February 13, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We love the versatility of flip books and charts. They are a great format option for communication books, particularly the flip books that have a static ‘base’ and a set of strips/mini pages that you can flip through for additional vocabulary. Once you have a template, it’s not too difficult to make a number of them that fit different purposes. Here are some resources to explore. SET-BC has wonderful material on communication supports including a brief video about flip books here. They also have some terrific downloads, including this one by Kathy Ryan. Flip ‘n Talk has been around for a long time, but it continues to be a really useful tool. We typically have the core language as the static portion, but here’s an example of doing it the other way around. There are so many ways to use flip books for language learning. We love this one for... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: communication book, flip book
February 12, 2013
by Robin Parker -
14 Valentine’s Day Activities for Love, Literacy, & Learning Valentine’s Day is a theme that seems to take precedent in February. When we use this theme, we like to focus on it before, during, and after February 14th because then there is a lot of opportunity to talk about it before, during, & after the holiday. This is like conversation which involves so much more than talking about the ‘here & now’. For the Computer: Use Heart Generators http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/ http://acme.com/heartmaker/ http://www.bobarmadillo.com/sluggyv-day/ Use Word Clouds Taxedo Wordle Image Chef Practice Valentine’s Day Spelling Words Research Valentine’s Day & Write Key Fringe Vocabulary Create sentences with core words using multiple hearts Write word poems using heart generators Have students take turns telling you or another student what to write on the hearts Apps Special Valentine Day Apps First Words Valentines– Free- learn and spell key Valentine’s Day vocabulary. Nice errorless learning... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: literacy, Valentine's Day, writing
February 11, 2013
by Robin Parker -
In a previous post, PrAACtical Pictures, we hopefully illustrated that we had an amazing time at the ATIA 2013 Orlando conference. We laughed, learned, and loved meeting so many ‘on-line’ friends. So, of course there is a little more to share… It was great stopping by the Attainment booth and learning about a soon to be released iPad app- Community Success. Community Success has learning tools to teach about community activities (i.e., riding the bus, shopping, movie theater, etc). Learning is made accessible through video modeling, photo-based directions, talking stories, and illustrations of social behaviors. Can’t wait to get this. Everyone at the booth was great but we missed seeing John Sajdak. Also, we got to learn more about My Talk Tools. There is so much to this AAC application. Try it out with My TalkTools Mobile Lite (free), and Workspace (free 30 day trial). We watched some app demos through the My Talk Upgrades. It... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, ATIA
February 7, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are so happy to have Deanna Wagner back with more AACtual Therapy. In her previous post, Deanna talked about her work with AAC groups for adults. Today, she shares a lesson plan and some implementation ideas. As a veteran AAC interventionist, Deanna’s therapy plan has many wonderful features that undoubtedly contribute to the success her students experience. Lesson/therapy Session: Using Social Phrases/Comments Intended audience & type of AAC: All devices/AAC users should have access to social commenting. Our Class: Middle school, self-contained classroom. Group of 3 students, SLP leading activity, paraprofessional, and Teacher of Visually Impaired supporting Goal for Overall Lesson: Use word/icon combinations to express opinions or make social comments Specific Student Goals: Student #1 will combine 2 icons for social interjections – please, thank you, cool, awesome, yum, yuk, ok (ECO2 from PRC) Student #2 will functionally use new phrases to chat or indicate an opinion (Dynavox... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, commenting, Deanna Wagner, lesson plan, middle school, social phrases
February 6, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
In a previous post, we talked about the fun ways to get in some good AAC practice with language experience surveys. Here are some great examples of survey-related materials that we found on one of our favorite communities, Boardmaker Share. Hot Chocolate Survey by Sharon Maack-Connolly What I Did Over the Holidays by Becki Ratcliffe I Can (corresponds with MeVille to Weville but also good for any core language practice) by Alison R Songs About America by Kate Ahern How Do You Like to Travel by Vicki Clarke My Opinion: Pets by Vicki Clarke How Do You Get to School by Tiffany Paul What is Your Favorite Fast Food Restaurant by Tiffany Paul We’d love to hear more prAACtical ideas for using language experience surveys.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language experience survey, question, survey
February 5, 2013
by Robin Parker -
All we can say is Wow! ATIA 2013 Orlando was awesome! Since it is February, we will focus on things we LOVE as it relates to our ATIA experience. Here are just a few thoughts and pictures from our time in the Exhibit Hall. (Please note, this is just a small sample of the many, many things seen and learned. Our list is based on the pictures we took and the time we had in the Exhibit Hall (both limited). A comprehensive list of Exhibitors can be found at the ATIA 2013 Orlando Site under the Exhibit List. So much to see and learn! FRS Custom Solutions.- We loved meeting the FRS Team (especially since they are based in Fort Lauderdale) and learning about the CommLink ProSlate Series. Fat Cat Chat– Love the Fat Cat Chat apps for ‘small talk’ (Thanks Jane Farrall for blogging about Fat Cat Chat apps). Immediately... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
February 4, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are still looking over content and finding more goodies from AAC presentations at the Atlanta ASHA Convention. Meet Core Content & State Standards for Students Using AAC by Deborah Witkowski and Bruce Baker Effective Parent Training Strategies for Teaching Communication Across Various Modes by Courtney Wright and Megan Roberts Semantic-Syntactic Coding & Analysis for a Child Using Aided AAC by Cathy Binger, Eliza Webb, Marika King, and Marysa DeBlassie Evidence-Based Practices for Use of Visual Scene Displays (VSDs) by Libby Rush and Celeste Helling Community-Based AAC iPad Lending Library: Getting It Up & Running by Ellen Holloway and Kelly Crouch
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: 2012 ASHA Convention, Conference, handout, presentation
February 1, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We occasionally get asked to provide empirical supports for some of the AAC tools and strategies used in our clinical work and teaching. Here are five references that we wanted to pass along. Ganz, J.B., Earles-Vollrath, T.L., Heath, A.K., Parker, R.I., Rispoli, M.J., & Duran, J.B. (2012). A meta-analysis of single case research studies on aided augmentative and alternative communication systems with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42,1, 60-74. Systematic review of 24 single subject experimental design (SSED) studies investigated the impact of AAC interventions and concluded that aided AAC interventions had positive effects on communication and behavior skills. Although all picture-based AAC systems were effective, learners did best with SGDs or PECs. Checkley, R., Reidy, L., Chantler, S. Hodge, N., & Holmes, K. (2012). “Black white zebra orange orange”: How children with autism make use of computer-based voice output communication aids in their language... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, references, research
January 31, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We couldn’t be happier that one of our first AACtual Therapists is Tanna Neufeld, a south Floridian on loan to the Pacific Northwest. Tanna was with us as a graduate student many years ago, and went on to build a fantastic reputation in our community for her excellent clinical skills. It was South Florida’s loss when she left last year and moved across the continent. (I know at least a few people scheming of ways to get her back.) Tanna is now working at the Children’s Therapy Center in Seattle. Tanna blogs at SNEAK Outside the Box and My Blind Side. You can read more about her at the end of this post, in which Tanna talks about using bubbles in her AAC therapy sessions. AAC Breakthroughs with Bubbles! When I first started using core vocabulary boards with my kids, I didn’t really know where to start. It was really... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, activities, download, goals
January 30, 2013
by Robin Parker -
January is (was) a fairly crazy and busy month for us. After a late back to school week, the CARD Conference, the Dan Marino Foundation WalkAbout Autism, and ATIA Conference (hope to see you there), we got a bit of a late start on a few things. To stay ahead of ourselves, we want to end January by being ready for February…… For February, we have a calendar for incorporating AAC into everyday activities (it goes with yesterday’s post 28 things to do). Feel free to print out and share and use anyway you want to promote PrAACtical AAC. A PDF version (free) can be found at our Teachers Pay Teachers site. Our new Strategy of the Month (on Saturday) will focus on Communication & Language Beyond Requesting. There are no pre-requisites to learning and being immersed in ALL of the reasons to communicate (communication functions). For some learners, it... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Calendar, Love