July 22, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Today we return to the Stepping Into AAC series to highlight another segment in this journey. If you missed the earlier posts, you can view those using the links below. Introduction: A PrAACtical Guide to Stepping into AAC Week 1: Starting a Journey with Stepping into AAC Weeks 2-5: Building a Foundation with Stepping into AAC Weeks 6-8: Customizing AAC Tools with Stepping into AAC Weeks 9-12: Getting More Comfortable with AAC Practices Weeks 13-14: AAC & Reading Target Words: here, in, make, need, on, put, up, when, you Communicative Intents: Explaining, making choices, statements, ‘tell about’ Hands-on Activities: Keep working to build a daily routine that includes 10 minutes of AACtion steps. In this segment, you will focus on Asking Finding Looking Observing Planning Playing Pointing Practicing Saying Sharing Videos: Get ready to take AAC outside and into the community. Print Resources: View and share the information on changing... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, Stepping Into AAC
July 15, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Today’s segment of the Stepping into AAC journey takes us into the world of literacy and focuses on how to support beginning AAC users during book reading and other activities. Missed the earlier posts in this series? You can access those below. Introduction: A PrAACtical Guide to Stepping into AAC Week 1: Starting a Journey with Stepping into AAC Weeks 2-5: Building a Foundation with Stepping into AAC Weeks 6-8: Customizing AAC Tools with Stepping into AAC Weeks 9-12: Getting More Comfortable with AAC Practices Target Words: all, it, same, this, turn Communicative Intents: Commenting, describing Hands-on Activities: To keep the momentum going during this segment of the journey, dedicate 10 minutes a day to building habits of supporting your learner’s AAC use. Comment Find Play Read Say Share Think Try Videos: Dive into the world of reading and learn ways to engage your learner while reading books together and... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, Stepping Into AAC
June 10, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Have you been following our series on using Stepping Into AAC as an on-ramp to start an AAC journey or reboot one that has stalled out? Post 1 – A PrAACtical Guide to Stepping into AAC Post 2 – Starting a Journey with Stepping into AAC Post 3 – Building a Foundation with Stepping into AAC (Weeks 2-5) In today’s post, we step away from some of the foundational concepts and early practices in AAC to take a little detour. Up until now, we’ve focused on using a communication board with generic high-frequency words that align with popular AAC programs such as Proloquo, Wordpower, Project Core, and others. For the next three weeks, we will focus on ways to customize these communication boards to better meet the needs of individual AAC learners. Week 6 – Adding words that are relevant to your AAC learner During Week 6, you’ll learn... [Read More...]
Filed under: Stepping Into AAC
June 3, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Ready to continue your Stepping into AAC journey? Now that you have your communication board (or an AAC device), we can dive into some of the key information you’ll need to support a beginning AAC user. Over the next four weeks, you’ll build or strengthen a foundation of critical AAC concepts. More importantly, you’ll begin daily use of AAC with quick and easy hands-on activities. Here’s what to expect. Target words for Weeks 2-5: different, go, good, like, look, me, not, some, stop, want Hands-on activities: Try your best to complete the 5 daily activities, each of which takes less than 10 minutes. While they are short and simple, these AACtion steps guide you in building the new habits of AAC use that will help your AAC learner be successful. Each day, you will be interacting with your communication board (or AAC device, if you have one) to Find, Look,... [Read More...]
Filed under: Stepping Into AAC
May 16, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
Parents of children, teens, and adults who are learning to use AAC often find themselves in need of more support than they typically receive. Today, we are excited to launch a new series that addresses this need. This series is built around a unique collaboration between PrAACtical AAC and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF), bringing together our expertise to create a set of training materials that caregivers can use to build an AAC presence in their lives or expand its use in daily living situations. These materials are now available on both of our websites, ready to empower and support you in your AAC journey. In today’s post, you’ll learn about the Stepping Into AAC program and how to access the materials. Future posts will focus on the implementation of AAC by families who want to enhance communication at home and in the community. Who is the target audience for... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, Stepping Into AAC