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
July 10, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back again with an updated list of free and lite versions of AAC apps that includes many additions for the Android platform. As in the past, we’re including some additional resources and excerpts from previous posts related to AAC app selection and the larger context of AAC assessment. We’ve appreciated the feedback on first draft of RELAAACs, our attempt to quantify some of what we look for when we try to compare AAC apps based on their language and communication features, and continue to welcome your suggestions. We do have plans to revise and update this once we get through the summer semester. (The trimester system is a killer!) —————————————————————————————————– – Thanks to all who’ve given us great feedback and suggestions on our list of free and lite AAC apps. If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Android, Apps, assessment, checklist, feature match, free, iOS, resources, rubric, trial period
July 9, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Summer is not the season we typically connect with routine, predictability, and structure. Nonetheless, if strategy really works to make someone’s life better, we try to use it whenever possible. Visual schedules work. They REALLY work. So whether you’re using them this summer or just preparing for the fall, we hope you enjoy this round-up of our past posts on Visual Schedules. – Riddle Me This (clinical rationale) Tech it Up’- 5 Visual Schedule Apps (tools) Visual Strategies 411 (implementation) PrAACtical Mini Schedules (implementation) Ideas for Teaching the Use of Visual Schedules (implementation) Object Schedules (video) Strategy of the Month: Types of Visual Schedules (implementation) Visual Schedules in Action (video) Building Complex Schedules (video) Schedule Changes (Video) AAC at Home: Visual Schedules and Supports Schedules and Choices (implementation) Visual Schedules & Inclusion (video) A Myth About Visual Schedule Lives On (implementation) Visual Schedule Wrap-Up (implementation + resource list) –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, developmental disability, implementation ideas, resources, round up, visual schedule
July 8, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We wanted to sincerely thank everyone for making our first ever giveaway a true PrAACtical AAC celebration. It was so much fun (Thanks Speech Tree, Tech in Special Education, and Rafflecopter). We hope to be doing more very soon. We feel like we got to know so many of you and are very appreciative for your participation and interaction. Congratulations to Jennifer, who is our winner! We know that our giveaway was about AAC and since everyone could not win, we searched for other opportunities that would give you another chance to win or get funding for an AAC app. The iMums The iMums website has a Speech Tree App Giveaway until July 11th. iTaalk: App Facilitator Program iTaalk has a program that will grant apps to applicants with a minimum cost of $25. There is an application process and not all requests can be accommodated but they try very... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, ASD, GiveAways, grants
July 7, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
I have a real love-hate relationship with LiveBinders. The impatient part of me struggles with its quirky interface, but I keep coming back because of the wealth of resources and helpful site administrators. Here are some of the AAC-related binders we use most often. – General AAC Resources by Janice Reese AAC & Music by Deanna Wagner Social Scripts for People who use AAC by Caroline Musselwhite Our binder on Building Communication Opportunities for People who use AAC Our binder on Choice Boards –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: LiveBinders, resources
July 6, 2012
by Robin Parker -
It’s not too early to begin. It seems that everyone is talking about the London 2012 Olympics. The Olympic conversation is an interesting teaching and learning platform for almost any communication and language goals. It is fun, educational, and most importantly, most smaller and larger ‘communities’ will have Olympic images, videos, television shows, and conversation. There will soon be Olympic immersion. You can TALK and TEACH before the Olympics start, while they are happening, and even after they are over. It is easy to include ALL learners at ALL levels with these free resources that do the time-consuming preparation work for you. Just use your language facilitation strategies and have fun! News 2 You London 2012 Olympics Widget Free Pack- Olympics 2012 Primary Treasure Chest- Olympic Printable Free Resources **Bonus- we often also use these resources for home programming because our clinic is closed... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: augmentative and alternative communication, Conversation, free, Olympics, resources, talking, understanding