1056 Search Results for Core
March 2, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
This month, we’ll share some thoughts about helping people with AAC needs develop narrative skills. Why narrative skills? Because they help us connect to one another and communication learning works best when we feel connected. Among other things, storytelling helps us relate to one another. Narrative language is important for reading and writing skills to develop. It helps us understand the world and ourselves. In telling our stories, we establish our identities. Plus, it’s part of what makes life fun. In the US, pediatric therapists are having lots of conversations about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts (ELA), and how they relate to the IEP goals of the students that they serve. Many of the goals in the ELA speaking domain require students to be able to summarize what they hear and read, so it is no surprise that SLPs are prioritizing narrative language and related... [Read More...]
March 1, 2013
by Robin Parker -
We have been writing and talking about AAC & language strategies that go beyond requesting. And although we start a new month (today) and a new strategy on Saturday, we wanted to close this last day of the work week with a fun way of focusing on a complex but important language skill for ALL learners. If we presume competence, teach, model, and provide activities that are fun and have a variety of response options then everyone can learn to make ‘educated’ guesses and be able to ‘explain’ their choices. There is a difference in making the correct choice and explaining how you made the choice. This skill of guessing is called inferencing. Inferencing is the process by which a conclusion is inferred from an observation or multiple observations. The conclusion may be correct or incorrect, but conclusions are based on information we have at the time. As a language... [Read More...]
February 28, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
When I first moved to Florida almost 20 years ago, there was a plethora of AAC trainings for special educators, school-based SLPs, and other related service personnel. The AAC professionals in the Orange County area could always be counted on for top-notch information and engaging presentations that kept all of us learning and growing. Florida since moved into a different model for professional development in AT and I am still mourning the loss of access to this fabulous team. We are so lucky that they agreed to share some of their ‘Go – To’ resources with us in this post. The OCPS AT Team has 5 TRICKS to share with us and all of them are very prAACtical. In this post, they share the first two (stay tuned for the other 3 TRICKS in a future post). Get ready to check out their prAACtical ideas and download some of their... [Read More...]
February 23, 2013
by Robin Parker -
As we wrap up the February Strategy of the Month, we need to add strategies for helping AAC users talk/chat with peers. For some learners, it is more about providing access and opportunity while for others, it is more about providing a platform for the social awareness and exchange. However, for all learners who need assistance in ‘chatting’, there are many goals and strategies that will help. Setting the Foundation for Social Exchanges with Peers Provide frequent opportunities for peers to communicate with each other- Build in many opportunities within all (or almost all) activities for generic small talk, gossiping, & chatting. Create activities that have’ built in’ communication with peers- develop activities that require communication with peers to make the activity work. Instead of having all communication directed at the adults/facilitators in the room, have the learners talk to peers to take steps in the activity. Set up... [Read More...]
February 21, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We couldn’t be happier to have a guest post by Jane Farrall for our How I Do It series. Jane has worked as a school and adult service based speech pathologist and literacy teacher. She has also worked as an assistive technology specialist and is currently working as an independent consultant in literacy, AAC and Assistive Technology. Jane has been working in the disability and assistive technology field for over 20 years. She has extensive practical experience in both AAC and in teaching children and adults with disabilities to acquire literacy. She has completed a Masters in Special Education focusing on literacy acquisition in children and adults without speech. Jane is a former Chairperson of AGOSCI (Australian Group on Severe Communication Impairment) and is the founder and organiser of the Big Mouth Camp, a camp for school aged students using speech generating devices and their families. You can get more... [Read More...]
February 16, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
. A few weeks ago we talked about AAC intervention to teach someone how to convey information that others want or need. Giving instructions, answering comprehension questions, and retelling a story all fit into the Light’s category of ‘information transfer.’ Communicating in order to give information is only part of that story. Today, we complete the story by talking about getting information from others. Not all questions are about getting information, of course. We also ask questions for other reasons, like getting something we want or need (e.g., “May I have a drink, please?”) and socializing with friends/family (e.g., “How was your weekend?” “What did you do for your birthday?”). But in this post, we focus on interrogatives that serve the purpose of getting needed information from a communication partner. Many times when we think of interrogatives in language therapy, the focus is on answering them accurately and appropriately. The skill... [Read More...]
February 13, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We love the versatility of flip books and charts. They are a great format option for communication books, particularly the flip books that have a static ‘base’ and a set of strips/mini pages that you can flip through for additional vocabulary. Once you have a template, it’s not too difficult to make a number of them that fit different purposes. Here are some resources to explore. SET-BC has wonderful material on communication supports including a brief video about flip books here. They also have some terrific downloads, including this one by Kathy Ryan. Flip ‘n Talk has been around for a long time, but it continues to be a really useful tool. We typically have the core language as the static portion, but here’s an example of doing it the other way around. There are so many ways to use flip books for language learning. We love this one for... [Read More...]
February 12, 2013
by Robin Parker -
14 Valentine’s Day Activities for Love, Literacy, & Learning Valentine’s Day is a theme that seems to take precedent in February. When we use this theme, we like to focus on it before, during, and after February 14th because then there is a lot of opportunity to talk about it before, during, & after the holiday. This is like conversation which involves so much more than talking about the ‘here & now’. For the Computer: Use Heart Generators http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/ http://acme.com/heartmaker/ http://www.bobarmadillo.com/sluggyv-day/ Use Word Clouds Taxedo Wordle Image Chef Practice Valentine’s Day Spelling Words Research Valentine’s Day & Write Key Fringe Vocabulary Create sentences with core words using multiple hearts Write word poems using heart generators Have students take turns telling you or another student what to write on the hearts Apps Special Valentine Day Apps First Words Valentines– Free- learn and spell key Valentine’s Day vocabulary. Nice errorless learning... [Read More...]
February 6, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
In a previous post, we talked about the fun ways to get in some good AAC practice with language experience surveys. Here are some great examples of survey-related materials that we found on one of our favorite communities, Boardmaker Share. Hot Chocolate Survey by Sharon Maack-Connolly What I Did Over the Holidays by Becki Ratcliffe I Can (corresponds with MeVille to Weville but also good for any core language practice) by Alison R Songs About America by Kate Ahern How Do You Like to Travel by Vicki Clarke My Opinion: Pets by Vicki Clarke How Do You Get to School by Tiffany Paul What is Your Favorite Fast Food Restaurant by Tiffany Paul We’d love to hear more prAACtical ideas for using language experience surveys.
February 4, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are still looking over content and finding more goodies from AAC presentations at the Atlanta ASHA Convention. Meet Core Content & State Standards for Students Using AAC by Deborah Witkowski and Bruce Baker Effective Parent Training Strategies for Teaching Communication Across Various Modes by Courtney Wright and Megan Roberts Semantic-Syntactic Coding & Analysis for a Child Using Aided AAC by Cathy Binger, Eliza Webb, Marika King, and Marysa DeBlassie Evidence-Based Practices for Use of Visual Scene Displays (VSDs) by Libby Rush and Celeste Helling Community-Based AAC iPad Lending Library: Getting It Up & Running by Ellen Holloway and Kelly Crouch