February 3, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Stop it. No, thank you. Don’t do that. I don’t want ___. Not now. In order to be able to express what they are really thinking, AAC learners need the vocabulary and skills to be able to tell us when they don’t like something or when they do not want to participate. Here are some thoughts about facilitating their growth in this area. Review the vocabulary and messages that are available to the learner. Consider single words (e.g., no, not, stop) and contractions (e.g., don’t, can’t, won’t, shouldn’t), as well as prestored messages that will make it faster and easier to express themselves under stressful conditions when the need for protesting is most important (e.g., I don’t want to. I want you to stop. Don’t make me to that.). Model negation in various contexts. Narrate your own experiences throughout the day (e.g., I don’t want to eat that. Stop touching... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC intervention, protesting, rejecting
February 2, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Good morning, AAC friends! It was a busy week of AAC at ATIA 2020. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtically February: More AAC Resources for a Year of Core Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Helping Others Model AAC Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC with Beginning Communicators :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more posts to sample before you go. PrAACtical Questions with Vicki Clarke: What’s the Role of Core Vocabulary? AAC Goes to High School: Community-based Instruction Communication Boards: Colorful Considerations Language Development Across the School Day
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language development, school
January 30, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Do you work with people who are just starting to get the hang of communicating with symbols and using SGDs? Today. we’re revisiting some posts that may have some helpful information on ways to support beginning users of AAC. Recommended Practices for Beginning Communicators Using Symbols with Beginning Communicators Getting Started with AAC Helping Beginning Communicators Expand Their Sentences A PrAACtical Literacy Activity for Beginning Communicators
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beginning communicator
January 27, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It’s just about time to turn the page on the calendar and that means we’re looking ahead to ways we can highlight more of the core vocabulary words in our clients’ AAC devices and communication aids. One approach to boosting practice opportunities is to select a dozen or so core words to focus on each month. Throughout the month, we can then pay special attention to that small group of words by highlighting them with focused language stimulation, aided language input, and specific activities designed to teach or practice those words. In previous years, we shared lists of some core words to help you do just that and every month we share some ideas for prioritizing a small set of words. You can use these materials to remind yourself which words to highlight this month, with using aided language input and focused language stimulation. What else? Here are some ideas... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Year of Core Vocabulary Words
January 26, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘What Do You Like?’ Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Growing with Language & AAC Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Books & Reading, AAC Style :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Need a few more suggestions? Try these posts from the archives. How We Do It: Incorporating Core Vocabulary Throughout the School Day How We Do It: AAC in the Special Education Classroom – Continuing the Journey PrAACtical Resources: Teachers’ Toolkit For Students With Little Or No Speech PrAACtical Resources: AAC for School Staff AAC and the IEP
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: education, language
January 23, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Interested in learning more about supporting reading by individuals with AAC needs? Looking for resources that you can plug into your therapy session, classroom activities, or routines at home? Here are some past posts that may be of interest. Making Shared Book Reading Awesome for AAC Users Who Don’t Like Books Alphabet Books & AAC Implementation AAC, Literacy, & Squishy Books Loving Literacy-Let’s Read and Write Storybooks 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 to Ask Reading with AAC at the Beenleigh School As They Grow: Books for Beginning Readers of Any Age Do you have a favorite post about AAC and reading?... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 21, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Tuesday, AAC friends! Once a week, we invite you to share your own AAC-related content, product news, or anything else that you’d like others in the AAC community to know about. It may be a recent post you’ve written, a slide deck from your AAC presentation, a handout, video, or meme that you’ve posted online, an AAC product you’ve created, an announcement for an AAC camp or conference, or any other prAACtical content you developed and want to share with the AAC community. To post your own link, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post and complete the form. Enter the URL and the name/title in the boxes provided below. If you are on a mobile device, click over to the full website version to do this. The AAC Link Up is moderated to keep us from being spammed so it may take a little... [Read More...]
Filed under: AAC Link Up, PrAACtical Thinking
January 20, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Welcome back to another installment of TELL ME About It, guest authored by Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson. 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 this series, they discuss how they support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students. Today, they walk us through the ways that they facilitate AAC use while focusing on the book ‘What Do You Like?’ Don’t miss their Lesson Plan, video demonstrations, and other resources at the end of the post. TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘What Do You Like?’ TELL ME About Reading: The fifth book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “What Do You Like?”. ... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, Jeanna Antrip, Maggie Judson, reading, TELL ME, writing
January 19, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – PrAACtically Martin Luther King Jr Day: AAC Learning Suggestions Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Exploring the Complexity of CVI and CCN Thursday – AAC AACtivity Round-up ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you go, here are a couple of other suggestions for posts to explore. Transitioning to the Workplace: Resources for AAC Learners with Significant Disabilities Working with Multiple Symbol Sets Faces of AAC: Making It Work in A Busy Family Supporting AAC Learners in Working with Words Vocabulary Instruction: When Definitions Don’t Work
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: symbols, vocabulary, work
January 16, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for some AACtivities to build AAC learning? We might have a few suggestions. Concept Sorts A PrAACtical Literacy Activity for Beginning Communicators New Word Teaching: A Look Inside Some PrAACtical Therapy Sessions 5 Ways to Use Word Clouds in AAC Therapy Teaching the Use of Social Phrases and Comments Let’s Go Outside! 5 PrAACtical Ideas “Can I Ask You a Question?” Language Experience Surveys 5 PrAACtical Thoughts on Catch-up Conversations Magic Moments Magic Moments with Tellagami Magic Moments with a Crafty Flashlight Magic Moments with Disneyland Explorer Magic Moments: Painting with Time Magic Moments with Sentence Builder Magic Moments with Word Clouds Teaming Up to Build Communication with a Treat Cart: Part 1, Part 2 AACtual Therapy: Use Your Best Spud to Teach Vocabulary With Tanna Neufeld AAC Intervention: 5 Activities with PrAACtical Potential Vocabulary Activities: 5 Sites for Learning with Avatars PrAACtical Teaching in the Autism Classroom: Instructional... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC activities, activity