June 13, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
There’s so much to love about BrainPOP. Geared for students in 4th-12th grades. Solid curricular content. Engaging animation and really fun educational games. Aligned with Common Core. Searchable by learning standard, subject, or grade level. Built-in assessment. Evidence-based. Web-based and app versions. Closed captioned videos. English and Spanish editions. Additional resources for educators. A simplified version for younger learners. And lots of it for free! – I’ve just scratched the surface of this wonderful site, which has been around since 1999, and is growing in depth and breadth. It’s perfect for some of the older students with whom we work and has a lot of potential for AAC learning. – Magic Moments: Ideas for AAC Intervention with BrainPOP 1. Navigation: Even some of our older students are still learning to find their way around complex AAC systems. The engaging content in the BrainPop videos create a fun context for activities... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: intervention, language, Magic Moments
June 8, 2012
by Robin Parker -
A myth about visual schedules continues to rear its ugly head in a prAACtical situation. Another family was instructed to discontinue a visual schedule because “the schedule will become a crutch, the schedule will result in dependence, and the schedule can not be used forever or all over town”. I need to start with an apology for not following up after my earlier post when I first realized that the visual schedule myth lived on. Maybe my punishment was hearing the same myth repeated (though it doesn’t seem fair that a student was impacted in the process). But maybe it was a teaching opportunity for me. It certainly made me respond quickly. So now for the down and dirty summary of my conversation with the other ‘professional’ . Having the conversation was my attempt at helping my student receive the visual language supports that she needed. I have to admit, it... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: myth, visual schedules
June 7, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
June is National Aphasia Awareness Month here in the US and there is no better time to share some wonderful resources on using AAC with people who have aphasia. – – Things to Do In Support of Aphasia Awareness Read this article on AAC and aphasia by Dr. Joanne Lasker and Dr. Kathryn Garrett Download some AAC Assessment Materials, also by Drs. Lasker and Garrett View a recorded webcast on a visual scene AAC project for people with aphasia from the University of Nebraska and free templates for visual scenes Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is a less common form of the disorder and leads to a gradual reduction in language abilities. You can learn more about it here. View a recorded webcast on PPA by Dr. Melanie Fried Oken. Check out these free apps designed specifically for people with aphasia. Download Small Talk AAC apps (free) for people with... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aphasia
June 5, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We have to commend and thank a classroom teacher who made it her priority to learn and share information about visual supports and communication. She developed a great wiki with many awesome visual support downloads. She worked with a mentor through the Florida Partnership for Effective Programs for Students with Autism (PEPSA). The mission of this great program is to enhance the education for students with autism spectrum disorders. With projects like this, the education of everyone is enhanced. The visual supports are for PrAACtical activities and learning. Find your favorite and then apply language facilitation strategies when teaching communication with the symbols. Check this out at: http://pkautismvisuals.wikispaces.com/Welcome Academic Supports Basic Communication Daily Routines Fun and Games
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: PEPSA, visual supports
June 1, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We have always started our collaborative projects with a retreat (usually a day at the beach or park). The retreat usually ends with a project and a plan to meet again. Following the retreat that inspired PrAACtical AAC, we were spending hours upon hours on the computer searching We were using pen and paper to write down urls to sites we wanted to share. We couldn’t believe the great information that was available. So when Carole told me to sit down and said “you have to look at what I found, it’s called LiveBinders“. I can still remember the exact moment. It was like on T.V….. the sun started shining through the window of my living room and music started playing. We couldn’t believe there was a site that was easy to use, would organize all the work we had done, let us look at and use other binders,... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: curation, digital curation, LiveBinders
June 1, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Summer seems to have started in South Florida. It is hot, really hot. When it is really hot, swimming and water play seem to be a natural fit. We first promote the idea of water safety and make appropriate referrals. But, we LOVE to promote communication in and around the water. It used to be simple… no AAC devices too close to the water. We had some really cool no tech communication supports that worked in the water. We still use them. Has anyone made a communication kick board? If not, we still highly recommend creating them. Stock up on clear contact paper. Josh Harris, AAC Kickboard Style, (Photo taken from Tangible Symbol Systems Primer (free) 20-page document including basic information about tangible symbols, how to teach individuals to use tangible symbols to communicate and tips from parents and professionals http://www.designtolearn.com/uploaded/pdf/Tangible-Symbols-Primer-07-09x.pdf ) But now there are some great water protection iPad and... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: iOS cases, water
May 31, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Magic Moments is an occasional series that discusses prAACtical ways of using favorite toys, games, apps, and selected websites for language and literacy learning. Our last Magic Moments post featured Toca Store, an app for children, so this time we raised our sights to address an older demographic. There are fewer age-appropriate, interesting materials designed especially for the AAC and learning needs of this age group so we are always on the hunt for creative ideas. Since we’re sharing digital curation tools as part of our May Strategy of the Month, we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about ways to use Qwiki with clients who use AAC. and websites for communication learning. – Qwiki is an aggregation tool that combines video and web interactivity into a brief multimedia presentation. In their reference site, Qwiki allows you to enter a search term and get an interesting overview of that topic with images,... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: digital curation, implementation ideas, intervention, Magic Moments
May 31, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
The Fives 1. 5 Sites for Professionals who are Supporting Military Families with Special Needs Children 2. 5 Charitable Programs that Support Funding for Communication through Mobile Devices 3. 5 Sites for Tools & Tips on Self-Calming & Behavior Regulation 4. Five (More) Resources for Supporting Friendships in Individuals Who Use AAC PrAACtical Thinking Updated: 59 Free and Lite AAC Apps Magic Moments with Qwiki: PrAACtical Learning for Older Students and Adults PrAACtical Teaching PrAACtical Alert: How Your Junk Drawer Can Help People Who Use AAC Magic Moments with Toca Store Random App of Kindness Sticky Situation AAC ASD App From the Ivory Tower PrAACtical Resources: Evidence-Based Practice Maps PrAACtical Suggestions: 10 Ways to Help Families Make Informed Decisions about AAC PrAACtical Suggestions: How to Get Started with A New AAC Client, Part 1 International Cri du Chat Awareness Week Saying ‘I Love You’ on Mother’s Day iTaalk for Better Hearing and Speech Month... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
May 30, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
When I first heard about curation being the next big thing on the internet, I had a hard time seeing how I would have time to get involved. Less than a year later, I can’t conceive of being on the internet without my curation tools. Every day, something comes up that I want to store on a curation site. And it’s almost every day that I send someone to those places for a specific tool, video, article, etc. – In addition to Pinterest, which we blogged about earlier, we are frequent users of Scoop.It and LiveBinders. Each one has its unique properties and so, they are each useful for different things. – Scoop.It is a pictorial magazine where you can collect and share websites related to topics of interest. Unlike Pinterest, with Scoop.It, you can add things that do not have a sizable image. Anyone can view Scoop.Its, but if... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: curation, resources
May 27, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
— Being in the military? That’s some tough stuff. Having a child with AAC needs? Lots of challenges there, as we all know. – Both? Hard to imagine — As professionals, few of us know much about the unique pressures and demands on military families of children with special needs. In this post, we highlight some resources that SLPs, educators, and others can use to educate ourselves and provide better supports to these families. – 1. U.S. Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS) Special Education Information and information on the The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children 2. Military Homefront pages on Special Education and Assistive Technology with link to TRICARE Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) 3. Military Child Education Coalition Special Education Leadership Institute (SELI) 4. STOMP: Specialized Training for Military Parents, a project dedicated to training and support of families who have a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: families, military