June 7, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s graduation season here in the U.S. and there’s no better time to celebrate the graduates and those future professionals who have developed a passion for AAC. In today’s post, Krista Davidson introduces us to her student, Madie Kroehler, who generously shares the work she did for an independent study on AAC and emergent literacy. Enjoy! Growing AAC Professionals: AACessible Literacy: Emergent Literacy Resources for the AAC SLP This month I am excited to bring you a post from one of our first-year graduate students, Madie Kroehler! Madie participated in an Independent Study with me this Spring. After discussing numerous possibilities for topics, we settled on AAC and literacy. We met every other week to consult on her readings and research. What evolved from those initial discussions culminated in something quite impressive. And with that, I’ll let Madie tell you in more detail how the project developed… The final project... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
June 6, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you may have missed in your busy week. If you serve a Spanish-speaking population, don’t miss the videos, articles, and resources that were posted on Thursday. Monday – Memorial Day Thoughts Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Talking About Feelings Thursday – School Year of Core Vocabulary Words: AAC Resources for Month 11 (June) by Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, & Beth Lytle Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados Con Links ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For those of you who want to browse a little bit more, here are a few suggestions. Supporting AAC Learners in Working with Words Teaching AAC and Sight Words AT for Writing Supporting AAC Learners in Emergent Reading: 5 Helpful Resources Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
June 3, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
We’re jumping into June and wrapping up the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words Series by guest authors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, and Beth Lytle. This series focuses on a selected set of words to highlight for the month along with a suggested order in which to teach them. Therapists and teachers will appreciate the Activity Packets, containing suggestions for highlighting these words in a variety of activities. Their Data Collection Forms and tips on using shared reading in our AAC teaching are appropriate for AAC learners of various ages. If you are new to this series, you may want to review the introduction that our series and check out the first 10 months of the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words using the links below. You can find posts for previous months in the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words below. Introduction to the School Year of Core Vocabulary... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 31, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Taking time today to remember and honor all those who have sacrificed so much in service of their countries. Wishing all of you a meaningful day of reflection and remembrance.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 30, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that you might like. Monday – PrAACtically June: AAC Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Diversity in AAC Apps Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Getting the Team on Board :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you head out the door, here are a few posts to explore in honor of Aphasia Awareness Month, which begins this week. Making It Work: 6 AAC Strategies for People with Aphasia Low Tech AAC for Adults with Aphasia: What Does That Mean? A Fresh Look at AAC & Aphasia with Dr. Kristy Weissling 5 Questions about Aphasia & Communication Books Bridging the Gap: Helping People with Aphasia to Compensate for Their Language Difficulties
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 27, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s time for another Throwback Thursday. In today’s post, we’re re-visiting some previously published work on encouraging teams to better support AAC users. Tech Tools for Supporting AAC Team Collaboration AAC Team Leadership Supporting Young AAC Teams: 5 Considerations for Facilitating Growth Teaming with Related Services to Support AAC Users Strategies for Supporting Team Buy-in and Implementation PrAACtical Research: Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members’ Voices On AAC Training: Skill Building for AAC Team Members Helping the General Education Team Support Students Who Use AAC How I Do It with Rachael Langley: PODD in the Classroom – Quick Tips for Teams On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals Five Places for Shared AAC Materials Five AAC and Related Resources to Explore AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #1 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #2 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #3 (downloadable) AAC: More Teaching, Less Testing (downloadable)
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
May 24, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s just about time to flip the calendar to a new page. That means it’s time to prepare to highlight a new set of core words to keep our AAC learners moving forward and expanding their use of AAC throughout the day. We have some learn-at-home ideas that can help you incorporate our June core words into some easy activities and resources to help you have some prAACtical fun with the AAC learners in your life. If you’re helping an AAC learner become more capable in using high-frequency words to express themselves, we hope you join us in highlighting the June words and creating opportunities for our AAC learners to use them throughout the day. Whether you are following along with the 2013 Year of Core (Set 1-12 words/month) or the 2014 A(nother) Year of Core: (Set 2-16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), or just getting started,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
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