Watch some ways to use classroom routines to build in opportunities for interaction. http://youtu.be/Vl7q_cxjLSg
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Routines, visual supports
We are occasionally asked how old children have to be before you can begin teaching AAC. Our answer: There is no set minimum age. Nor is there any research evidence that one has to use an oral-language only approach for a set period of time before beginning AAC. Today, we’re delighted to be able to share an article on this topic with you. This article describes a research review in which Branson and Demchak identified a dozen research studies looking specifically at the use of various AAC tools and strategies with infants and toddlers. Data from 190 children up to 36 months of age were examined. Of the 12 studies reviewed, 7 met criteria for having conclusive findings. In 97% of all cases, the children’s communication skills improved. Looking only at the 7 most rigorous studies is even more encouraging: All 135 babies/toddlers demonstrated improved communication skills following AAC intervention.... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: infants, research, toddlers, young children
It’s been a wonderfully prAACtical week. Take a look! Sunday: PrAACtically Eating Together Monday: Strategy of the Month: Building a PrAACtice Routine Tuesday: Teach Me Tuesday: Avaz App Wednesday: Watch It Wednesday: Pain in Children with Developmental Disabilities Thursday: PrAACtical Peek: Decorating Cookies Friday: 31 AAC Posts You May Have Missed, December 2014
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
STRATEGY OF THE MONTH Supporting Pre-Intentional Communicators Breaking Through with Pre-Intentional & Beginning Communicators of ALL Ages Helping Pre-Intentional Communicators to Cross the Intentionality Bridge More Ideas for Supporting Pre-Intentional Communicators PRAACTICAL THINKING PrAActical Nominations: The 2013 Edublog Awards I was Thinking About Buying an AAC App- Now What? 5 Ways to Encourage AAC Learners 30 P0sts You May Have Missed in November How Much Time Do SLP’s In Healthcare Settings Spend on AAC Services to Children AAC Goes to the Eddies Does AAC Benefit Children with Profound and Multiple Disabilities Throwback Thursday: Talk About Me 2 3 Responses to Programs that Make Kids ‘Prove Worthiness’ Prior ro Providing Access to AAC AAC Vocabulary Lists Throwback Thursday- Past Posts About Pre-Intentional and Beginning Communicators Power Words from PrAACtical Friends A PrAACtical Christmas Carol 8 Ways to Have an AAC Holiday Season A PrAACtical Christmas AACtual Therapy with Shareka Bentham- Started from... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Intentional Communicators, Pre-Intentional Communicators, resources
Welcome to PrAACtical Peek, an occasional series which features photos of therapy materials we use. This one is interactive, so have fun exploring the hot spots. Also, we’d love to have YOU get in on the fun. Send us a photo of some of your AAC materials for a future PrAACtical Peek post.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: peek, therapy materials, visual supports
Frustration. Fear. Helplessness. Being with a child in pain is an awful experience no matter what the circumstances. When a child has communication difficulties, the problems are magnified. In this video, we go to the Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres for an informative discussion about pain in children with developmental disabilities. Knowing what to look for is a first step in helping reduce pain and increase the coping skills of children with AAC needs. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-CzjHl1aqo
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
This week in Teach Me Tuesday we’re learning more about Avaz, a comprehensive AAC app. Here are the learning resources we’ll be using. Help Resources Take a Tour Videos Video If you know of other applicable resources, please add them in a comment below. See you next time!
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC app, Avaz, Teach Me Tuesday
Well, it’s a prAACtical New Year and we are ushering in a few new tweaks in 2014. Among them, a weekly wrap-up. Here’s a look at our prAACtical week. Sunday: 10 Tips for Using a Natural Aided Language Board by Gail Van Tatenhove Monday: Tracking Early Communication Skills – A PrAACtical Resource (free download) Tuesday: It’s PrAACtically a New Year Wednesday: Ringing in the New Year with an AAC App Giveaway Thursday: A(nother) Year of Core Vocabulary Friday: Get Organized! Visual Schedule Apps If you’re looking for our Strategy of the Month post, stay tuned – those will be published on Mondays.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
It’s a New Year- 2014. Most of us use schedules– even when we know and accept the schedule. Many of us use schedules even though we do not have ‘transition issues’. However, ‘seeing’ our schedules often helps decrease anxiety and assure us the day will be ok because even if there are some ‘not so great’ activities, most of what we do is fairly good. Schedules can be created by using materials ranging from no-tech to high-tech. You can teach talking about past, present, and future events with schedules. You can also use schedules to teach core words. Here are 6 great visual schedule apps to help with ‘teching’ up the process. By ‘teching up’ the process, we also can add to independence so ALL learners can create their own schedules. We think it is important to let you know that ALL of the app developers provide information about... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, visual schedules
It hardly seems possible that a year has gone by since we posted a Year of Core Words 2013. We’ve been so gratified by the feedback from professionals and parents who’ve put it to good use and followed month-by-month to focus on a dozen core words and get suggestions for additional practice. We were thrilled when others added symbols, created teaching materials, and adapted it for their own use. Today we’re back with the 2nd Year of Core Words, this time with 16 words/month. If you follow along, you’ll have covered 192 new core words by the end. Once again, we created 12 grids of core vocabulary words – one for each month of the year. Each grid has 16 cells labeled with core words. Plug in the AAC symbols that your client uses (e.g., PCS, SmartySymbols, Unity, Pixons, etc.), print, laminate, and keep them handy. Feel free to adapt... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, Year of Core Words