June 10, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Schools are out for the summer in our area, but that doesn’t mean the work or planning stops. In fact, summer is the time when we catch up on projects, learn new things, make materials, and plan for the fall. One of my goals is to do some thinking and planning about how to help some of our preschool AAC kids make a good transition to inclusive environments in the fall. – One of our little AAC friends will be starting kindergarten in a few months, and the excitement is infectious. Support for the SLP and the teachers, both new to AAC, is high on the priority list. Something I hadn’t thought about until a recent team meeting, though, was the role of the administrator, particularly the principal. We’re big believers in the notion that the school culture is built by the principal, so it stands to reason that if... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AT, schools
June 3, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Last week, we visited with a wonderful early intervention team who is committed to helping their program better serve babies and toddlers with AAC needs. Like any program, funds are limited and while we talked a bit about high tech AAC equipment, most of our conversation was about how simple solutions can make a big difference. – Simple is good. – We love finding low-cost ways to help children play, sit, move, learn, and communicate. But buying or making the materials is just the beginning. The real power comes from figuring out how to use it to give children control and allow them to be actively involved in the world around them. – For this week, we return to SET BC for their outstanding 3-part series by Susie Blackstien-Adler on this topic. Each segment of the Simple Technology for Participation series is less than 30 minutes long and is full... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: intervention, low tecg, no tech
May 27, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Not sure how we missed this great video when it first came out, but it is worth sharing. It was made by Michael Brian Reed and friends for the Many Stories, One Voice Online Collection in support of International AAC Month back in 2008. Michael also posted some tutorials on how to create animated video stories and posted them to his YouTube Channel.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: phone
May 20, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– For many people who use AAC, one of the biggest hurdles to communicating more effectively involves physically accessing their SGDs and/or mobile devices. – In this week’s video, we feature a collection of resources on this topic by SET BC. The collection has 7 complete modules, with print information, presentations, and videos. We’re linking to the series here so that you can explore any of the ones that are of interest to you. –
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: access, alternate access, schools
May 13, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
If you follow our blog, you know how strongly we feel about the wonderful work done by the team at SET BC. This week we feature a set of videos and supplemental resources on AT considerations for school teams. This 5-part series by Penny Reed has a wealth of prAACtical information.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AT, resources, schools
May 6, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
AAC Extreme Makeover: Classroom Edition is a recorded presentation based on a full workshop for educators and clinicians. In this 3-part series hosted by SET BC, Gail Van Tatenhove provides an overview of 6 fundamental concepts for implementing AAC in special and general education classrooms. Each segment is less than 30 minutes and has narrated PowerPoint slides.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: intervention, schools
April 29, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Yesterday, we posted about using special interests to create prAACtical communication opportunities, our AAC intervention strategy of the month. Today, we share this Video of Week on the same topic. The team at ConnectAbility presented this video workshop on Special Interest Areas and Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. –
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD
April 22, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Gesture Recognition in Aphasia Therapy (GeST) is a project that emphasizes the use of gestures to help individuals with aphasia communicate effectively. GeST is a computer-based program to teach simple gestures and provide home practice opportunities. Project leaders used a participatory design to gain the input from 5 people with aphasia in developing the program. They are currently evaluating its effectiveness in a pilot study. We are big fans of multimodal communication and love the prAACtical applications of this program. You can check it out for yourself at this video.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: aphasia, computer, Multimodal, research
April 15, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so envious of London’s City University event, Therapy Ideas Live, that we read about on the Therapy Ideas blog.Their lightning talks on various SLPs, like this one on AAC and the iPad by Rebecca Bright of Therapy Box, are limited to 5 minutes. Based on the Ignite model, (‘Enlighten us, but make it quick!’) they are a perfect fit for our waning attention spans. What can you learn in 5 minutes? A lot! Enjoy! –
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: iPad
April 8, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We couldn’t resist one more video about visual schedules. There are so many things we love about this one from SET BC, starting with the fact that the student sets it up. We also love hearing how they have changed the schedule to meet the student’s individual needs as he has matured. My favorite part was hearing how successfully they used a ‘Something’s Different’ symbol to indicate when an unusual activity was going to occur. – Happy viewing! – –
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: visual schedule