August 18, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Across the world, therapists, teachers, and parents are getting ready for AAC lessons or therapy sessions. Robust AAC systems? Check! Goals that matter? Check! Effective intervention strategies? Check! Let’s put them all together with some engaging activities that won’t break the bank in terms of materials. Here are some suggestions for tried-and-true activities. Language Experience Surveys: Looking for a fun activity that gives your AAC learner an opportunity to prAACtical his/her skills with a variety of communication partners? Language experience surveys are a great tool for that not just because they are a great way to build generalization in a way that kids really love, but also because it helps the communication partners have supported conversations with AAC users. This helps them get comfortable in interacting with our AAC learners which, in turn, increases the chances that they will want to interact with these students in the future. This is... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: activities, implementation ideas
August 14, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Are you doing some planning for students with AAC needs? Here are a handful of resources that may be helpful. Vocabulary graphic organizer by Speak for Yourself Form to collect information about fringe vocabulary for home and school by Gateway to Language and Learning Needs assessment by Gail Van Tatenhove
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: downloads, forms, planning
August 10, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
PCS, Pixons, Minspeak symbols, Smarty Symbols, Symbol Stix, CoughDrop Symbols, ARASAAC symbols, Mulberry symbols, Lesson Pix, Sclera symbols, and more. In terms of AAC symbol options, we are living in plentiful times. It isn’t uncommon to see situations like Jonah’s. On a typical school day, Jonah is likely to encounter at least three types of pictures for the same words. He has Smarty Symbols on his AAC app and a classroom core board with PCS, and is using instructional materials using Symbol Stix. These are each great ways of visually representing language, but here’s something to think about: Does it help or hurt Jonah to have 3 different pictures for the same word? There are many options in symbol sets and systems, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Here are some things to think about as you and your team are making these decisions. There is no empirical... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC system, picture symbols
July 31, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Need a handout on AAC modeling? Want some AAC swag for your wall? Looking for a way to assess classroom communication opportunities? Today we revisit some tools from previous posts. Feel free to download and share. AAC: Model It! Handout by the AT Team at Orange County Public Schools Caught or Taught? Recognize someone who supports AAC Teach AAC Facebook Cover Image Classroom Observation Tool (COCOA)
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: download
July 27, 2017
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 5 Facebook Groups for Families of Beginning Communicators Helping Beginning Communicators Expand Their Sentences A PrAACtical Literacy Activity for Beginning Communicators
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beginning communicator
July 24, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
The summer is flying by here in Florida and we’re starting to think about heading back to school. Teachers, therapists, and aides play a pivotal role in helping AAC learners develop skills with core vocabulary so that they have a body of words that can be used across activities, environments, and communication partners. There are lots of ‘right’ ways to support these students. Among them is an instructional approach in which a new set of core words is introduced every few weeks in order to build their experiences with AAC. Our Year of Core Words materials has two versions, one from 2013 (12 words/month) and one from 2014 (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words). If you’ve been following along, or are just getting started, these resources may be of interest. Set 1 (2013) Words: any, bring, day, fall, give, hot, job, know, other, sick, sorry, together Set 2 (2014) Words: aide, animal, clothes,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: A Year of Core Words, Another Year of Core Words, downloads
July 17, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Graphic organizers, such as semantic maps, are a well-established means of teaching word meanings. Both SLPs and educators frequently use this research-supported strategy to build word knowledge when working with AAC learners. Like any instructional tool or strategy, though, the learning gains our students make are tied to how we implement this kind of graphic organizer in our teaching and therapy. Here are some thoughts in maximizing the effectiveness of this powerful tool. Don’t expect graphic organizers to be the primary way that students learn their new vocabulary words. These tools are most effective when supplemented with other intervention strategies, like focused language stimulation. Make it interactive. While some professionals use graphic organizers as a worksheet that is completed in school or assigned as homework, that probably isn’t the best approach for AAC learners. Instead, plan to complete the graphic organizers WITH your student, so that you can guide the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Graphic Organizers, semantic instruction
July 13, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Things move more slowly in the summer and that makes it a good time to play catch-up. Here are some posts that may be worth a second look. Getting ready for a core vocabulary journey Make It Monday: Manual communication boards with core vocabulary Make It Monday: More words, please! Expanding our manual communication boards Super Size It: 5 ideas for making large communication boards Beyond requesting: A week of routines to increase AAC use at mealtimes 5 ways to build understanding Free resources for making AAC and visual supports 5 places for shared AAC materials What else are you catching up on these days? —
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: download, resources
July 10, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to up your game in implementing core vocabulary? Here are some presentation handouts that may give you some additional ideas. Jennifer Ro and Amy Thomsen on core in the classroom Megan Brazas on the Core Vocabulary Exchange System Gail Van Tatenhove on core in the classroom Were there AAC-related presentations or resources that inspired you recently? We’d love to hear about them!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, good implementation, handouts
July 9, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Summer is in full swing here and it is too hot to do much of anything strenuous. If you’re in the mood to peruse some AAC-related posts, we have a few suggestions. Monday: Site of the Month: UDL Technology Tuesday: Happy Independence Day! Wednesday: Video of the Week: Beyond the Basics – Core Considerations in AAC Intervention Thursday: PrAACtical Questions with Vicki Clarke: What’s the Role of Core Vocabulary? Looking for things to do this week? Here are some posts with suggestions for core word activities that incorporate language learning with motor activities and sensory play and printable handouts for parents and others. AT Recipes for Success with Young AAC Learners Bubbles and Cars Ball Play and Dolls Paint Dotters and Crayons Potato Head and Animal Puzzles
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC activities, summary post