138 Search Results for schedules

5+ Fun AAC Things To Do To Get Ready For Halloween

October 4, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

5 Fun AAC Things To Do To Get Ready For Halloween

We love to start planning for holidays early. It helps facilitate conversation before, during, & after exciting activities and events. When we begin using core and fringe vocabulary early, frequently, and authentically the learner has the most opportunity for success. Use Schedules: Use a monthly calendar to have a Halloween countdown, Use mini-schedules to make food recipes, spooky science concoctions, or even to plan the trick or treating routes. Use a small talk app like Fat Cat Spooky Chat to prAACtice what you will SAY (October core words) on Halloween. Use a social narrative to prepare everyone for what to expect on and around Halloween. More Halloween social narratives can be found at Autism Community, One Place for Special Needs, Katherine Sanger You Tube, & Kentucky Autism Training Center Prepare a choice board of Halloween costume options and let the learner decide on the costume. PrAACtice a script to be... [Read More...]

5 Reasons We Don’t Usually Use ‘Speech Rules’

September 23, 2013 by - 7 Comments

5 Reasons we don't typically use speech rules

We love organized productive speech therapy sessions. But, we don’t typically use speech rules in our sessions. It’s not that we are inherently against ‘behavior speech rules’ but overall, we don’t use them.  Here are some of the  reasons why: We use meaningful language activities.  We try to use meaningful, fun, and engaging activities so learners want to participate. Even when we think an activity is enjoyable and it is not, it becomes enjoyable and meaningful to “stop” the activity.  It is helpful to think about meaningful and fun from the learner’s perspective and not just ours. For example, having a pleasant conversation about awesome pretty pictures would be enjoyable for  many students. However, if conversation is difficult, maybe not so much.  It’s not that we would not work on conversation, but the activity structure may involve clear beginnings and endings to the conversation, a  ‘take home poster’, and/or a... [Read More...]

Literacy Lessons for Beginning AAC Learners

September 21, 2013 by - 10 Comments

Literacy Lessons for Beginning AAC Learners

Like some of you, we are often met with skepticism when we encourage teams to work on literacy skills with individuals who are still learning the very basics of communication. Recently, we had the opportunity to begin this journey anew, and model a literacy lesson for kindergartners who have no formal communication system, are not answering yes/no questions, and do not consistently select preferred items when offered choices. Why work on literacy with students who are not routinely expressing their basic preferences? Because the longer we wait, the longer it will take to get there. Because it offers wonderful opportunities to build communication, too. Because when other people see us teaching reading and writing, it changes their perception of the student in a positive way. Because they will enjoy it. Because there are mandates for us to address the general education curriculum. Because if we set the bar high and... [Read More...]

5 AAC Strategies & The “Use It or Lose It” Philosophy

September 12, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

5 AAC Strategies & the Use it or Lose it philosophy

School has begun for almost everyone. Some classes have been in session for a while and routines have been formed, learning is taking place, behaviors have settled down. Now comes what can seem like the hard part: Keeping up with and expanding the strategies that helped students become successful.  Instead of trying to fade AAC displays/devices and visual supports, stick with the basics and expand how they can be used.  Because if you don’t use it, you may lose it. So: Keep up with: Visual Schedules– monthly, daily, and mini. Even if students know the schedule, continue to use it. Most of us would not like ‘losing’ our day planner or ‘to do’ lists even though we know our schedules. Aided Language Input First- Then Visual Support Visual Boundaries Access to a AAC Display/Device– And the display or device is with the student All the time, everywhere, charged, working, and... [Read More...]

AAC ‘Must Haves’ for the Classroom and Speech Room

August 10, 2013 by - 2 Comments

AAC 'Must Haves' for the Classroom & Speech Room

As we were getting ready for back to school and thinking about ‘must haves’, it quickly became apparent that it is not so easy to narrow it down. And the ‘must haves’ would definitely vary depending upon type of class, students, and even school.  Based on a wide variety of differences, we organized a wide variety of choices to explore (we apologize in advance if we got carried away but…). Choose what you need, bookmark what  you may need later and let us know your  ‘must haves’ for a classroom and speech room AAC collaborative approach.  We will create an ongoing list. Get Started Before School Starts         Do these 10 Things to Get Started with AAC  if you are new to an AAC student or classroom Provide AAC Support in the Classroom. Support teachers and educators with tips from Jane Farrall, & learn about AAC in the Classroom by Joan... [Read More...]

31 AAC Posts You May Have Missed in July

August 5, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

31 Posts You May Have Missed In July

PrAACtical Thinking Free Text-based AAC Apps for the iPad PrAACtical Questions: Can Students Take Their AAC Device Home? PrAACtical AAC Learning & July 4th: Get Ready Get Set Go 4 Free July 4th Apps to SPARK Commenting 30 Posts You May Have Missed in June 4+AAC Tips for Talking About July 4th AFTER the Festivities PrAACtically Ready to Read Did You Know: AADMD Offers Specialty Webinars Visual Schedule Myths Live On..& On Getting to Yes Working with Worksheets Apps to Prepare, Learn, & Talk About Summer Vacations Modify a Battery-Operated Toy To Make It Accessible By Switches 5 Great Ways To Help People with AAC Needs Develop Inner Speech What’s the Connection: Core Vocabulary and Visual Schedules Random App of Kindness Giveaway: Talk About Food Create Your Own Style PECS Book 5 Things to Consider About Assigning ‘Homework’ to Your AAC Clients 8Friday Fun: 8 AAC Activities that are Fast... [Read More...]

Strategy of the Month: Back to School with AAC

August 3, 2013 by - 4 Comments

Back to School with AAC

Here in the US, August is Back-to-School month. Throughout this month, we’ll try to post ideas and resources to help make the transition back to school a smooth and successful one. One of the most important things for students who use AAC is having their SLPs, teachers, and families on the same page. They each have a different but very intense relationship with the student’s AAC system. Here are some prAACtical thoughts on getting everyone on the same page. 1.  Develop a communication profile of the student: In the initial weeks, try to get a baseline of how the student is communicating at the start of the year. For beginning communicators, we track things like their communicative intents (WHY they are communicating), modalities (HOW they are communicating), and the frequency of their communication. We’ve written about one of our favorite tools for this, the Communication Matrix. 2. Share what you know:... [Read More...]

Visual Schedule Myths Live On..

July 11, 2013 by - 2 Comments

Visual Schedule Myths Live On and On

There are many myths about visual schedules for learners with special needs. Those myths multiply for older learners as well as for learners who are thought to have higher or lower skills. It is amusing to us (in a not really funny way) that these myths don’t typically extend to the  SLP’s, educators, or other professionals and THEIR schedules/day planners. We have heard a lot of visual schedule myths in the last couple of weeks, which means the topic may need some re-visiting.  Here are some TRUTHS about visual schedules. Please share if these myths come up in your area. Visual Schedules Increase INDEPENDENCE– Independence is supported when you can follow a visual schedule and do not need another person with you to tell you the steps to complete a day or a task. Independence is also facilitated when you can check for yourself when an event is happening rather than... [Read More...]

PrAACtical Thoughts on Challenging Behavior: Things To Think About

May 17, 2013 by - 3 Comments

PrAACtical Thoughts on Challenging Behavior: Things to Think About

We have had several experiences in the last couple of weeks relating to concerns from SLP’s and educators about challenging behavior (dare we say it might be less structure, less predictability, less routines, or just plain tiredness because it is the end of the school year). Challenging behavior is hard… and disconcerting especially if you feel that you have little control over it (imagine how the learner feels- almost no one wants to be unhappy and out of control). However, there are so many strategies and supports that can improve the situation. It is often about getting back to basics (especially if end of the year issues play into the challenging behavior).  The First 5 Questions to Ask: How Does the Learner Communicate? It is important that everyone has a way to communicate their own wants, needs, ideas, interests, and more. It is NOT good enough to just ‘know’ what someone... [Read More...]

It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day!

May 16, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

It's PrAACtically Memorial Day

It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day! Memorial Day is prAACtically here.  We remember, appreciate, and honor the people who have protected our freedoms. Getting ready so EVERYONE can participate is important. We wrote about memorial day last year and had found some good  gluten-casein free Memorial Day recipes. There are even more resources today. Check out Gluten Free Memorial Day Weekend Menu and Recipe Ideas or Gluten Free Casein Free Applesauce Muffins.  Cooking and baking provide meaningful language experiences as well as just plain fun. There are symbol based recipes on Pinterest  at Picture Recipes and Visual Recipes for Children with Autism, and at Specialty Chef. There are also prAACtical AAC ways to teach about Memorial Day’s meaning as well as the typical memorial day vacations, activities, and events. Learning about Memorial Day  Memorial Day Activity Board Memorial Day Vocabulary Cards Memorial Day Bingo Memorial Day Adapted Bingo Summer Pack  Memorial Day  After learning about Memorial... [Read More...]