January 24, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
It takes time and effort to plan for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction. The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, both have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. The School Year... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 23, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might enjoy. Monday – AAC After Floods, Fires, & Other Major Disasters Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Voice Amplifiers Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC & Goal Writing :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Need a few more suggestions? Try these posts from the archives. How We Do It: Incorporating Core Vocabulary Throughout the School Day How We Do It: AAC in the Special Education Classroom – Continuing the Journey PrAACtical Resources: Teachers’ Toolkit For Students With Little Or No Speech PrAACtical Resources: AAC for School Staff AAC and the IEP
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 20, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for information on writing AAC goals? These past posts may be of interest. AAC in School: Classroom Communication Goals Grid – Revised Using Visual Supports for Goal-Setting Conversations Three Ways to Use AAC Goals to Strengthen Implementation PrAACtically Pinteresting with Lauren Enders: Writing AAC Goals and Objectives More PrAACtical AAC Goals That Matter Writing Goals for AAC Learners AAC Goal Writing with Lauren Enders: Laying a Solid Foundation 5 Common Challenges How I Do It: Writing IEP Goals for Students Who Use AAC with Lauren Enders PrAACtical Suggestions: Writing Goals for People Learning AAC Videos Writing AAC Goals On Writing AAC Goals Video of the Week: Ready, Set, Goal Video of the Week: Compliance Is Not the Goal
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 17, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Wildfires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and other disasters can have a devastating impact on anyone but people who use AAC are particularly vulnerable. It never seems like it could happen to us until it does. Here in the US, it seems like hardly a week goes by without news of another destructive event that upends a community. Even with the best emergency preparation, people who use AAC can find themselves without a functioning communication device after these catastrophic events. Fortunately, USSAAC’s AAC Disaster Relief Committee is able to provide assistance to those whose communication systems get lost or damaged in a hurricane, flood, wildfire, or other major disasters. We can’t predict when disaster will strike but we can prepare. Please take a moment to bookmark this post for future use. And if you live in an area affected by a recent disaster, please help us the word out to those in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 13, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
In just a few days, people around the US will be taking time to honor the slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior. If you are looking for ideas to mark the occasion with an AAC flair, take a look at some of the posts below. PrAACtically Martin Luther King, Jr Day PrAACtically Martin Luther King Jr Day: AAC Learning Suggestions It’s PrAACtically Martin Luther King Jr Day Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday: 5 Resources for AAC Learners
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 11, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week we invite you to share your own AAC-related content, product news, or anything else that you’d like others in the AAC community to know about. It may be a recent post you’ve written, a slide deck from your AAC presentation, a handout, video, or meme that you’ve posted online, an AAC product you’ve created, an announcement for an AAC course or conference, or any other prAACtical content you developed and want to share with the AAC community. To post your own link, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and complete the form. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed so it may take a little... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 10, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
In some areas of the country, professionals and school districts are creating their own no-tech AAC systems. These are usually focused on core vocabulary and are often fairly similar to things that are commercially available. There are several reasons that schools or clinical practices might create their own tools, such as having consistency across classrooms so that staff can learn the tool well and focus their efforts on strong implementation practices. Along with the advantages, there are a number of drawbacks to consider in your decision-making. Here are some considerations in determining whether to use locally-created AAC materials. Examine the words that populate the system. Are the words, phrases, and/or sentences on their AAC tool a good fit for the learner in question? Look at the size of the vocabulary it offers. Are there enough words? Review the vocabulary layout to see how words are organized. Does it facilitate language... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 9, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts you might like. Don’t miss the Spanish AAC resources. Monday – Top 10 AAC Videos of the Year Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Dealing with Emotions, AAC Style Thursday – Improving Assessment Practices for Students Who Use AAC: Mobilizing the Power of Social Narratives Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados Con Links – Enero 2022 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you go, take a look at some of these past posts from the AACtual Therapy series. AAC, Literacy, & Squishy Books Making Core Words Fun for Students with Autism AAC Intervention for Beginning Communicators: Presume Competence and Be the Fun Building Language and Emergent Literacy Skills with ‘Do You Wear Diapers?’ Informal Assessment Activity with Jeanne Tuthill
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 6, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Social narratives are an empirically supported intervention that can be helpful in supporting people with AAC needs. They are commonly used to help individuals with autism understand and deal with challenging situations such as fire drills, birthday parties, and trips to the dentist. All types of social narratives can be written in text alone or include pictures and illustrations. Social Stories are a particular kind of social narrative that have a specific set of guidelines for their development and use. The originator of Social Stories, Carol Gray, defines Social Stories this way: “A Social Story accurately describes a context, skill, achievement, or concept according to 10 defining criteria. These criteria guide Story research, development, and implementation to ensure an overall patient and supportive quality, and a format, ‘voice’, content, and learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful, respectful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the Story audience (a child, adolescent,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Before we get too far into the new year, we thought you might like one last look at some of the most popular AAC videos of 2021. AAC Modeling at Home Supporting Core Vocabulary in a Life Skills Classroom Ethical Issues in AAC Relationships and AAC TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom Calendar Time & Weather Report, AAC Style Talking About Feelings AAC Evaluations Teaching Language in the Classroom to Students Who Use AAC Comprehensive Literacy Instruction in AAC Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list? We’d love to hear about it.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking