October 4, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy AAC Awareness Month! Here are some posts that you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – PrAACtically October: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words (Remote or In-person Learning) Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Methods of Accessing AAC Systems Thursday – TELL ME Virtual Classrooms Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados Con Links – Octubre ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, see if one of these past posts piques your interest. PrAACtically SLPs: Hungry for Bilingual AAC Talking Mats: A PrAACtical Tool Using Metaphors to Support Vocabulary Teaching AACtual Therapy: “At first I was afraid, I was petrified…” AACtual Therapy: Running AAC Groups
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
October 1, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Today we kick off AAC Awareness Month 2020 and there’s no better way to do that than to share some resources with our AAC friends. Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim, guest authors of the TELL ME About It series, collaborated to build these virtual classrooms for those who are using the TELL ME program that I wrote with my colleague, ASD and reading specialist Lori Wise. Click the image below to view a video where they explain this wonderful resource. Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRwRD2FlJIk&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=basscAAC You can see what these virtual classrooms look like in the static images below. There are a few different ways to use these resources, which, by design, are not editable. If you just want the static image to use as a virtual background you can use the pictures below. But the magic is only apparent when you download the files and get the interactive version.... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: remote learning, telepractice, TELL ME
September 28, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Do you know any AAC learners like these? Jeremiah has an SGD with thousands of core and fringe words, but he uses less than 100 of them in day-to-day life. Bella used an AAC app with visual scene displays to interact at playtime and during daily routines for the past several months. Her team just added an app with a grid-based vocabulary so that she can begin to create novel sentences and expand her language abilities. Mason was recently evaluated for an AAC device, but it will likely take a few months to get the funding situation straightened out. In the meantime, his team created a manual communication board that mirrors the main screen of the SGD’s language software. Each of them needs lots of practice to become fluent with the core words in their AAC systems. Are you looking for resources to support your use of core words in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: A Year of Core Vocabulary Words
September 27, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have a few posts for you to explore. Monday – Growing AAC Professionals: A Virtual AAC Camp Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: A Year of Core Vocabulary Thursday – AACtual Therapy: AAC & Predictable Chart Writing Friday – School Year of Core Vocabulary Words: AAC Resources for Month 2 (September) by Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, & Beth Lytle ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are some from the archives that may also be of interest. 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 to Ask Reading with AAC at the Beenleigh School
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
September 25, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Though we are wrapping up the month of September, the core words selected for this month are high-frequency words that will live on throughout the year. Our new Year of Core Words School Edition is in development and the team is working hard to get these helpful posts to you prior to the start of each month so that you can plan and prepare your lessons and materials. Please bear with us for the first few posts as we get up to speed. As with the previous post, these will each highlight a selected set of words along with a suggested order in which to teach them. We know that you’ll appreciate the Activity Packets with information sheets on highlighting these words in a variety of activities, and the accompanying data collection forms. A key intervention strategy is also discussed in each of these posts, with September focusing on the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: A Year of Core Vocabulary Words, Education & Schools
September 24, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Predictable chart writing is one of my favorite ways to get kids who are new to writing comfortable with a writing routine. Today, our guest author Ashley Larisey shares detailed information that will help you implement this well and have fun doing it. And she helps us understand how to do this successfully in remote teaching. 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 breaks down the steps of using predictable chart writing, points us to relevant resources, and provides a video overview of the process. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Predictable Chart Writing As many educators look for new and innovative ways to bring comprehensive literacy instruction into their practice, one of the first strategies that comes up in a quick google search is Predictable Chart Writing (PCW). PCW... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Literacy & Literacy Instruction, telepractice, writing & spelling
September 21, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It’s no secret that there are not enough well-trained AAC professionals to meet the demands of children and adults with complex communication needs. Today, we’re pleased to highlight the work of Krista Davidson, a clinical educator who is addressing this chronic shortage by developing creative ways to support pre-professional students. As a clinical associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at The University of Iowa, she created a virtual AAC camp as part of an inter-collegiate collaboration. Let’s take a look. Virtual AAC Camp – A Collaborative Effort in Preservice Training Last year graduate students from The University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa (under the guidance Dr. Evette Edmister) worked in partnership with Easterseals Iowa to integrate an AAC camp into the summer program at Camp Sunnyside in Des Moines, IA. The intention was to continue that camp in the summer of 2020. But... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: preservice training, telepractice
September 20, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you might be interested in. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘All Are Welcome’! Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Embedding Core Vocabulary Instruction into Emergent Literacy Routines Thursday – Looking Back at the AAC Assessment Corner :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have time for a little more reading? Here are some additional posts for you to explore. Beyond Requesting: Thoughts on Teaching Information Transfer How I Do It: Encouraging AAC Implementation (Lauren Enders) PrAACtical Ways to Make Decisions About Thematic Therapy Materials In the Treasure Bag: Using Sharing Time to Focus on Vocabulary AAC in Motion: Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk with Tanna Neufeld
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
September 17, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It’s Throwback Thursday and today we’re turning our attention to assessment. Take a look at these posts from our AAC Assessment Corner series guest authored by Vicki Clarke. Evaluating Skills For the Use of Comprehensive AAC Systems – Core Word Use Ready, SETT, AAC Evaluate! AAC Skills Assessment for Direct Selectors Standardized Tests For AAC Users AAC Assessment for Emergent Communicators The Eyes Have It-Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access Is AAC Feature Matching Still Relevant? Thinking Inside the Box for AAC Evaluations Procedural Resources Evaluating Skills for Use of Comprehensive AAC Dynamic Display SGDs Language Representation Elements – Noun Symbol Use for Functional Communication
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC assessment
September 14, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Welcome to Year 2 of the TELL ME About It series, guest authored by Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson. For the past year, they’ve written monthly articles to discuss how they support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students. 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. In Year 1 of this series, Jeanna and Maggie focused on the 11 books in the TELL ME program. In each of those posts, they shared a lesson plan, activity suggestions, video demonstrations, and much more. You can see their previous posts in the TELL ME About It series below. Max’s Breakfast If You’re Angry and You Know It The Lunch Box Surprise Come Out and Play, Little... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, predictable chart writing, reading, TELL ME