April 6, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
How can AAC be incorporated in daily life at home and in the community? Follow along with the Owens family, of We Speak PODD, who graciously let us peek into their lives as the work to make AAC a part of their everyday lives. Take a look at their PODD conversations to see how they incorporate AAC they live, learn, work, and play over the past six months. November Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM9tRTUaWLs December Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-AyfMLVkFs January Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0AtASkmiRw February Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK5yZjEZINc and Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyUZfEEwuP8 March Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRVB5Ry8gNc April Direct Link to Video: https://youtu.be/3iPm2Jripso
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: family, home, PODD
March 30, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
An increasing number of professionals and families have considered using PODD books with children and adults who have significant communication challenges. In today’s video, we return to the the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF) to view another archived webinar in their amazing series on building communication skills. The presenter, Mary-Louise Bertram, provides a prAACtical overview of the approach with a focus on the logistics of getting started in creating and using PODD books. A highly experienced interventionist, Mary-Louise has supported a great many families and PODD users in her native Australia and around the world. The information she shares in this video is applicable to a wide range of people with AAC needs, and is not limited to children or adults with Angelman Syndrome. Kudos and much gratitude to the ASF for creating the wonderful videos in this series and making them available to all of us. Direct Link to webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_mc6AWQOM0
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: PODD
March 16, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
AAC learners often require a good deal of practice to become fluent enough with their language skills that they use them spontaneously across activities and environments. In this week’s featured video, we take a peek at Katya, who is learning to speak in longer sentences and to change singular nouns into plurals, and her SLP. The guided practice allows Katya to firm up her skills in these areas and develop the fluency she needs to be able to retrieve language during ordinary life experiences. Many thanks to Lindsey Cargill and Katya for posting this video.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: language intervention, morphology, sentence length
March 9, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Reading is such a great activity to build language skills in AAC learners, but it takes some practice to get the hang of how to engage our partners, model language, and create communication opportunities. We’re off to New Zealand today to the Kimi Ora School in the Wellington region for a demonstration that shows how we can provide some aided language input and opportunities for core word use in interactive storybook reading.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: aided language input, reading
February 18, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
When you have a chance to peek into a therapy session by a master clinician, take it! In today’s featured video, Gail Van Tatenhove shares a clip where she demonstrates use of a pivotal intervention strategy, aided language input, as they discuss a book. Among many other things, Gail is author of one of our favorite therapy tools, The Pixon Project Kit. Enjoy! Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QywUaX99-D4
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: aided language input, feedback
February 11, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, funding of AAC devices for students in public schools has gotten increasingly complex. In this video, Lew Golinker of the AT Law Center, explains the factors that influence this decision. Thanks to Lew and the AAC-RERC for making this available. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O08OJopBH9s&feature=em-uploademail
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: funding, schools
February 3, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
As we’ve mentioned before, The Angelman Syndrome Foundation has done an amazing job of supporting the development of instructional videos on building early communication through AAC. In this week’s featured video, we hear from SLP Maureen Nevers who helps us understand how our own interaction styles can support or impede learners who are not yet fluent with their AAC systems. Whether you are an experienced interventionist or new to the journey of supporting AAC learners, there are lots of helpful suggestions in this video. Many thanks to the ASF for making these videos available to professionals and parents around the world. You can see other posts featuring videos from their communication series here. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0pUzJdWcBU&index=12&list=PLihsTkrStCHZVZBHDC0Qr7z10cYWC0ltx
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: implementation
January 27, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Communication and behavior, as we all know, are deeply intertwined. In this week’s featured video, we hear from Lindy McDaniel, the author of one of my favorite blogs, The Considerate Classroom. In this video, Lindy guides us to think about some of the tools and strategies that we can use to help young learners build their self regulation skills. I appreciate the prAACtical nature of the information and tips, along with the video examples that she shares in this presentation. Many thanks to the fine folks at TASN for making this available. You can see other posts featuring Lindy’s work here and here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: behavior, Self-Calming, TASN
January 21, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
The IEP is a powerful tool for ensuring that AAC learners get the tools and support that they need to be successful in school. Today, we return to the Oklahoma ABLE Tech Project, to hear more from SLP Allyson Robinson. In this video, she explains how and where to document AT in the IEP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6u0zWSTM-k
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: IEP
January 14, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we return to The Watson Institute for information on the implementation of visual supports. Their style of creating brief video explanations focused on specific strategies makes these clips perfect for sharing with colleagues and families. Visual Support Power of Pairing: Reinforcers with Visual Supports Build Your Own Schedule: A Structured Choice Strategy You can browse through previous posts featuring the work from this fine team here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: implementation, visual supports