January 13, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, the third Monday of January is designated as Martin Luther King Jr Day (MLK Day), where we honor the contributions of this slain civil rights leader. Schools across the country are reading about his life and legacy, and engaging in activities to honor his achievements. If you’re supporting young AAC learners, this provides a wonderful opportunity to build language skills. In today’s post, we share some ideas for books on this topic and some of the core words that can be highlighted while reading them and some additional vocabulary words that you may wish to incorporate. Core Words Pronouns: I, he, it Verbs: do, help, go, love, make, stop, talk, tell, walk, work Descriptors: all, bad, big, black, different, good, right, same, some, white Nouns: day, man, father/dad, family, friend, school Other: no/not, now Other Vocabulary Words: celebrate, dream, fair, honor, justice, protest Suggested Books A... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Books, holiday, Martin Luther King Jr
January 12, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – January Core Vocabulary Activities Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Using No Tech and Low Tech AAC Thursday – 5 AAC Facebook Groups for Families of Beginning Communicators ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you go, take a look at some of these past posts from the AACtual Therapy series. AAC, Literacy, & Squishy Books Making Core Words Fun for Students with Autism AAC Intervention for Beginning Communicators: Presume Competence and Be the Fun Building Language and Emergent Literacy Skills with ‘Do You Wear Diapers?’ Informal Assessment Activity with Jeanne Tuthill
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: summary post
January 9, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Empowering families to become part of a larger AAC community on social media venues is a powerful way to support them. Five years ago, when we published our first list of suggested AAC-focused Facebook groups, it was a game-changer for many of our families. Following the evaluation, they could visit those spaces to gain more insight into the practicalities of using AAC on a daily basis, and connect with a community of families and professionals who were heavily invested in the communicative growth of individuals with significant communication challenges. Many of them returned to those spaces over and over again first to seek support, and later to offer it. Some even went on to create their own groups and made arrangements to meet some of their AAC Facebook ‘friends’ face-to-face. Much has changed since we made those original recommendations and it is time to refresh that list. Of course, we’d... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Facebook
January 6, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to Rachael Langley, who tirelessly creates these wonderful resources, we have a new calendar of suggested activities to practice January Year of Core Vocabulary Words. Hang it on the fridge, tack it to the bulletin board, send it home in a backpack…let’s talk! Click here or on the image below to download a copy.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: PrAACtically January, Year of Core Vocabulary Words
January 5, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy New Year, AAC friends! It’s the first Sunday of a new decade and we’ve queued up a handful of AAC posts that you might have missed. Monday – Top AAC Posts of 2019 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Welcoming a New Year of AAC Thursday – Top AAC Videos of the Year :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you go, here are some posts to explore from our ‘How I Do It’ series. Pocket Flipbooks for Teens & Adults (Intro), Part 1 ,and Part 2 A Year of Core Words in Action Addressing the 4 Most Overlooked Operational Skills for High-Tech AAC Users Using Visual Supports to Build Attention and Cooperation Starting AAC with Teens & Young Adults by Angela Adams
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
January 2, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Before we get too far into the new year, we thought you might like one last look at some of the most popular AAC videos of 2019. Looking at AAC Modeling Growing Language with AAC Modeling The Critical Nature of Literacy in AAC Apps and Resources for Core Vocabulary Teaching AACtually Doing It: Core in the Classroom A Look at PODD Books Parent-implemented AAC Intervention for Young Children Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom PrAACtically Visual: Supporting Communication Across Activities & Environments Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list? We’d love to hear about it.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: video
January 1, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Hopes and aspirations. Intentions and plans. Acceptance and celebration. Enjoy this next leg of your journey, AAC friends. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique natural beauty. Keep growing. (J. Raptis)
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
December 30, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
As we prepare to greet a new year and enter a new decade, let’s revisit some of the most popular posts of 2019. How I Do It: Writing IEP Goals for Students Who Use AAC with Lauren Enders PrAACtical AAC Goals Core Samples How I Do It: Using PODD books and Aided Language Displays with Young Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder AAC Assessment Forms Teaching Core Vocabulary Literacy for Everyone with Adapted Books A Year of Core Vocabulary Words AAC Vocabulary Lists Make It Monday: Manual Communication Boards with Core Vocabulary Communication Boards: Colorful Considerations Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list? We’d love to hear about it.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
December 29, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. If you’re looking to catch up on some AAC reading, here are a few posts to explore. Monday – 5 Resources for Your AAC Toolkit Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday- Happy Holidays, AAC Friends! Thursday – PrAACtically January: Some AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have some extra time, stick around and check out these posts from the archives. Holiday Talk: AAC Conversations Using Partner-focused Questions Holiday Photos in AAC Learning: 3 Ideas for Using Them to Build Language Teaching Prelinguistic Communication to Beginning Communicators Beginning Communicators: Learning Through Touch Cues
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
December 26, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It’s almost time to switch to a new calendar so we’re looking ahead to January and gearing up to model and teach some more core words to our AAC learners. If you have some prep time this week, join us! This is a great time to get the word cards and other materials for the Year of Words (Set 1; Set 2) ready to use with the AAC learners in our lives. Thanks to the generous spirit of PrAACtical AAC readers we have posts with a variety of resources: Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words Minspeak/Unity version: Set 1 PCS versions: Set 1, Set 2 Speak for Yourself version: Set 2 SymbolStix version: Set 1 Lesson Pix: Set 1 Smarty Symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words CoughDrop: Set 1 words; Set 2 words WordPower: Set 1 words (Note: This is a large file... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Year of Core Words