May 23, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some AAC posts that might be of interest. Monday – AAC in Secondary School: Party Planning activity Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Take Time to Listen :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you go, we’ve got a few more topics that may be of interest. Building Sentence Length Through Conversational Routines and Games Be More with Core Helping Learners Build Self-regulation Skills Helping Students with Autism Prepare for Non-routine Events It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 17, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome back AAC SLP Ashley Larisey to these pages 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. Additionally, Ashley presents on AAC topics at professional conferences. In today’s post, she shares thoughts on using party planning as an activity for teaching language and AAC skills. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Party Planning If you work in the schools, the end of the school year is right around the corner! The month of May is generally full of celebrations to culminate a year’s worth of hard work for staff and students alike. For high school students, this can also include celebrations surrounding graduation. Parties are often planned by educational staff, but why not bring students into the process? Party planning is full of... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 16, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! It’s certainly been an AAC-filled week, first with the ASHA Expanding AAC Conference which wraps up tomorrow (yay for record attendance!), and then with yesterday’s Communication Always Matters All Ways (CAMA) Conference. If you had a busy week, too, here are a few posts that you may have missed. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘I Like Myself!’ Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Tech Tools for Supporting AAC Team Collaboration Thursday – AAC en Español: 3 Introductory Videos for Parents :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have time for a little more reading? Maybe one of these suggestions will interest you. Let’s Go Outside! 5 PrAACtical Ideas Structured Play Groups Using Visual Scene Displays to Build Language and Literacy Aided Language Input During Play From Solitary Play to Interaction: 5 Things to Try With Kids Who Love Their iPad Games
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 13, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
The University of Miami – Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities recently hosted a number of AAC webinars in Spanish. Today, we’re sharing three of those by AAC SLP Alicia Garcia. ¿Qué es la Comunicación Aumentativa y Alternativa? ¿Ayudará a mi hijo?] Aplicaciones de CAA en español… ¿Gratis? ¿Paga? ¿Suscripción?… ¿Qué necesito saber? Descargué la aplicación… ¿Y ahora qué? Introduciendo CAA a mi niño/a Please share with anyone who might benefit from these recorded webinars.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 10, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s time for another set of wonderful suggestions for robust implementation of core vocabulary support using the TELL ME program. Two amazing AAC SLPs, Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim, are the guest authors of TELL ME About It series and they’re back with prAACtical ideas for classroom activities, virtual learning tips, supporting AAC learning at home, and more. Also, don’t miss their bonus resources or their video read-alouds of this month’s book with aided language input using three different AAC apps. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. If you are new to the series, you can check out their previous posts in the TELL ME About It series below. YEAR 1 TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits Brown... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 9, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends, and a very Happy Mother’s Day! We have some posts that may be of interest. Monday – PrAACtically Mother’s Day: AAC-friendly Ideas for Celebrating Our Mothers Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Deep Dive into the Hardware for iPad Switch Accessibility Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Reading with AAC Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados Con Links Mayo 2021 Have time for a little more? Here are a couple of suggestions. AAC Funding Help Building Your AAC SLP Toolkit: Obtaining Free Apps for AAC Evaluations Check Your Knowledge of AT History AACtual Therapy: Making Core Words Fun for Students with Autism AAC Goes to Summer Camp
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 6, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Language and literacy learning go hand-in-hand, so it is no surprise that reading plays an important role in our AAC services. Today, we revisit a number of past posts on this topic. As They Grow: Books for Beginning Readers of Any Age Making Shared Book Reading Awesome for AAC Users Who Don’t Like Books Alphabet Books & AAC Implementation AAC, Literacy, & Squishy Books Books Featuring Children & Youth with Disabilities Asking Good Questions During Interactive Book Reading with AAC Learners AAC & Book Creator Loving Literacy-Let’s Read and Write Storybooks Growing AAC Professionals: AAC-friendly Books 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners Adapting Books with Visual Scenes AAC-friendly Accessible Books Make It PrAACtical: Display Stand for Visual Supports or Books 5 Books Featuring Children Who Use AAC Reading with AAC Across the Stages of Language Development Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 3, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day soon. If you’re looking for resources that you can incorporate into your AAC work, we have some ideas for you. These are great for highlight core vocabulary, such as these: Pronouns: I, you, she, we, her, our Verbs: can, do, give, help, love, make, read, see, write Adjectives: good, nice, pretty, smart, strong Conjunctions: and, because, but, with Time Words: later, now, today, tomorrow Questions: what, who, where ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS Read about Mothers and Mother’s Day with some of these books. From Boardmaker From Tarheel Reader (SDJ) From Tarheel Reader (Nicolaus) Cards and letters are always appreciated and a great way to practice language and literacy skills. Here are a few to check out. From AU-SOME Little Learners From Blooming Kiddos From Education to the Core From Twinkl Printable Resources From Mollie Pouska Add a poem like this one... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 2, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – School Year of Core Vocabulary Words: AAC Resources for Month 10 (May) by Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, & Beth Lytle Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Data Privacy and Security for AAC Thursday – PrAACtically May: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Have time for a little more? Here are a couple of suggestions. AAC Funding Help Building Your AAC SLP Toolkit: Obtaining Free Apps for AAC Evaluations Check Your Knowledge of AT History AACtual Therapy: Making Core Words Fun for Students with Autism
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
April 29, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to all who’ve reached out with questions, comments, and words of appreciation for the Year of Core Vocabulary series. In today’s post, we share some ideas for integrating AAC into your daily life. Here are some helpful resources for those who are using the words in Set 1 ( Year of Core Words) or Set 2 (Another Year of Core Words). If you are contemplating this approach, feel free to jump in at any time. The best time to start (or re-start) is right now. Don’t worry about retracing steps, or not ‘doing it right.’ The best way to get better at core vocabulary instruction is just to keep at it. It takes time, practice, and a willingness to keep at it. Our words for this month are as follows. Set 1: all, down, good, little, my, question, sad, she, turn, up, who, why Set 2: bathroom, car, child, confused,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking