June 6, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Many of our AAC learners struggle with writing. Often, their teams can effectively support them through the emergent and early conventional stages of literacy learning so that they get a decent foundation for expressing themselves with traditional orthography. But what happens when they need to move beyond the basics? In this video, Paul Sanft and Tina Hanson, from the PACER Simon Technology Center, cover a variety of tools that can help our learners continue to develop their skills in written language. If you”re keen on raising the bar on expectations for literacy development. this session has some wonderful tips and tools for you. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvZ4PALBUOs
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: literacy, Pacer Center, writing
May 30, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
How can we help families better understand ways to support the social skill development of learners with autism? Today’s featured videos, presented by Julie Short and hosted by the wonderful team at OCALI, offer a variety of practical suggestions for parents to use at home. While not specific to AAC, these concepts, tools, and strategies can easily be applied to learners with autism spectrum disorder and others with complex communication needs. Part 1 Direct Link to Video -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OawYYpl6Ys Part 2 Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2MXqdeR7gg
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: family, home, social skills
May 23, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
If you appreciate the Communication Bill of Rights, you won’t want to miss today’s featured video. Kudos to the leadership, clients, and staff of the Communication Technology Education Center (CTEC) for this wonderful video. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Q44HuMvG0&t=3s
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Communication Bill of Rights, self-advocacy
May 16, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hospitalization can be difficult and scary under any circumstance, but when the individual uses AAC, there are increased risks for adverse effects and other problems. How can we reduce risk and improve communication between healthcare providers and people who use AAC? Today’s featured video is part of the wonderful USSAAC Webinar Series. Dr. Richard Hurtig, from the University of Iowa and Voxello, discusses ways to facilitate improved communication between hospitalized patients with AAC needs and healthcare providers. Many thanks to USSAAC, Dr. Hurtig, and ISAAC for making this archived webinar available. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U71mk-dSwk4
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: adverse effects, healthcare, hospital, patient provider communication, USSAAC
May 9, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
How can we help our AAC learners become effective communicators in natural environments? One important aspect is to train their family, teachers, friends, and service providers to use supportive interaction strategies. In today’s video, hosted by Saltillo as part of their webinar series, Dr. Jill Senner and Matthew Baud share some of the best practices for working with adult communication partners and helping them develop their skills in this area. Many thanks to the speakers and to Saltillo for making this archived webinar available to us all. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7snlGPY2tw&t=9s You can learn more from Jill and Matt through their past posts and videos (click here to explore).
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC partner training
May 2, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for apps that can help engage your beginning AAC learners who are developing their communication and literacy skills? CALL Scotland’s Claire Harrison has some wonderful ideas for us. Enjoy!
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Apps, CALL Scotland
April 25, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
When working with AAC learners, how can we best model and elicit target communication behaviors? In today’s featured video, SLP Deborah Witkowski provides an overview of the ways that we can shift our approach from one that prioritizes activity-specific words, to one that emphasizes high-frequency words. If you are looking to grow your skills in implementing AAC, this video will provide lots of helpful information. Many thanks to the Colorado Department of Education’s Southwest AT and AAC project (SWAAAC) for making this available. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R70CfxnD4yY
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: descriptive teaching, intervention strategies, language intervention
April 18, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
How can we better support people who have challenging behavior? When that behavior is related to communication needs, as it so often is, Functional Communication Training is often part of the answer. But how can we provide those kinds of supports in ways that are efficacious and feasible? And what about other sorts of behaviors that impact safety, learning, and quality of life? In today’s video, we learn about a parent training approach developed by the Research Units in Behavioral Intervention (RUBI) Autism Network. Many thanks to Dr. Bearss and the Els for Autism Foundation for making this archived webinar available. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Bearss, K., Johnson. C., Smith, T., Lecavalier, L., Swiezy, N., Aman, M., McAdam, D., Butter, E., Stillitano, C., Minshawi, N., Sukhodolsky, D., Mruzek, D., Turner, K., Neal, T., Hallett, V., Mulick, J., Green, B., Handen, B., Deng, Y., Dziura, J., & Scahill, L.(2015). Effect of parent training versus parent... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, FCT, problem behavior
April 11, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Speak AAC to Teach AAC It’s wonderful to see how many people are actively working on their own skills in aided language input. Today’s video, from the Communication Technology Education Center (CTEC) in northern California, addresses a question that many communication partners have: How much language should I model? Kudos to the STAR team at CTEC for this engaging video. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VppaSuAF0f4
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: aided language input, modeling
April 4, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
If you work in school settings and serve students with AAC needs, or if you have a school-aged child who uses AAC, today’s featured video is an important one for you. Lisa Lightner, parent, disability rights leader, and author of the popular blog A Day In Our Shoes, shares useful information of interest to families and professionals alike. The webinar was sponsored by the Center on Technology and Disability (CTD). Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5spq37ooWRk&feature=push-u&attr_tag=ayID2iP5sKPBsTQX-6 Interested in this topic? Check out some of the other work by the CTD on AT in the IEP here. Kudos to the CTD and Lisa Lightner for creating this presentation and making it available to all.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AT, education, IEP, school