September 2, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
In an earlier post, we talked about the difficulties that people who use AAC experience when they have to participate in tests or other assessments for educational or therapeutic purposes. (You can see that post here.) One approach to addressing these challenges is for key stakeholders to come together and develop a set of guidelines that teachers, therapists, and others can use when they need to administer an assessment. Today, we’ll look at some of the guiding questions that teams can use to develop these Fair Testing Practices. The idea here is that AAC users, families, professionals, and other team members can come together to discuss a number of specific issues regarding preparation, materials, means of answering questions, etc. Later in the series, we’ll talk about ways to facilitate meaningful participation by individuals who use AAC but are still developing their communication and language skills. For the time being, though,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 30, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
In 2013, when schools and other clinical programs were expanding their emphasis on teaching core vocabulary words, Robin Parker and I developed a set of resources for families and professionals that included symbol cards, sample sentences to model, activity suggestions, and more. All of these were 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). Over the years, the resources were expanded and grew to include a wonderful series of calendars with daily activity suggestions developed by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. In 2020, a new series was launched, School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 29, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have a few AAC posts for you to explore. Monday – PrAACtical Considerations: An Introduction to Fair Testing Practices in AAC Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Introduction to Literacy for Students with Complex Communication Needs Thursday – Growing AAC Professionals: AAC-friendly Classrooms, AAC for Toddlers, & AAC for Healthcare Providers ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more for your browsing pleasure. AAC and Visual Supports for Storms and Hurricanes: 10 Useful Resources How I Do It: Cooking in the Classroom with Carol Goossens’ How I Do It: Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults by Angela Adams On AAC Training: Skill Building for AAC Team Members PrAACtical Resources: AAC 101 Flipbook Handout
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 26, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
As one semester ends and a new one begins, we welcome Vicki Haddix back to these pages to share the work of graduate student SLPs who enroll in her AAC classes. Vicki is an AAC SLP and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis. Today, she shares three student projects on a diverse range of topics. We invite you to explore the work of Vicki’s students, SLPs-to-be Shayla Gaffney, Lori Davis, and Abbie Warr. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When I designed the AAC course, I tried to incorporate elements of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) within the class. One of the elements I’m particularly proud of is allowing the students to choose their own final projects, which are worth 50% of their grade. I give them the following guidelines: Your final project should: Collect information from a variety of sources (i.e.: not only a survey or only research articles); Ground itself... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 23, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Why do students who use AAC have difficulty showing what they know when taking tests and quizzes? More than a decade ago, Lisa Proctor and I wrote about the unfair ways that students who use AAC are tested in the book Practically Speaking: Language, Literacy, and Academic Development for Students with AAC Needs that I co-edited with Gloria Soto. Later, I wrote about that on these pages, too, discussing how we set them up for failure in our current practices (see PrAACtically Unfair: Why People Who Use AAC Sometimes Fail at Tests). As I talk to educators, clinicians, families, and AAC users, it seems that little has changed, at least here in the US. AAC users are still routinely tested in ways that set them up for failure. We don’t test what a 4-year-old knows about animals by having them write about the subject. Why? Because they can’t write well... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 22, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – AAC in Secondary School: 5 Progress Monitoring Tips for Secondary Students Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Communication Basics in Angelman Syndrome Thursday – 3 Resources for an AAC-friendly School Year ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, take a look at some of these posts from the archives. Write to Talk with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite Sound/Music Cause and Effect Apps for Engaging AAC Learners Beyond the Basics: Thoughts On Effective Language Instruction for AAC Learners When Materials Aren’t Effective in AAC Teaching: 5 Things to Try When Students are Reluctant to Use AAC: 5 Things to Try
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 19, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Our local public schools are back in session so we thought it would a good opportunity to highlight some resources for making the year a bit more AAC-friendly. Let’s start with our AAC 101 Flipbook, a handout that gives lots of tips for supporting students who use AAC. You can check that out here. Next, let’s look at some tools for helping the team understand the different ways that a specific AAC learner communicates. These are especially helpful for individuals who are emergent communicators and express themselves with their bodies. Finally, let’s shut down misinformation about AAC and clear out some myths with this handy handout. Have a great school year, everyone!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 16, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for guidance or support regarding middle and high school students who use AAC? Today, we are pleased to welcome back AAC SLP Ashley Larisey for another post in the AAC in Secondary School series. Ashley is an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University. In today’s post, she shares thoughts on progress monitoring for high school students who are learning to use AAC. You can view Ashley’s previous posts in this series here. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 5 Progress Monitoring Tips for Secondary Students Looking for guidance on meaningful progress monitoring for your high school/post-secondary students? Hopefully, these tips and accompanying resources will help guide you towards ensuring that your instruction is supporting your learner in reaching their communicative potential – beyond the formal educational years! Writing Meaningful Goals Ensuring that your progress monitoring... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 15, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are a few posts you might enjoy. Monday – Starting AAC in the Teen Years: 3 Considerations for Families & Practitioners Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC and Heritage Language Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Activities for AAC Learning :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In the mood for a little more? Here are some selections for you to browse. 10 Tips for Starting AAC with the Little Ones How I Do It: A Framework for Success-Getting Started in the Exciting World of Communication and AAC PrAACtical Suggestions: How to Get Started with A New AAC Client How We Do It: AAC Training for Educational Assistants Visual Support for Places Around School
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 12, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for some new activities to add to your AAC therapy or instructional sessions? These past posts may have some ideas for you.. New Word Teaching: A Look Inside Some PrAACtical Therapy Sessions 5 Ways to Use Word Clouds in AAC Therapy Magic Moments with Word Clouds Magic Moments: Painting with Time Teaching the Use of Social Phrases and Comments Let’s Go Outside! 5 PrAACtical Ideas Magic Moments with Disneyland Explorer “Can I Ask You a Question?” Language Experience Surveys 5 PrAACtical Thoughts on Catch-up Conversations Magic Moments with Sentence Builder
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking