21 Search Results for bugaj
August 7, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
AAC professionals seem to love professional development. Unfortunately, there just never seems to be enough time to indulge our love for learning about new technologies and strategies. Sound familiar? Well, Chris Bugaj has been a solution worth listening to. Chris is an SLP and a founding member the Assistive Technology Team for Loudoun County Public Schools. He hosts The A.T.TIPSCAST , a multi‐award winning podcast featuring strategies useful in differentiating the learning experience. Chris is the co‐author of The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools and ATEval2Go, and has two chapters in Technology Tools for Students with Autism. Chris co‐produces and co‐authors the popular Night Light Stories podcast which features original stories for children of all ages. Today, we share his wonderful presentation (complete with hyperlinks) that will help us to learn how to use podcasts to learn while we’re driving, exercising, or just hanging out. If you’ve thought about maximizing your learning opportunities by listening... [Read More...]
July 25, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
As we prepare for a new academic year, we’re delighted to reconnect with guest authors Michaela Sullivan and Lindsay Dougherty. Today, they kick off preparation for the upcoming school year with another wonderful set of Older Student Lessons in the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words series. Scroll down for some terrific resources, including two slide decks full of activities and the data collection forms specific to the Sugust core words. Their post also includes some helpful information on a key AAC support strategy, aided language input. SCHOOL YEAR OF CORE- Older Student Lessons Access & Copy below: Weeks 1-2 Google Slides Weeks 3-4 Google Slides INTRODUCTION- AUGUST 2024 Welcome back to the School Year of Core – Older Student Lessons: August! School is back in session for many and the summer is nearing the final stretch. Welcome back to the School Year of Core- Older Student Lessons (SYOC-OSL resource,... [Read More...]
May 27, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
We hope that guest authors Marisa Portanova and Marnina Allis have inspired you to develop AAC groups for the children and adults you serve. Today, they wrap up their series with some final tips for creating and running successful groups. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PrAACtical AAC Groups Made Easy – Positive Outcome and Tips and Tricks Our AAC groups were a hit, and we want to help you all knock it out of the park as well! We had some great positive outcomes we would like to share to help with motivation to get started. Variety of communication opportunities – talking about their weekends, playing fun games like HeadBandz, giving opinions about a book read Language learning opportunities – within literacy contexts and natural social environments Social interaction opportunities are hard to accomplish in 1:1 settings between child and therapist. These groups allowed for peer-to-peer interaction as well. They allowed children to see other... [Read More...]
August 26, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
As one semester ends and a new one begins, we welcome Vicki Haddix back to these pages to share the work of graduate student SLPs who enroll in her AAC classes. Vicki is an AAC SLP and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis. Today, she shares three student projects on a diverse range of topics. We invite you to explore the work of Vicki’s students, SLPs-to-be Shayla Gaffney, Lori Davis, and Abbie Warr. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When I designed the AAC course, I tried to incorporate elements of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) within the class. One of the elements I’m particularly proud of is allowing the students to choose their own final projects, which are worth 50% of their grade. I give them the following guidelines: Your final project should: Collect information from a variety of sources (i.e.: not only a survey or only research articles); Ground itself... [Read More...]
May 12, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Ask any AAC stakeholder about the collaborative teaming and they’re likely to tell you two things: how incredibly valuable it is and how little time they have for it. In today’s video, we’re highlighting a session from a past AAC in the Cloud Conference featuring AAC SLPs Chris Bugaj and Rachel Madel. In this post, they share some of their favorite ways of using technology to make collaboration faster and easier. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwsEdbfic18&ab_channel=CoughDrop Many thanks to the fine team at CoughDrop and to Rachel and Chris for this helpful presentation.
August 31, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
August may be on the way out but the words for this month are useful all throughout the year. The new Year of Core Words School Edition is in development and the plan is to get these monthly to you prior to the start of each month so that you can plan and prepare. Please bear with us for the first few posts as we get up to speed. Each of the monthly posts will highlight a selected set of words and a suggested order in which to teach them. You’ll also find resources, such as Activity Sheets for each word and data collection forms, and information on a key intervention strategy. The series authors, Michaela Sullivan, Beth Lytle, and Alisa Lego, created an introduction that you may want to review before digging into this month’s target words. You can see that here. Enjoy Month 1 of the School Year... [Read More...]
June 17, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
How can we help communication partners use more facilitative strategies during AAC interactions? AT Specialist and SLP Chris Bugaj helps us better understand how we can use practice and coaching to support the growth of communication partners. Many thanks to Chris and New Jersey’s Assistive Technology Advocacy Center (ATAC) for creating this content and making it available to AAC stakeholders throughout the world. You can download the handout for this session here or scan the QR code in the image below. Direct link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5IZv6rMNBw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1QtHDiTuJVL8V6kmuvFo8poDgFoqTVIq0_jRgSKPCuP1XN18iQcktORi0
May 6, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Young or old, working or not, parent or professional. We could all use some good news these days so when Chris Bugaj reached out about his parody of John Krasinski’s YouTube show Some Good News, we knew it had to be shared. Enjoy some Good AAC News! You can learn more about Co-VidSpeak, including how to access it, here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSVI2yEbf2M&feature=youtu.be
March 7, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
What would happen if a group of dedicated AAC stakeholders could come together around the idea of improving AAC services? Today’s guest authors, Chris Bugaj, Chris CichoskiKelly, and Shaun Pearson set out to explore issues around AAC practices and are inviting us all to join in the conversation. Let’s see where this takes us! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Genesis of the AAC Agreements In 2016, Chris CichoskiKelly went to the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference with a question: what are the best practices for AAC implementation? He saw a lot of great talks on AAC but found little in the way of common ground or agreement amongst them. One of those sessions was co-presented by Chris Bugaj. After the session, the two Chris’s got to talking about the differences. An idea emerged. Given all the difference, what would be the similarities? If all those invested in AAC got together in one... [Read More...]
February 4, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
As expected, the ATIA Conference in Orlando last week had a robust selection of AAC learning opportunities. Here are two of the fun finds we thought you’d like to explore. The AAC Strand Spotlight Session This panel asked four thought leaders in AAC to each identify two intervention challenges and discuss their ideas for addressing them. The speakers were from a variety of practice settings and addressed a range of implementation issues. Christopher Bugaj, AAC and AT Specialist at Loudoun County Public Schools Transitions & Turnovers: Killers of Language Learning Progression Keeping Up With The Training Demand Vicki Clarke, SLP/CEO, Dynamic Therapy Associates, Inc. Addressing Opportunity Barriers to Participation Facilitator Attitude, Knowledge, & Skill Barriers Caroline Musselwhite, Literacy & AAC Specialist Facilitating Generalization Age-Respectful and Engaging Materials/Activities for Adolescents & Teens Gail VanTatenhove, SLP/CEO, AACell, Inc. Providing Person-Specific AAC Design in an App/MAP Happy World The Aging of AAC Users... [Read More...]