I had an AAC-filled week at the ISAAC 2016 Biennial Conference in Toronto (stay tuned for posts with info on that and links to presentation handouts). Hope your prAACtical week was a good one, as well. Monday: Goodbye, Summer! A Clinician Preps AAC Materials for the New School Year Thursday: PrAACtical Supports for Older Learners: AT Recipes for Success: Nail Polish and Magazines
Looking forward to connecting with some of our prAACtical friends in Toronto this week! Can’t make it to the International AAC Society Biennial Conference this week? Get your fill of AAC with these posts from last week. Monday: Make It PrAACtical: DIY Switch-accessible Scanner Wednesday: Video of the Week: AACtual Therapy Using Pre-stored Messages Thuerday: PrAACtical Supports for Older Learners: AT Recipes for Success, Part 5 – Let’s Cook!
Hope to see some of our prAACtical friends at the 2016 ISAAC Biennial Conference starting August 6th. If you’re headed to Toronto, let’s connect for some prAACtical conversations! Monday – PrAACtically August: Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Tuesday – AAC Core Word Calendars for August Wednesday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Standardized Tests for AAC Users Thursday – PrAACtical Supports for Young AAC Learners: Recipes for Success, Part 4
What’s better than a bunch of bright, dedicated professionals who love improving the state of AAC? How about a group that facilitates the collegial sharing of this kind of information?! In today’s post, Dr. Joe Reddington discusses his efforts to promote open-source AAC solutions. You can read about an earlier project, CommuniKate, here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC Wins the Inclusive Technology Prize A few months ago, the nonprofit I run was given £50,000 to make open licensed resources (both materials and software) a key part of the AAC world. Figure 1: Kate McCallum and Dr Joe Reddington, winners of the Inclusive Technology Prize There are lots of definitions of open-licencing that make it sound more than what it is. Open-licencing is nothing more or less than letting people share. One of the reasons we really like PrAACtical AAC is that they release their work under Creative Commons, letting people make use of... [Read More...]
AAC assessment is an area that most professionals struggle with for one reason or another. I am so grateful to Vicki Clarke for returning to share her thoughts on the prAACticalities of conducting these evaluations. If you are looking for tips on assessing someone who needs high tech eye gaze AAC, this post is for you. For other posts authored by Vicki, click here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Eyes Have It: Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access Eye gaze control for AAC device access is a hallmark technological achievement in the world of speech generating devices. For people with significant motor challenges we are no longer limited to scanning as our one choice for AAC access. AAC Specialists have been using light tech eye gaze boards and PVC pipe frames with these friends for years, but now we are able to offer voice output. Eye gaze is for a much... [Read More...]
For our March Site of the Month, we return to the public school system, this time to Loudoun County, Virginia. The AT Program has amassed an impressive set of resources, many of which are listed on their web page. We’ve featured posts by some of their AT trainers, such as Chris Bugaj, Judie Schoonover, and Sally Norton-Darr, who’ve written on the use of podcasts and on their approach to professional development. There are lots more resources on the LCPS AT website for you to explore. Their AT Strategy-A-Day Calendar is not to be missed. AT team members with expertise in a variety of areas collaborate to create a new calendar every year, and they are always full of great tips, information, and resources. You can view it online or, if you are very lucky, win a printed copy at one of their many workshops and presentations. Bonus: They also share the template so... [Read More...]
Novice or expert Parent or professional Generalist or specialist No matter what our differences, we share a common goal of helping AAC learners move forward on the path to better language and literacy. We can all do a little more to help people with AAC needs achieve their potential. Here are some things ideas to get us moving. Find a new use for a retired, abandoned, or under-utilized tool. Lots of us are cleaning out closets and drawers at this time of year, and we’re bound to find something that has AAC potential. It could be an old magnetic card reader (great for phonological awareness and other literacy activities), a talking switch (adds flavor to ‘word of the day activities;’ great for telling jokes, getting attention and more), or even some random picture cards (add some spice to the sensory table or hide them around to read the room). Someone’s... [Read More...]
Curb cuts and ramps are standard accommodations in many parts of the world to reduce barriers to mobility. That’s important, of course, but what about the millions of people who are handicapped by barriers to communication? As AAC practitioners, we generally get so wrapped up in addressing the needs of individual clients on our caseloads that we rarely take time to consider the ways in which we can impact systemic barriers to effective communication. We are quite mindful that people with AAC needs struggle to communicate when they leave our therapy sessions and go about their lives and onto the business of learning, playing, and working. We are cognizant of the barriers they face and put on our best problem-solving hats to help them cope. Client by client. Issue by issue. If you’ve lamented “There has to be a better way,” you’re not alone. It seems overwhelming to think about... [Read More...]
“What’s the best AAC app?” I’m starting to think that every AAC SLP has been asked this question at least a dozen times. And with over 200 AAC apps for mobile devices to choose from, it’s no wonder that families and professionals are looking for guidance. So when USSAAC (the US Society for AAC) invited me to participate in their webinar series, I knew just which topic I wanted to tackle. In today’s post, you can see the archived version of that webinar, get the handout, and pose some questions using the ‘Comments’ feature at the bottom of the page. Before we get to that, though, I’d like to encourage those of you with strong interests in AAC who live in the US to become members. USSAAC is our national chapter of the International Society for AAC (ISAAC), and if you are not already familiar with the organization, please consider checking... [Read More...]
It’s so important for those of us who teach AAC to hear directly from the people who use those tools and strategies on a daily basis. In this week’s video, Vic Valentic, who served as the ISAAC Leadership Chair for People Who Use AAC, shares a bit about the role of AAC in his life at home, school, and work. You can see some more of Vic’s work here.