Robust Literacy Instruction for People Who Use AAC Tuesday: Teach Me Tuesday – NOVA Chat Wednesday: 5 Reasons to Put AAC Training for Parents and Staff in the IEP Thursday: AACtual Therapy with Deanna Wagner – Why Cook When You Can’t Eat? Friday: Linguistically-robust AAC Systems
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
March 7, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
At the NCACA conference last month, a few of us were talking about what it means to have an AAC device or app with a strong language system, something Gail Van Tatenhove and I wrote about a few years ago in this book. Linguistically-robust language systems are those that will allow someone to construct grammatically correct utterances. Think of the different SGDs or AAC apps that you worked with this week. If you could use them to recreate the last 30 minutes of ‘talk time’ that you had without spelling out too many of the words, chances are pretty good that it is a linguistically-robust system. That led to us asking ourselves and others a question. “What do you look for in terms of a language system when you’re considering SGDs or AAC apps for a learner who has the potential to (eventually) construct grammatically correct utterances?” Keep in mind... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: generative language, SGD
March 6, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
One of our prAACtical friends loves to think about, talk about, and participate in anything to do with baking. Not all that unusual unless you consider that he has a g-tube and doesn’t eat in the conventional sense. So we were incredibly excited have this guest post by SLP Deanna Wagner, whose prAACtical ideas for teaching AAC using cooking activities appealed to us right away. You can read more about Deanna here. Why Cook When You Can’t Eat? I have been thinking about writing this post for a number of weeks, now. And have come up with many different answers to this question, “Why cook when you can’t eat?” I finally decided I should just talk about how we use cooking activities to reinforce communication skills and let the reader can come up with his/her own answer to this question. Whether I am working in a school classroom or with adults... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, Deanna Wagner
March 5, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
SLPs tend to love (good, relevant) professional development. We flock to conferences (15,000+ ASHA attendees this past November), sign up for workshops, and attend webinars. But for some reason, we are reluctant to request training as part of the IEP process, even when we’re not very confident in our work with the student. Maybe we don’t want to acknowledge our need for it, or admit that there is something we don’t know (gasp!). Perhaps we’d just rather not make waves. We may ask for training informally, but it doesn’t always get tied to specific students’ IEPs, and that may mean that our requests get overlooked. Here are a few reasons why you may want to put staff training into IEPs when needed. We need it. The complexity of the AAC field, diversity of this clinical population, and the rapid pace of change in technology make it very unlikely that any... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: abandonment, IEP, parent training, Training
March 4, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
In this Teach Me Tuesday post, we feature a versatile and popular SGD, the NOVA Chat (Saltillo). Come along and learn with us! Product Information for NOVA Chat 10, 7, and 5 Video Tutorials Webinars Facebook – Users Group Knowledge Base Where to Go for Help More Interactive Support for NOVA Chat Free live online product training https://www.prentrom.com/onlinetraining/products Free interactive self-study courses https://www.prentrom.com/training/courses Current PRC product tutorials: Accent Line and Eco2 http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeOTpEi0oXbhmtDfAHFZvGPkxFuoUSUuv
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: NOVA Chat, Saltillo, Teach Me Tuesday
March 1, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Sunday: Video of the Week – Direct Selection Using Laser Pointers Monday: Strategy of the Month – The Power of Positive Reinforcement Tuesday: A PrAACtical Look at Access YouTube Wednesday: Understanding Rett Syndrome bySally-Ann Garrett Thursday: A Day in the Life of an AAC Chick SLP Friday: Make it PrAACtical – DIY Cellphone Stand
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
February 28, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
AAC professionals are generally big proponents of multimodal communication. These days, it seems like almost everyone has a cell phone and many of the AAC learners with whom we work use them for texting. If you need a low-cost stand for a cell phone, take a look at this video from the New Hampshire AT Project. With a little stabilization, this might be just the ticket for some of our prAACtical friends. Direct Link to Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQhRhKFWklo&feature=share&list=UUOhlN8JnAwdYrhWEdWpmE3g&index=3
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AT in NH, cellphone stand, DIY, mount, New Hampshire AT Project, phone
February 27, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Today we have a return appearance by Vicki Clarke, CEO of Dynamic Therapy Associates. In this fun post, Vicki let’s us peek over her shoulder on a busy, prAACtical day.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Dynamic Therapy Associates, Vicki Clarke
February 26, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
When we did our graduate training, there was little or no mention of Rett Syndrome, a genetic disorder involving a mutation of the MECP2 (Methyl CpG Binding Protein 2) gene on the long arm of the X chromosome. It is a complex disorder and the abilities of those who are affected by it are generally masked by the motor challenges that are a part of Rett. We’ve asked some professionals experienced in Rett and AAC to help us use this space to help us gain a better understanding of the disorder and its implications for AAC intervention. Sally-Ann Garrett (Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist; Reg. HCPC; MRCSLPT, Reg. ASLTIP) is one who agreed to do so and we are grateful for her perspective. Sally-Ann is semi-retired now but has worked with girls affected by Rett Syndrome for 30 of her 42 years as an SLT. She lived in Canada for a number... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Rett syndrome, Sally-, Sally-Ann Garrett