March 22, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Greetings, AAC friends. It’s been a week marked by stress and changes for all of us, and you probably didn’t have a chance to do much AAC reading. Here’s what we’ve been up to. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic (Updated 3/21) Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: On Writing AAC Goals Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: Online AAC Support for Families During School Closures Friday – Telepractice in AAC: Calling All Providers Can you stick around for some more? We’re listing a bunch here for you to pick from. How We Do It: Tele-AAC with Nerissa Hall and Hillary Johnson How We Do It: Using Language Boards to Support AAC Use By Nerissa Hall and Hillary Jellison AT Recipes for Success: Shared Reading Sometimes I Feel Sunny Pete the Cat Bark, George Bear Wants More AT Recipes for Success: Sensorimotor Activities Fun... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC activities, AAC goals, coronavirus, Covid-19
March 20, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
We can’t do everything, but we can all do something. Here at PrAACtical AAC, we’re doing what we can to provide information that will help AAC users, families, and professionals survive and thrive as we adjust to a new normal. With increasing restrictions due to the coronavirus, there is an increased need for AAC telepractice services, a form of service delivery that we first wrote about many years ago. If you are an AAC practitioner who has room for additional clients and are willing to allow for the public sharing of your information, we invite you to complete this form. The results will be shared publicly so do not include any personal information or contact information that you do not want to share in this space. Edited – Use this link to download a document with the information provided voluntarily for release on PrAACtical AAC: https://praacticalaac.org/?wpfb_dl=388 . This is for... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: coronavirus, telepractice
March 19, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
The AAC field is peppered with amazingly dedicated professionals who come up with creative solutions to the day’s latest challenges. In this guest post, SLP Laura Boates, a graduate of McGill University, shares some web-based materials that were created when her school system, Edmonton Catholic School District in Alberta Canada, announced school closures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Laura is incredibly passionate about helping every student find their voice through AAC. She is currently part of a multidisciplinary AAC team for assessment, trial, implementation, and funding of communication devices as well as supporting teachers and families using AAC. On Sunday, March 15th, the government of Alberta Canada announced the cancellation of all classes from Kindergarten to Grade 12, as well as the closure of all preschool and licensed childcare centres. However, it’s business as usual for staff, so teachers and therapists are working on creatively delivering curriculum and supports.... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: coronavirus, home, home practice, school
March 16, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
No matter where you live, chances are good that the coronavirus has been on your mind. In today’s post, we share an interactive graphic with many free downloadable resources that can be used to support the AAC learners in your life. You can access visual schedules for handwashing, social narratives, videos, educational materials, and more by clicking the links embedded in the graphic below. Use the slider on the right to navigate up and down, or click the image to go to the full-sized version. This is an evolving resource that will continue to be updated. If you know of things that we should add, please tell us in the comments below. Stay safe and healthy, AAC friends.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: coronavirus, Covid-19, pandemic
March 15, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts that may be of interest. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘No, David!’ Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Art Therapy and AAC Thursday – 5 Things to Avoid in Core Vocabulary Teaching :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In the mood for some more AAC reading? Here are a few suggestions. SGDs for People with ASD “What Should I Program on the SGD?” Feature Match Chart 5 Features to Look for in SGDs and AAC Apps Making a Back-up for High-tech AAC
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
March 12, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
There’s no doubt that core vocabulary plays an important role for the majority of people with AAC needs. When using and teaching them, however, there are some common pitfalls. Here are some thoughts on avoiding them. Don’t equate high-frequency words with ‘first words.’ There is some overlap in core vocabulary and an initial lexicon but they are different things. Both are important. Don’t assume that just because someone has a significant intellectual disability that core vocabulary is irrelevant or too difficult. Many, many people with complex communication needs who have significant cognitive impairments have been successful in learning to use these words. Don’t limit the AAC learner to only core words. If we exclude words that are of great interest or highly motivating, we take the fun out of communication. Don’t get stuck with just the root word. Instead, use various forms of the word (e.g., go, goes, going; big,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary
March 9, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim are back with another guest post in the series, TELL ME About It. These two AAC SLPs work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. In today’s post, they cover ways to promote AAC use while focusing on the book ‘No, David!’ In this series, they discuss how they support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students. Maggie and Jeanna are both AT/AAC facilitators who provide evaluations, direct therapy, and consultations, and train school teams on AAC implementation. Enjoy their prAACtical suggestions and don’t miss their Lesson Plan, video demonstrations, and other resources at the end of the post. TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘No, David!’ TELL ME About Reading: The seventh book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “No,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: TELL ME
March 5, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It’s Throwback Thursday and today we’ve reached into the archives to revisit past posts on research in the field of AAC. Enjoy! PrAACtical Research with Kathy Howery Profiles of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities AAC Intervention for Children with ASD Aided Language Input for People with Developmental Disabilities Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members’ Voices Effects of Parent Instruction on SGD Use Recasts in AAC Mediated Interaction Research Support for Aided Language Input AAC & Challenging Behavior Research Tuesday: Photos Versus PCS – Babies Weigh In Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities Comparing Picture Exchange and SGDs Research Reviews Supporting the Use of AAC Supporting Children with Severe and Profound Multiple Disabilities Sensory Intervention for Individuals with ASD: What Does the Research Say?
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: research
March 2, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Are you interested in being more systematic in looking at the language that AAC users produce? Today, we feature a user-friendly resource to help you get started. The Quick AAC Developmental Profile (the QUAD Profile), developed by veteran AAC SLP Russell Cross over a decade ago, is a set of four checklists that help us look at various aspects of language. Vocabulary Checklist (Q-Voc) Morphology Checklist (Q-Morph) Sentence Types Checklist (Q-Syn) Language Functions Checklist (Q-Funct) These checklists make it easy to track different aspects of language and flag those areas that need additional assessment. The QUAD has had a longstanding presence in our AAC toolkit and the clinicians to whom we’ve recommended it value the checklists for their simplicity and ease of use. You can view the QUAD tool and download a copy here. Many thanks to Russell Cross (co-founder of The Speech Dudes) for creating and sharing this helpful... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language sample analysis
March 1, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – PrAACtically March: More AAC Resources for a Year of Core Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Communication-The Sky’s the Limit! Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: Tar Heel Shared Reader :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have the time, here are a few more posts to check out. PrAACtical Teaching in the ASD Classroom: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary PrAACtical Resources: AAC Assessment Modules A Tool for Identifying Features for AT Selection Supporting People with Significant Communication Challenges in Medical Encounters AAC Apps and Devices: Thoughts on Conducting AAC Trials
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking