October 4, 2013
by Robin Parker -
We love to start planning for holidays early. It helps facilitate conversation before, during, & after exciting activities and events. When we begin using core and fringe vocabulary early, frequently, and authentically the learner has the most opportunity for success. Use Schedules: Use a monthly calendar to have a Halloween countdown, Use mini-schedules to make food recipes, spooky science concoctions, or even to plan the trick or treating routes. Use a small talk app like Fat Cat Spooky Chat to prAACtice what you will SAY (October core words) on Halloween. Use a social narrative to prepare everyone for what to expect on and around Halloween. More Halloween social narratives can be found at Autism Community, One Place for Special Needs, Katherine Sanger You Tube, & Kentucky Autism Training Center Prepare a choice board of Halloween costume options and let the learner decide on the costume. PrAACtice a script to be... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Halloween, Meaningful Language, schedules
October 3, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are so pleased to have reconnected with SLP Alicia Garcia and are even more delighted that she agreed to do a guest post. Alicia is the clinical lead of the AAC Clinic at One Kids Place, a children’s treatment centre in northern Ontario. She has over 20 years of experience in pediatric rehabilitation practice in private and public settings, including clinical practice in AAC clinics and programs in Wisconsin, Florida, and now in Ontario. In this post, Alicia addresses one of our favorite clinical strategies in a very prAACtical way. Implementing Aided Language Stimulation: 8 Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Aided Language seems like a simple concept: Partners should model or demonstrate picture communication when talking to children who are learning to use picture communication, so that they would learn by example. Yet, when it comes to implementation we see frequent mistakes and misinterpretations. The most commons being:... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, Alicia Garcia, How I Do It
October 2, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Another must watch TED Talk. Learn how assistive technology helped Ron McCallum prove his mother wrong. He discusses how technology has progressed to improve every aspect of his reading and writing life. He advocates for full accessibility of written material for everyone in every country.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assistive technology, literacy, reading, writing
October 1, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
AAC Awareness Month is something worth celebrating. From the amazing clients we get to work with, to the professionals who put their hearts into this work, to the families who make real change possible, to the researchers and scholars who give us evidence on which to base our practices, to the wonderfully supportive community of manufacturers and developers, AAC is a wonderful field. It’s time for a prAACtical celebration! Thanks to the generosity of a lot of companies and individuals, we’re hosting our second annual AAC Awareness Month Giveaways with drawings on October 9th and 30th. As you can see, we’ve had prizes donated from many wonderful people and organizations: Ablenet, Inc Abilipad Alexicom BeeVisual/ChoiceWorks Dynavox/Mayer Johnson Handhold Adaptive Hump Software MarbleSoft Mozzaz News-2-You Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company Safe N Sound Mobile Silver Lining Multimedia Smarty Ears Speak For Yourself SpeechPathology.com SpeechTree TapSpeak TherapyBox/TBoxApps TouchChat Verbally How Does It... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 30, 2013
by Robin Parker -
We say goodbye to International Literacy Month. It’s time to move on…. to International AAC Month (exciting things to come 😉 ). But, just in case you missed any of our past posts about literacy, here they are all together. Reasons to Discover & Love MeeGenius 5 Ways to Help People with AAC Needs Develop Inner Speech 5+ Sites for Free AAC Friendly Literacy Resources Making Decisions About Reading Accessibility Options Loving Literacy Resources Making Libraries Inclusive 5 Things We Love for Supporting Literacy Learning by People Who Use AAC 5 Ways to Make Page Fluffers & Spacers 14 Valentines Day Activities:m Love, Literacy, & Learning The Joy of Reading: World Book Day 5 More Resources and Ideas for World Book Day Literacy, AT,, & Students with Significant Disabilities PrAACtically Ready to Read 7 Apps and Activities for ALL Writers Literacy For All: A Video Series by Dr. Caroline Musselwhite... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, literacy, reading, writing
September 27, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Learn with the Experts Anytime and Any Place Ablenet Professional Development– Ablenet provides free live and recorded webinars by experts in various areas of AAC. The topics range from helping add assistive technology (AT) into IEP’s, to Apps & AAC, to literacy, and much much more. Special Education Technology British Columbia Learning Centre– A variety of recorded webinars on a wide range of AAC topics. The RERC on Communication Enhancement– A variety of recorded webinars about a variety of AAC topics. Augmentative and Alternative Communication Webinar- Autism Speaks– This webinar was recorded in 2012 but focuses on AAC & Autism. Working Without Words: AAC & Technology in the Workplace by Florida Center for Inclusive Communities– Provides an overview of AAC and its applicability in the workforce. Strategies for supporting AAC users and people using AAC in the workplace will be highlighted. Florida Center for Inclusive Communities also offers a variety of... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Learning, webinars
September 26, 2013
by Robin Parker -
(updated/original version published on October 20, 2012) Sometimes saying ‘no’ to the demands of the day actually helps us rejuvenate and allows us to be more productive. Saying ‘no to false information helps us to advocate for ourselves. The ‘no’ topic seems to be trending now. There have been quite a few blog posts and comments about the issue (Just Say No, How and When to Give Your Students A Break). We are so glad that this topic is getting more focus. Of course everyone agrees that ALL people have the right to say ‘no’. But it is not always so simple. There are many types of ‘no’. There is the outright ‘no’, the ‘no’ to more work, the ‘no’ for disagreement, the ultra important ‘NO’ to unwanted touching, and many more. And depending upon how you say ‘no’ is the difference between it being accepted or… NOT. The issue... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: protesting
September 25, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Need some help or new ideas for working with people who have challenging behaviors? Here are some resources to explore. 1. The Challenging Behavior Foundation is a UK-based organization with many good resources. You can check the archives of their newsletters here. 2. Wonderful instructional module on Functional Communication Teaching on the Autism Training Modules website. It takes time to work through this, but the information makes it worth the trouble. You may have to register (free) the first time you visit the site. 3.The National Professional Development Center on ASD has great information on Functional Communication Teaching, an approach with a strong evidence base. 4. The Functional Behavior Assessment Worksheet by PaTTAN 5. Our Pinterest board on Positive Behavior Support
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, resources
September 24, 2013
by Robin Parker -
More core word prAACtice ideas. To make core word prAACtice most successful, make sure everyone has access to a core word AAC display and you have some clearly defined communication goals. Then select activities that encourage social interaction, have a shared focus, and are mostly about the process of learning. Build in lots of communication opportunities to use specific target words for both you and the learner. For October, meaningful communication and language activities can include art projects, costume parties with photo’s, gardening/planting, and music/concerts. October has so many great options for fun socially motivating activities that all you have to do is go have fun and model on. OCTOBER WORDS another “another turn” “have another one” “we need another surprise” “We hope he does another song for us” change “change clothes” “please give me change” “I need to change it for the other one” “She will change her mind... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: activity, resource
September 23, 2013
by Robin Parker -
We love organized productive speech therapy sessions. But, we don’t typically use speech rules in our sessions. It’s not that we are inherently against ‘behavior speech rules’ but overall, we don’t use them. Here are some of the reasons why: We use meaningful language activities. We try to use meaningful, fun, and engaging activities so learners want to participate. Even when we think an activity is enjoyable and it is not, it becomes enjoyable and meaningful to “stop” the activity. It is helpful to think about meaningful and fun from the learner’s perspective and not just ours. For example, having a pleasant conversation about awesome pretty pictures would be enjoyable for many students. However, if conversation is difficult, maybe not so much. It’s not that we would not work on conversation, but the activity structure may involve clear beginnings and endings to the conversation, a ‘take home poster’, and/or a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: boundaries, meaninful language experiences, rules, visual supports