11 Search Results for sarah gregory

How I Do It: AAC Practitioners, Part 2

March 24, 2022 by - Leave your thoughts

How I Do It: AAC Practitioners, Part 2

If you like learning from AAC professionals who support individuals with complex communication needs in schools, clinics, online, and elsewhere, read on! We’re reaching back in the archives again on this Throwback Thursday to hear about their experiences, perspectives, suggestions, and materials. You can see the previous post on this topic here. How I Do It Angela Adams Starting AAC with Teens & Young Adults Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults Katie Bernadkin Building Friendship Skills with Peer-A-Mids Rebecca Bright Helping Clients Who Use AAC Connect with their Grandchildren Karen Natoci Florka Connecting with Colleagues in a Shared Community of Practice Carole Zangari Preparing AAC Learners for Their First SGD Rachael Langley PODD in the Classroom: Portable, Wearable, & Comfortable PODD in the Classroom – Quick Tips for Teams Georgia Karavias Using an App to Create AAC Materials & Visual Supports Laura Tarver Using PODD books and Aided Language... [Read More...]

Growing AAC Professionals: AAC-friendly Classrooms, AAC for Toddlers, & AAC for Healthcare Providers

August 26, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

Growing AAC Professionals: AAC-friendly Classrooms, AAC for Toddlers, & AAC for Healthcare Providers

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...]

How We Do It: Navigating Successful Post-Secondary Transitions in a Virtual World

March 22, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

How We Do It: Navigating Successful Post-Secondary Transitions in a Virtual World

AAC professionals can provide a great deal of support to help students prepare for post-school life. Today, guest authors Meredith Gohsman, Jamie Lawson, Heather Patton, and Melanie Melton team up to share their thoughts on helping students who use AAC move successfully toward this transition. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Speech-language pathologists, educators, and other AAC stakeholders all share responsibility in preparing students for successful post-secondary transition. The need to explicitly address post-secondary transition is well-established. Despite benefits of employment for both the employer and employee (McNaughton et al., 2002; McNaughton et al., 2003), individuals using AAC are unemployed at a staggering rate. For individuals using AAC, communication remains a vital component in the workplace (Bryen et al., 2007). Communication interactions and skills are associated with income, as well as job options (Mank et al., 1997; McNaughton & Bryen, 2007; McNaughton & Richardson, 2013). This includes all 5 communicative competencies: Linguistic Competence: Mastery of... [Read More...]

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words: AAC Resources for Month 2 (September) by Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, & Beth Lytle

September 25, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words: AAC Resources for Month 2 (September) by Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, & Beth Lytle

Though we are wrapping up the month of September, the core words selected for this month are high-frequency words that will live on throughout the year. Our new Year of Core Words School Edition is in development and the team is working hard to get these helpful posts to you prior to the start of each month so that you can plan and prepare your lessons and materials. Please bear with us for the first few posts as we get up to speed. As with the previous post, these will each highlight a selected set of words along with a suggested order in which to teach them. We know that you’ll appreciate the Activity Packets with information sheets on highlighting these words in a variety of activities, and the accompanying data collection forms. A key intervention strategy is also discussed in each of these posts, with September focusing on the... [Read More...]

How I Do It-Strengthening our Remote AAC Sessions

August 27, 2020 by - 1 Comment

How I Do It-Strengthening our Remote AAC Sessions

As online instruction and therapy continue to be an important service delivery option, practitioners are growing their skills and expanding their toolboxes. Today, we welcome back PrAACtical AAC contributor Sarah Gregory with more tips and suggestions for how to make these virtual sessions more engaging and productive. Sarah is an AAC SLP and AT Specialist in Ithaca NY where she supports students in public school settings. In this post, she shares tips, videos, and activity downloads for AAC telepractice. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A new and uncertain school year has arrived and many of us will be continuing with some form of remote AAC support. In my last blog post (click here), I shared tips for getting started with AAC teletherapy and now we will look at structuring virtual sessions, creating and using digital materials, and providing Aided Language Input. And although I am sharing many digital activities and tricks, the most important... [Read More...]

Video of the Week: AAC Teletherapy Activities & Tips

August 12, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: AAC Teletherapy Activities & Tips

In many places, remote support of AAC learners will continue in some fashion even as we reopen schools and clinics. Today, we are back with AAC SLP Sarah Gregory who is taking us on a deep dive into her AAC teletherapy practices. Sarah practices in a New York public school where she is passionate about supporting students in inclusive settings. Earlier this year, we featured Sarah’s telepractice overview, which is a great resource for tools that you can use in remote AAC support. In today’s video, Sarah provides a more detailed discussion of integrating instructional strategies and gives us guidance on how to work effectively with caregivers or support personnel while providing AAC teletherapy. You can view the handout for this session here. Many thanks to Sarah and PRC Saltillo for this wonderful presentation. Enjoy!  Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goCNhuMALOU You can learn more from Sarah here.

How I Do It: Pivoting to Teletherapy for AAC Learners

July 9, 2020 by - 2 Comments

How I Do It: Pivoting to Teletherapy for AAC Learners

Over the past few months, I’ve been very impressed with the ways that educators and clinicians made a quick pivot from in-person teaching/therapy to providing support remotely. Some have taken what they’ve learned in this process and generously shared it with colleagues in their schools, clinics, and the broader AAC community. Today’s guest author, AAC SLP Sarah Gregory, is one such professional. Over the past few weeks, she’s not only served her own students but made the time to share what she has learned so that other professionals can benefit. In this post, Sarah discusses some of the YouTube videos that she created to help others become more comfortable with online therapy/teaching. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The end of the school year has given me time to reflect and organize some of the teletherapy tips, tricks and tools that I put into my YouTube videos this spring. I have really enjoyed giving and... [Read More...]

Video of the Week: Tech Tips for Modeling in Tele-AAC Activities

May 20, 2020 by - 1 Comment

Video of the Week: Tech Tips for Modeling in Tele-AAC Activities

Everywhere you look, therapists and clinicians are providing remote services to support AAC learners. They’re working through the challenges of remote learning and figuring out ways to support their clients and families, sometimes with little or no guidance from their own agencies. And through it all, they are finding making time to support other AAC practitioners throughout the world.  It’s pretty impressive! We’re really pleased to feature a video by PrAACtical AAC contributor and AAC SLP Sarah Gregory in today’s post. In this video, Sarah helps us with some of the technical aspects of AAC modeling while running an online activity.  Take a look.  Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbVSndMvlMg You can see some of Sarah’s previous contributions here.

How I Do It: Digital Connections With Families to Support AAC Users

March 26, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

How I Do It: Digital Connections With Families to Support AAC Users

Staying connected with families is such an important aspect of being an effective AAC interventionist. In today’s post, we have a return visit from SLP Sarah Gregory, who shares the things that she is doing to maintain these connections as we learn to do this work from afar. You can read Sarah’s previous contribution here. Digital Connections With Families to Support AAC Users I hope this blog post finds everyone well! The COVID-19 virus has created an uncertain and unprecedented time for us all, but I have gotten so much comfort from the generosity and resource sharing in our AAC SLP community this week. As we get creative in supporting our AAC users remotely, the app SeeSaw has been a key to connecting with my students and families (I am not affiliated with this app in any way). I have used this free app to create a loop between home... [Read More...]

How I Do It: Project-Based Learning and AAC

February 13, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

How I Do It: Project-Based Learning and AAC

Looking for ways to promote inclusive practices in your school? Today, AAC SLP and AT Consultant Sarah Gregory returns to share more about the strategies and approaches she uses in the peer support program in her school district in Ithaca, NY. Learn about how she implements problem-based learning to promote authentic learning experiences and meaningful connections between students with and without disabilities. You can see Sarah’s previous post on peer modeling here. Project-Based Learning and AAC I discussed in my first blog post the importance of authentic inclusion of students with Complex Communication Needs in the general education classroom. Involving peers in using AAC has been a great tool to move to a model of true inclusion. When incorporating peer support into a classroom structure I am thoughtful to make the interaction authentic and meaningful for everyone involved. Since starting a peer support program two years ago I have continuously... [Read More...]