February 10, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
The impact of Covid-19 on people with AAC needs, their families, and service providers has been vast. In today’s featured video, David Niemeijer and Erin Sheldon discuss the impact of the novel pandemic. They explore the many weaknesses it has exposed in the AAC service delivery landscape and offer some possible solutions for addressing these issues. Direct Link to Video – https://vimeo.com/491509316
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Emergency, healthcare
February 3, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Many special education programs have a daily routine of discussing the weather and reviewing the calendar. In today’s featured video, we take a look at how special educator Amy Campbell integrates no tech and high tech AAC into this activity. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsAQ4ol-ETU&ab_channel=AmyCampbell You can read a post by Amy on normalizing AAC here and see another of her videos, Cooking with AAC, here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, education, school
January 27, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Last spring, when PrAACtical AAC hosted some online conversations about the intersection of race, equity, and AAC, I had the opportunity to meet wonderful professionals, families, and students who shared an interest in this topic. In today’s featured video, we learn from three SLPs who apply themselves to these challenges in very concrete and far-reaching ways, Alma Partida, Jill D’Braunstein, and Christina Royster. In addition to the main video, we’re linking to others that provide guidance for customizing some popular AAC apps. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp18iWr4VE8&ab_channel=DiverseAAC Check out these playlists for help with adjusting voices and skin tones for selected AAC apps. Customizing Touchchat with Wordpower Customizing Proloquo2Go Customizing LAMP Words for Life
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC apps, diversity, videos
January 20, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Planning, designing, creating, teaching. Helping students become more proficient with their AAC systems often involves teaching core vocabulary and it can take considerable effort to integrate that into the daily routines of a busy classroom. In today’s featured video, we hear from Special Educator April Weitkamp who describes the process she used to support core vocabulary in an elementary school classroom. She shares her experiences and many lessons learned through the process of collaborating with the SLP and paraprofessionals to support core vocabulary learning in this multi-age group of students. Many thanks to April and the Special Education Technology Center (SETC) in Washington for this helpful presentation. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVbeHg2Vl2Y&ab_channel=SETCSpecialEducationTechnologyCenter You can see another video from April here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, education
January 13, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
AAC assessment is a complex process that takes the support of many stakeholders. In today’s featured video, SLP Rachell Johnson discusses the steps involved in these evaluations and provides suggestions for streamlining the process. Many thanks to Rachell and to Ablenet for creating and hosting this presentation. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcW1Hd_VZTI&ab_channel=AbleNetUniversityRecordedWebinar You can learn more from Rachell here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC assessment, video
January 6, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
In today’s featured video we learn from AAC SLP Sara Ayars from Bellevue, Washington about their district’s experience in supporting core vocabulary across many schools and classrooms. Hosted by the Special Education Technology Center (SETC), “Big Core Roll Out: One District’s Plan for Implementing Core Vocabulary” will be very insightful for school districts and AT specialists who want to improve access to supports for core vocabulary. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-7a9WpGj-w&ab_channel=SETCSpecialEducationTechnologyCenter You can learn more from Sara on her Instagram, @saraayars_slp, account here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: core vocabulary, video
December 30, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
In our final Video of the Week for 2020, we’re honored to share a video recording of an AAC user chat with civil rights legend Judy Heuman hosted by CommunicationFIRST. Moderated by two AAC users, Bob Williams and Hari Srinivasan, this discussion was held in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://communicationfirst.org/aac-users-chat-with-judy-heumann/?fbclid=IwAR0Rr68qPyqSd4W-9GBfbe7tXgLIThSfF5cl1Jss0b0gSQWwQGCAie-XNqg —
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Communication Bill of Rights
December 23, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a busy week so we thought this would be a good time to share some short videos by New Zealand Speech and Language Therapist Sophia Cormack. Enjoy! Introduction to AAC Direct link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmsdLzQW5G0&list=PLSWI226_FFQVvnW5Jv6PeZoX8wTK99FZN&index=2&ab_channel=SpeechinaSec Introduction to Core Boards Direct link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB_brGVYg7w&list=PLSWI226_FFQVvnW5Jv6PeZoX8wTK99FZN&index=1&ab_channel=SpeechinaSec How to Use a Core Board in 7 Games Direct link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4FGg3-W_gk&list=PLSWI226_FFQVvnW5Jv6PeZoX8wTK99FZN&index=3&ab_channel=SpeechinaSec
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: core vocabulary, explainer, video
December 16, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Writing goals for various aspects of communicative competence can be tricky, even for experienced professionals. Today, we’re pleased to share a video on this topic by Melanie Melton, Heather Patton, and Jaime Lawson. This session was part of the 2020 AAC in the Cloud Conference hosted by CoughDrop. You can download the handout for this session here. We are grateful to the presenters and to CoughDrop for this helpful video. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zcMSmcdZcE&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=CoughDrop
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC goals
December 9, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a good day for learning from people who use AAC. In today’s featured video, Karanveer Singh shares his journey in using AAC via different access methods. Many thanks to Karanveer and the Special Education Technology Center for this helpful presentation. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq0iLIviL-o&ab_channel=SETCSpecialEducationTechnologyCenter
Filed under: Video of the Week