July 25, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
In an earlier post, we lamented the under-utilization of a quick and effective strategy: qualitative rating scales. You may not know them by that name, but we all know them. Also called Likert-type scales, we’ve seen these a multitude of times when we were asked to give an opinion. Strongly agree to Strongly Disagree. Excellent to Poor. Always to Never. – There are only a few guidelines to using these with AAC folks. One is to make sure to use appropriate visual supports. Literate AAC users may be very comfortable with text-only options, but for other learners, we need to add images so it makes sense to them. Another suggestion is to stick with an odd number of options: 5 seems to be the norm in clinical practice, but you can certainly adjust to fit the learner’s needs. For some, a 3-point scale would be best. Others may want more... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation ideas, intervention, rating scale, visual supports
July 25, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
I am so very lucky to be able to go to Pittsburgh this weekend for the biennial conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). You can check back here for some comments and highlights on the conference. Also, for those of you who use Twitter (or were looking for an excuse to dive in), you can get updates from a group of ISAAC Twitter Delegates and others throughout the entire conference. Follow #ISAAC2012, if you want a peek into what is going on. –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: #ISAAC2012, Conference, international, ISAAC, professional development, twitter
July 22, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Once in awhile, we come across something that is just too good to keep to ourselves and has to be shared in its entirety. This post is a paraphrase of the Ten Commandments for Voice Output by the Provincial Integration Support Program (PISP) from the Ministry of Education in British Columbia. – You can get the original document here. – Ten Commandments for Voice Output 1. The AAC device is the student’s voice. Messages should be in the first person and reflect the age and gender of the user. 2. The learner needs full access to the device as well as many planned opportunities each day to use it. 3. With training, peers can and should be involved in the programming process. 4. People need to communicate all day long. The device should be available to the communicator at all times. 5. Messages should be meaningful to the... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation ideas, inclusion, SGD, speech output
July 21, 2012
by Robin Parker -
A ‘funny area’ is not a technique or strategy you will see in a behavior or speech-language therapy text-book. But here is how we came to know and love ‘funny time’ & the ‘funny area’ A Little Background Tommy, a 9-year-old boy, seemed to be getting the ‘giggles’ each session. The graduate student clinician was not sure how to ‘control the situation’. Tommy typically worked hard using his Vantage Lite to build long and complex sentences for communication during natural age-appropriate activities (i.e., golf, art, and reading). But then the ‘giggles’ would start… and less and less communication was getting done. Initially, the clinician spent time redirecting Tommy. She would have him sit straight, pay more attention, and re-focus, but in the long run it would be more about what the clinician wanted then about Tommy communicating. We prompted the graduate student to think about how more could be accomplished,... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: behavior strategies, communication, showing off
July 20, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We need to continue to talk about scheduling…..especially as we talk about tools for positive behavioral supports. We know that having monthly, daily, and mini-schedules make us ALL feel more competent and calm. We have written a lot about visual schedules and visual schedule resources because we have seen schedules reduce or eliminate so many behavior challenges. They have helped with transitions, wandering away during activities, activity completion, asking repetitive ‘‘when are we going ________ questions, and with meltdowns during a less preferred activity. We also continue to write about schedules because there are still myths suggesting schedules might hinder independence when exactly the opposite is true. We personally continue to use a combination of no-tech to high-tech visual schedules, but we are loving mobile schedules especially during the summer when we are traveling and moving around from place to place even more frequently than usual. We gathered together... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, behavior management, calendars, daily schedules, mini schedules, schedules, visual schedules
July 18, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
This post was inspired by a budding young professional who loves AAC and is DETERMINED to provide best practice services for the young students she serves. (See?? This is why we love being clinical educators!) We were chatting about a youngster on her caseload who uses an eyegaze SGD and is making some good progress with the technical aspects of it. Our conversation turned to goal setting. – First, a word about how to talk about AAC in the goals and objectives. For people who use SGDs, there are pros and cons to naming the actual device in the goal. Some SLPs favor that, while others prefer a more flexible approach and describe the device features. More about that another time. A more general concern about writing AAC goals is the tendency to focus more on operating equipment than on becoming an effective communicator. Clearly, we advocate the latter: AAC... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC system, communicative competence, goals, intervention, language, linguistic competence, objectives, operational competence, social skills, strategic competence
July 15, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Have you met Mandeville and Wenlock? Think Paralympics and Olympics. These mascots were created by Grant Hunter in collaboration with children. They were made with children in mind to help encourage participation in Paralympic and Olympic sports. We love that Mandeville and Wenlock are encouraging ALL children to aspire to be world-class athletes. Not only are the Olympics a big deal (See our Olympic PrAACtical AAC perspective), but the Paralympics are also a big deal. Paralympic Althletes impress most everyone and provide an opportunity for children with disabilities ALL over the world, to have role models who might look or sound like them. We love it when everyone can be inspired together. The Summer Paralympics will take place in London, England, in 2012, from August 29 through September 9. They will be the biggest Paralympic Games ever featuring 4,200 athletes from 160 countries who will compete in 20 sports. These... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: children with special needs, mascots, Olympics, Paralympians, Paralympics, role models
July 14, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
1. Partner-assisted scanning (PAS) offers great flexibility and spontaneity. Don’t want to take your SGD to the beach? A print-out of the screens and PAS is a great option. Missing key messages for the trip to the doctor’s office? A minute of brainstorming and the use of PAS may just save the day. No way for your client to access her device once she’s in bed? A communication board/book and PAS just might do the trick. – 2. Voice banking: For people are likely to lose their speech due to a degenerative disease, like ALS, the option of saving samples of their speech and having it digitized for future use seems to hold great appeal. We’d love to see more SLPs familiarize themselves with this strategy and the tools to implement it, so that this option is more widely used about individuals whose speech is deteriorating. – 3. Qualitative rating... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, ALS, ASD, intervention, partner assisted scanning, PAS, rating scales, resources, task analysis, teaching strategies, voice banking
July 12, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Buts, buts, buts. Everywhere we turn these days, there are buts. – – Buts about kids “AAC is fine for some kids… …but my student is too ‘low functioning'” …but my client doesn’t have the motor skills” …but the kids I work with aren’t interested” …but I don’t want to give up on speech” …but my children are too young” – –Buts about adults “AAC is great for some situations… …but the parent/teacher won’t use it at home/in the classroom” …but I didn’t learn that when I was in grad school” …but my principal doesn’t support it” …but our practice uses an oral motor approach” – Buts about resources “AAC is a great idea… …but we don’t have that kind of funding” …but I’m too busy to make all that stuff” …but we’re lucky to get a laminator” …but I’m spread too thin as it is” …-. Enough with... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: excuses, rant
July 11, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
The SLP PRAXIS Exam: No big deal or VERY big deal? You’ll find graduate students and clinical fellows in each camp. Yes, there are lots of new grads who did well on it and swear that they hardly studied. We cheer loudly to welcome them to our ranks. There are others, however, who quietly regret not having gone the extra mile to prepare. We hate regrets, so our SLP PRAXIS prep posts are geared for those who want an extra measure of safety when they go in to take their exam. – In Part 1 and Part 2, we talked about getting prepared and setting a study schedule for the SLP PRAXIS. In this post, we wanted to share some resources that have been helpful to our students. — Online Flashcards There are many sites that offer the ability for users to create flashcards, use them to study, and/or print... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: flashcards, graduate students, PRAXIS, resources, SLP students, study tips, test preparation