August 30, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
How do we make it feasible to implement AAC throughout the school day? Arizona-based SLP Anne Page, of Beautiful Speech Life, has some ideas for us. This presentation is packed full of prAACtical tips and was made possible by CoughDrop’s AAC in the Cloud Conference. Many thanks to Anne and to CoughDrop for sharing this positive approach to AAC in the classroom! Enjoy! Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohvOfkyejso&list=PL8oiM_hsU8kYofdlpC4vcYX49yuBZvv9v&index=10
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom
August 23, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back for another engaging session from CoughDrop’s AAC in the Cloud conference. In today’s video, SLP Rachel Jones shares her tips for supporting core vocabulary learning in classroom settings. Enjoy! Many thanks to CoughDrop for hosting the conference and making these videos available.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, school
August 16, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Many AAC learners struggle with sensory input and there are several interventions designed to help them cope with these issues. Today, we learn from Dr. Pat Mirenda of the University of British Columbia in a 2014 presentation hosted by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Autism (CIRCA). If you are committed to providing evidence-based practice to your AAC learners, this is an important video to watch. Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yh5og9wAss&t=31s
Filed under: Video of the Week
August 9, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Are you working with families who are looking to boost their AAC use at home? If so, you may want to share today’s featured video with them as it is rich in both prAACtical information and inspiration. Karen Owens of We Speak PODD is the presenter at this archived session which was part of CoughDrop’s AAC in the Cloud Conference. Enjoy!
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: family, home, implementation
August 2, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Getting ready to head back to school? There are lots of things we can do to help our AAC learners be successful in the classroom and develop their language skills. In today’s post, we feature another wonderful video in the Power AAC series sponsored by PaTTAN. Master AAC clinician Gail Van Tatenhove is the speaker and shares essential information about ways in which partners can support students who are learning to use AAC systems. Before beginning, you may want to download this handout with links to video clips of the target strategies being used. We’re grateful to Gail and PaTTAN for making this video and sharing it so that we can all benefit.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC partner training, partner skills, school
July 26, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Learning to communicate with AAC can be a long road with plenty of twists and turns. In most cases, AAC learners require support and that may include various forms of prompting. In today’s video, we feature a presentation from the AAC in the Cloud Conference that CoughDrop hosted last month. In this video, SLP Rachael Langley, shares her thoughts on prompting, where we go wrong, and how we can use it to better support AAC learners. Many thanks to CoughDrop and to Rachael Langley for making this presentation available. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2mtuhVa0WA&index=3&list=PL8oiM_hsU8kYofdlpC4vcYX49yuBZvv9v
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: prompting, video
July 19, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Once AAC systems are in place, therapists, teachers, and parents often turn their focus on how to help learners use those to express themselves and to better understand their world. Today, we once again turn to Gail Van Tatenhove, an AAC master clinician, for teaching tips and ideas for resources and materials. This video is part of the Power AAC series from PaTTAN. Many thanks to Gail and PaTTAN for making this available. You can see other posts from the series here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: implementation ideas, Scaffolding, video, visual supports
July 12, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Parents and professionals have so much to teach each other. In this video, we get to peek into a session where collaboration and sharing work to the benefit of the AAC learner. It takes time for skill-building and becoming consistent at using supportive strategies, like aided language input, expansions, and graduated prompting. Whether we are parents or professionals, the learning process takes time. We have to give ourselves permission to move from knowing about AAC facilitation strategies, through using them periodically, to using them consistently. It takes time and lots of practice. Clips from this session remind us that we don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be open to change, willing to try new ways of interacting, and ready to commit to growing our AAC support skills over time. When we do that, kids are the real winners. Thanks to the Louisiana AT Initiative for making this... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: collaboration, Language facilitation strategies, parent
July 5, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Cloudy with a (big) chance of AAC? The weather was fine at AAC in the Cloud conference, an online event hosted by the wonderful team at CoughDrop. Over two days, there were three tracks of AAC presentations and a fun keynote by Kate Ahern. Many thanks to Brian Whitmer and his colleagues for inviting me to participate. You can download the handout for the session here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC in the Cloud, core vocabulary
June 28, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
What do students with cognitive impairments who use AAC need in order to learn to read and write? Comprehensive literacy instruction, for one thing. In today’s featured videos, we travel to Iowa to peek into some classroom activities where students with cognitive disabilities who use AAC are working on their spelling and decoding skills. Direct Links to Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti8IOEICJQc&list=PLocplddh5SSRBGRsR0tOFXIJd5wh6i89k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BUXpKlLISs&list=PLocplddh5SSRBGRsR0tOFXIJd5wh6i89k&index=7 Many thanks to the Iowa Department of Education, teachers, and students for these helpful videos.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: literacy, reading, spelling, video