November 1, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Language learning involves talking about events in the past, present, and future. Since Halloween is over, it is a perfect opportunity to help AAC users talk about past events. Here are 5 tips for getting started with ALL learners. Use a weekly or monthly (calendar) schedule to ‘remember’ Halloween or if you are sticking to core words to remember the “great day” or “bad day” depending upon the experience. Use photos of the Halloween festivities to discuss what happened, what everyone did, and you could even go for the best and/or worst part of the day. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Halloween experiences. This can be done with comparing 2 people or 2 groups. For some learners, you can use images to put Halloween things that everyone saw or did while others you will need text only. Then, a discussion of what each student/group did that... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Language Learning, past events
October 31, 2013
by Robin Parker -
We are so pleased to have connected with Deanne Shoyer from Small But Kinda Mighty and even happier that she is our guest blogger today. Deanne is a mom of twin boys who both are on the autism spectrum. Deanne successfully fundraised to buy iPads for her boys and has been active for more than 3 years in social media and in the special needs app community. She has written about many things but often focuses on implementing AAC in a very PrAACtical way. Please feel free to share this very important post as she highlights AAC, what she has learned, and how it may help others. by Deanne Shoyer at Small But Kinda Mighty (original post at Small But Kinda Mighty) In the title of this post I’ve linked autism and AAC for a specific reason. A lot of the points here are equally applicable to people who have a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Resources, Deanne Shoyer, myths
October 30, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We love writing posts about AAC topics, but we also love hearing about the AAC experiences of SLPs, both experienced and new to the field. In honor of AAC Awareness Month, we thought it would be fun to reach out to you and find out what is happening in your part of the world. Today, we’re asking our PrAACtical AAC friends to comment below to tell us about a positive AAC-related experience that you’ve had recently. It could be learning about a new SGD, an experience with a client, a webinar you attended, working with a family or colleague, of anything else related to AAC. We’re calling it ‘What Went Well.’ We’d love it if you took a moment or two to share your WWW news below.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
October 29, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Work with someone who uses AAC but not as consistently as you would like? Here are some thoughts on how to make an impact in that area. 1. Write goals that help you fight this battle. E.g., Janie will use her AAC system to ask for help at least once per activity; Jimmy will use his AAC system to answer 2-3 curriculum-related questions in each class period; Given her AAC system, Jenny will use the correct morphological endings for plurals and past tense at the beginning or ending of each group activity. 2. Be an AAC cheerleader. In most settings, it is the adult who sets the tone for how communication will proceed. If it isn’t important to US, then it will never be important to the AAC learners. So, we try our best to use AAC every time we see the learner. It takes some work to build... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: consistency, intervention, support
October 28, 2013
by Robin Parker -
A Few Great Posts From Around the Web to Illustrate This: His Body Does His Feelings by A Diary of A Mom We Knew She Understood but Now We Know She Minds by Living with Rett Syndrome Yellow- Living with Rett Syndrome Life with Lief: We are Different But Same by Sunshine Bodey Perception Drives Everything – Uncommon Sense Share your stories of perception and competence.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: presume competence
October 25, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, debates about health care funding are ongoing. It’s a bit baffling that healthcare is considered to be a commodity rather than a right, but that’s a story for another venue. What we want to address here is the cost of AAC to insurers. Most people assume that insurance companies don’t cover AAC because it is enormously expensive to do so and would raise the costs of the premiums substantially. Not so, according to Lew Golinker, of AAC Funding Help. He cites the work of a highly-respected actuarial firm, and reported the following: “On September 19, 2006, Milliman, Inc., one of the nation’s most respected health actuary consulting firms reported that the cost of covering SGDs in a typical commercial insurance policy or health benefits plan was at most 2 cents per member per month or 24 cents per member per year.” Let’s say that again: 24... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: funding, insurance, Lew Golinker
October 24, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Cooking is a great activity as the platform for meaningful language experiences for both children and adults. Halloween often involves candy and tasty treats. However, there are also plenty of healthy Halloween foods (e.g., carrot pumpkins, tangerine & celery pumpkins, or apple teeth to name just a few). Then comes Thanksgiving and all the recipes that go along with it (e.g., lots of opportunity for repetition with variety). Everyone can be involved with cooking, although just because you cook doesn’t mean you need a stove. From spooky chex mix to more elaborate cookie and cake decorations, there is a ton of active participation and conversation that can be incorporated into cooking. And the fun and rewards (eating) are built-in. Although there are plenty of Halloween recipes, many recipes can be turned ‘spooky’ with an addition/modification of Halloween shapes or colors. You can cook using core words and/or focusing on the... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: cooking, Halloween
October 23, 2013
by Robin Parker -
A really great explanation of assistive technology by RSLSteeper Assistive Technology . We will definitely will use it in training and education.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assistive technology, communication
October 22, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
This week in Teach Me Tuesday we’re learning more about Proloquo2Go (P2G) by AssistiveWare. Here are the learning resources we’ll be using. Getting Started Webinars (on the right) Overview/Intro to P2G 3 Core Word Vocabulary-How to Customize It and Basic Communication Vocabulary: How to Customize It P2G Options, Part 1 and Part 2 Buttons, Clues, & Resources Making Back Ups and Saving: Save, Transfer & Restore a Backup Using iTunes for Windows Save, Transfer & Restore a Backup Using iTunes for Mac OS X Save, Transfer & Restore a Backup Using Dropbox Save, Transfer & Restore a Backup Using Using WiFi Getting Help within the P2G App Beyond the Basics Advanced Customization VocaPriority: Prioritize Vocabulary by How Frequently It Gets Used For those who Used the Original P2G Upgrading to P2G 2 Moving from the Old Vocabulary to the New Ones Discussion board/forum by AssistiveWare Manuals and documents by AssistiveWare Connect with AssistiveWare... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Teach Me Tuesday
October 21, 2013
by Robin Parker -
More core word prAACtice ideas. Whether you are just getting started or have been working with core word vocabulary for a long time, the teaching strategies you use to TEACH, helps turn regular words into real communication and language. Provide Aided Language Input- ALI in Meaningful Language Experiences. PrAACtice USING core words in many, many opportunities. Authentic, meaningful prAACtice is fun for everyone. This core word prAACtice is for November. There is a lot of food, leaves, changes of weather, thankfulness, sharing, and holiday spirit. Here are some ideas of activities that can go with the core word words, phrases and sentences: Do art project– Make a turkey because there are many opportunities to use body. From asking for the ‘body of the turkey” and asking for “feathers of the body” there can 50-100 opportunities for prAACtice. You can do this with a beginning communicator who can ask for a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking