February 25, 2012
by Robin Parker -
I was in the mall with my teenage daughter yesterday (because that is her favorite place to go) and we saw a group of adults with developmental disabilities. Some of the group members were in wheelchairs and others walked. It appeared that they were on a ‘field trip’ or community outing. My daughter has been ‘working’ with me since she participated as a ‘typical’ peer for various pragmatic groups while she was in preschool. She has been known to regularly (and not always so quietly) identify people who I must know since “they probably go to my clinic”. This would occur even if we were nowhere close to the geographical location of ‘my’ clinic. She has been known to find people who probably need my services so I can help them ‘talk better’. Although my daughter seems to be doing a lot of identifying without any formal training, I have to... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: visual supports
February 24, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We love people who take a chance and put themselves out there to learn and grow. This video of teacher Amy Powell, who had 2 hours of Minspeak instruction before her “friends” caught her on video, gets a double thumbs up from us. Using the Smart Board to Model AAC for the learners is a great way to make learning big and real. Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQmWw3GprW8&feature=related
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, schools
February 23, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” Betty Reese – Little things can make or break a good streak of AAC implementation. Here are some things that we’ve come to appreciate. They’re small in size, expense, or time demands but pay off in a big way. – 1. Wait time: There’s nothing like a 10-second expectant pause and controlled access to help someone learn to respond without more intrusive prompts. – 2. Clear plastic jars with screw-on lids (nothing beats these for limiting access so that kids are tempted to make a request) – 3. Button covers for the iPad, like these from BubCap. Amazing how a tiny piece of plastic can keep an activity or conversation from derailing. – 4. Bragging (authentically) about a colleague. “Ms. Mama, I have to tell you how awesome Polly Para was... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: intervention
February 22, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
No feeling person could read Louise Kinross‘s post, My Child’s Dream: To Have Friends, without being moved. One of the most basic fervent wishes that all parents have is for their sons and daughters to make and keep friends. Disabled or not, parents fear loneliness for their kids, and rightfully so. Loneliness is a sharp and lasting pain. And, in many cases, completely unnecessary. Kinross’s post, brought to my attention by Ellen Seidman of (Love that Max), inspired me to generate this list of things that we SLP’s can and should be doing to support kids and families. is 1. Make friendship skills a priority: Are there friendship goals in the IEP? There could be. If you’re thinking about working on a social skill, take a step back and see if it makes sense to focus more specifically on communication skills in the context of making and keeping friends. Educationally relevant?... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: friendship, partner training, social skills
February 21, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Communication and language involves so much more than requesting. Without much effort, communicators with typical language development and even delayed language development communicate for many reasons. Showing or telling about a shared interest comes easily and is a form of commenting to communicate. Commenting is one of the most social reasons that we communicate. So, it makes perfect sense that children with social communication disorders may not have an easy time with these social aspects of communication and language. We know many children who frequently use long (or short) sentences to say ‘I want the blue truck’, ‘I want the big ball’, or even ‘Can I have the cold drink’. They may even communicate frequently to ask for toys, games, or activities of their choice. All of the requesting is GREAT but not enough to be part of comprehensive conversations and social language interactions. It is not that children with... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: commenting, communication
February 21, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
The content of this post has been updated. Click HERE for the most current version that includes Android apps and a link to our AAC app rubric. Graduate student SLPs are a fairly diverse group, but one thing that is common to almost all of them is that they are on a very limited budget. Although many of the AAC apps are reasonably priced, even that can be a lot for a struggling student. We wanted to put together a list of the free or lite versions of AAC apps for them to explore on their own iDevices. First, a few caveats: 1. Selection of AAC tools is always made after a thorough assessment. This is as true for apps as it is for SGDs. 2. This list isn’t intended in any way to endorse these apps or suggest that the free/lite version is sufficient. Hopefully, it will give future professionals a taste... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, assessment
February 20, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Recent research has strengthened this clinician’s belief that developing inner speech is an important strategy for many people who use AAC and are working to build their literacy skills. But how do we teach someone to develop that inner voice? Here are some ideas. – 1. Begin by using a ‘think aloud’ strategy to make your internal thought processes obvious to the person who uses AAC. Articulating your thoughts as you work through different communication and literacy learning processes gives the learner insight into what you are thinking. Once they are used to that, it is easier to introduce the concept of private/inner speech. – 2. Use explicit instruction. “Say it to yourself.” “Say it in your head.” Using natural gestures, like tapping your temple, can be helpful as well. We’ve found that this allows us to reduce the prompting over time. Fade the verbal prompt and continue the gestural one,... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
February 19, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
This is the first in an occasional series of posts in which we take activities designed for students in general education and tweak them a bit to make them into opportunities for AAC teaching. We’ll be building on great ideas from clinicians, parents, and educators (giving credit where it is due, of course). – The first HijAACked activity is from the Classroom Magic blog by Selina Smith. We chose this one because it gives us a chance to promote one of our favorite online book sources, We Give Books and share a wonderful book that supports Black History Month. We Give Books is a project of the Pearson Foundation and Penguin Books (you can find out more here). The Hallelujah Flight is the story of pilot James Banning and his good friend, mechanic Thomas Allen, flew cross country during the Great Depression. Written by former teacher Phil Bildner, this book... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Books, HijAACked AACtivities, intervention, literacy, resources
February 18, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We just had a conversation (one of many) about teaching someone how to USE an AAC device. A colleague who is learning about AAC brought up the idea that teaching AAC was like teaching someone a different language. Thinking about that made us realize it was also like learning another language for both the communicator and the communication partner. In fact was not ‘like’ learning another language, it really WAS another language. It may be another form of English (for us, Spanish for others, Mandarin for others still) but for our students/clients, learning an AAC system is just like trying to learn a new language without ever going to the country that the language is spoken and very rarely hearing other people speak this new language. People may also have trouble understanding this new language. There are few opportunities for an AAC user to be fully immersed in AAC... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language
February 18, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
One of the first things that many SLPs ponder when doing an AAC assessment is about how language will be stored on an SGD, no-tech communication tool, visual support or AAC app. The issue is this: What symbols are best for this person’s communication aid? This is never an easy question to answer, but the proliferation of symbols used in visual supports, communication aids, SGDs, and AAC apps has made the process even more challenging. – There are several ways in which we go about answering that question, but that’s a post for another day. In this post, we want to share some of the most comprehensive sources for identifying your symbolic options. Here are some sites you may want to bookmark. – 1. A Guide to Selecting Pictures and Symbol Sets for Communication by Sally Millar 2. Comparison chart of AAC symbol sets and systems by Spectronics 3.... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: resources, symbol