September 1, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Model as a MASTER PAL Thursday – PrAACtically September: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more for your browsing pleasure. AAC and Visual Supports for Storms and Hurricanes: 10 Useful Resources How I Do It: Cooking in the Classroom with Carol Goossens’ How I Do It: Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults by Angela Adams On AAC Training: Skill Building for AAC Team Members PrAACtical Resources: AAC 101 Flipbook Handout
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: cooking, flipbook, summary post, Training
August 29, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Are you supporting AAC learners who have SGDs or communication boards/books with high-frequency words? If so, join us as we work to model, practice, and teach these words throughout the day. It can feel overwhelming, so we tend to focus on a subset of words each month. The Year of Core Vocabulary approach isn’t a developmental list of words to be introduced in a specific order, but rather a way of gradually exposing learners to more and more words over time. We do that by modeling them on their device or communication aid when we talk, and plan specific instructional activities to teach word meanings, play games to help them better recognize and understand the symbols for those words, and, elicit them frequently from those who are just learning their AAC systems. Our AAC friends need practice, practice, and more practice. Over time, they will gain more fluency and automaticity with the words in their AAC... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: A Year of Core Words, Another Year of Core Words
August 26, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Amanda Samperi is back with the second post in her series about getting ready to return to school-based AAC services. Amanda is an AAC SLP who has worked in a variety of service delivery settings and runs the blog, AAC is Where It’s AT. Currently, she provides push-in language therapy to children with complex communication needs at a substantially-separate center school in Florida. She also conducts AAC/AT evaluations, provides year-round parent trainings, and assists the SLP team in instructing teachers/staff about communication supports and strategies In today’s post, she addresses a situation faced by many AAC teams: Serving children who use a variety of different AAC symbols and systems. If you missed Amanda’s initial post on back-to-school AAC, you can catch up on that here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets It’s the beginning of the year – desks are in their spots, students’ names are... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: back to school, classroom, implementation ideas, symbols
August 25, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. It’s been quite a week here, and if your week was just as crazy then you might have missed some of these posts. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Literacy Kits Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: A Look at PODD Books ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, take a look at some of these posts from the archives. Write to Talk with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite Sound/Music Cause and Effect Apps for Engaging AAC Learners Beyond the Basics: Thoughts On Effective Language Instruction for AAC Learners When Materials Aren’t Effective in AAC Teaching: 5 Things to Try When Students are Reluctant to Use AAC: 5 Things to Try
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: cause-effect, implementation tips, TELL ME
August 19, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Combining AAC learning with literacy activities is one of our favorite ways to support young learners. We start off the week with a taste of how AT specialists in one school district are helping preschool special education teachers build a foundation of core vocabulary in their students. Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim 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. This is the first of a series of posts in which Maggie and Jeanna discuss ways that books from the TELL ME program can be used to support AAC learning. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: As AAC facilitators for a special education cooperative, we are always on the lookout for effective ways to provide our students access to instructional materials and activities that not... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, Jeanna Antrim, Maggie Judson, reading, TELL ME
August 18, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here’s what we’ve been up to. Check them out if you have the time. Monday – How I Do It: Putting the FUN Back in FUNctional Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Getting Started in AAC Assessment Thursday – PrAACtically Visual: More Supports for Your Toolbox :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In the mood for a little more? Here are some selections for you to browse. 10 Tips for Starting AAC with the Little Ones How I Do It: A Framework for Success-Getting Started in the Exciting World of Communication and AAC PrAACtical Suggestions: How to Get Started with A New AAC Client How We Do It: AAC Training for Educational Assistants Visual Support for Places Around School
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC assessment, getting started, partner training, summary post
August 15, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Visual supports are among the most helpful tools that AAC interventionists can use to maximize learning. Tabi Jones-Wohleber’s series on utilizing them in AAC work comes to an end today with a few more visual supports for your toolbox. Tabi is a veteran SLP who has supported individuals with AAC needs in a variety of practice settings. Many thanks to Tabi for this wonderful series and all of the free downloads that were included. You can access previous posts in the series here. Part 1: Visual & Environmental Countdown Part 2: Organizing Time & Tasks Part 3: Self-Regulation & Understanding Expectations Part 4: Supporting Communication Across Activities & Environments Part 5: Supports for When Modeling Communication is Hard ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: More Visual Supports for Your Toolbox I find there is no end to the rabbit-hole of visual supports, once you dive in. Tools and structures to support comprehension and learning are... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: commenting, Tabi Jones-Wohleber, visual supports
August 13, 2019
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: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
August 12, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
In the US and some other countries, we’re starting a new school year and SLP Amanda Samperi is here to get us off to a good start by sharing her experiences and suggestions for engaging AAC activities. After graduating from Penn State, Amanda worked for several years as an SLP in school, home, and medical settings. She has presented on AAC-related topics st ASHA, an IEE Electrical Safety Workshop, and at the AAC in the Cloud Conference. Amanda hopes to continue sharing her knowledge and experiences about AAC through her blog, AAC is where it’s AT. Today, she introduces us to a series of posts that focus on creating fun AACtivities for language learning. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Back-to-School with AAC: Putting the FUN back in FUNctional There is something special about this time of year – students are trying on their back-to-school outfits, school supplies are magically discounted beyond belief, and parents... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: back to school, classroom, How I Do It, school
August 11, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. If you had a busy week, you may have missed some of the posts below. Monday – How We Do It: Getting to the CORE of Communication (Part 1) Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Making Shared Book Reading Awesome for AAC Users Who Don’t Like Books Thursday – PrAACtically Visual: Supports for When Modeling Communication is Hard :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more for those who want to do a little more AAC reading. Back To School with AAC (printables) AAC Goes to High School: The Power of Peers AAC Goes to High School: Community-based Instruction Extension Activities for AAC Practice Making AAC Core Vocabulary Materials
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: download, high school, school