1056 Search Results for Core
February 2, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Although it has been close to 25 years since Dr. Janice Light’s hallmark paper on communicative competence in AAC discussed four main purposes of communication, many AAC systems are still heavily populated with messages for basic wants and needs. The other areas – information transfer, social closeness, social etiquette – are often underrepresented in AAC systems. We scratched the surface of how to teach basic requesting last month, and now we’re ready to talk about communicating for other reasons. In this post, we’ll talk about some of the clinical issues in teaching communication for the purpose of information transfer. A big reason that we express ourselves is to share information that others want or need. It may not seem like a high priority until we realize how often we need to do this to function in our daily lives. Here are some examples, both positive and negative, from our work... [Read More...]
January 31, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We couldn’t be happier that one of our first AACtual Therapists is Tanna Neufeld, a south Floridian on loan to the Pacific Northwest. Tanna was with us as a graduate student many years ago, and went on to build a fantastic reputation in our community for her excellent clinical skills. It was South Florida’s loss when she left last year and moved across the continent. (I know at least a few people scheming of ways to get her back.) Tanna is now working at the Children’s Therapy Center in Seattle. Tanna blogs at SNEAK Outside the Box and My Blind Side. You can read more about her at the end of this post, in which Tanna talks about using bubbles in her AAC therapy sessions. AAC Breakthroughs with Bubbles! When I first started using core vocabulary boards with my kids, I didn’t really know where to start. It was really... [Read More...]
January 26, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
This month we’ve been talking about requesting and choicemaking, specifically how to teach it. Today, we’ll put it into a clinical context by talking about a hypothetical session that targets this skill, but also highlights other strategies. As you read about the materials, preparation, and script, look for how they incorporate strategies such as building specific communication opportunities {CO}, aided language input {ALI}, and expansions {EX}. The clinician also builds in repetition with variety so that there is sufficient opportunities for teaching and practice using multiple modes of communication. In this scenario, you’ll meet Jenna, a 5 year old with significant language difficulties secondary to Cri du Chat syndrome. Jenna’s communication system includes about a dozen manual signs (SIGN), 20-25 word approximations (SPEECH), a few gestures (GEST), some manual communication boards (COMM BD), and an iPad with a full-featured AAC app (iPAD). She also uses movement (MOVEMT), vocalizations (VOC), and... [Read More...]
January 25, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Many of our prAACtical AAC friends are members of ASHA’s Special Interest Group (SIG) on AAC and are able to access their quarterly publication, Perspectives on AAC. I was fortunate to be invited to submit an article for the September 2012 edition, guest edited by Gail Van Tatenhove, on the topic of including students with robust AAC devices in general education classrooms. Access to the final publication is limited to those who are ASHA SIG members, but Gail did get clearance for authors to be able to share their original unedited works. Several of those authors have given permission for their articles to be published on the Minspeak website and also here on our site. In this post, we would like to share the work of Solana Henneberry, Jennifer Kelso, and Gloria Soto. This article describes a process of developing an AAC intervention plan that relate to the Common Core... [Read More...]
January 23, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Want to give your AAC learners more frequent opportunities to interact with others? We love using Language Experience Surveys for this purpose. The concept is a simple one. Once you have a language goal in mind, craft a survey with a key question that the communicator can use as a conversation starter. After some instruction and practice, they can then ask people the question. You’ll need to create visual supports for the survey so that the communicator can use it as a cue and show to the interaction partners. In some surveys, the partners then use the visual support to record their responses. Putting the visual support on a clipboard works well in some situations. The simplest way to do this is with a forced-choice question with a list of response options. The survey could be about favorite TV shows or places to visit, for example, and show different options.... [Read More...]
January 17, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Nothing makes us happier than hearing AAC success stories. It’s thrilling to hear of folks who are using AAC tools and strategies to communicate effectively. We love hearing how their language develops and the positive changes that makes in their lives. It also makes us curious as to what made ‘this’ story a success story. One of our goals for the new year was to give PrAACtical AAC followers a look into the experiences of professionals outside their own communities. Last week, we introduced AACtual Therapy, a series of guest posts by SLPs who are willing to give us a peek into their AAC therapy sessions. Today, we introduce How I Do It, a series in which we invite SLPs to share how they tackle common issues, tasks, or problems. We’re excited to launch the series with a post from Lauren Enders, a clinician who supports the AAC community beyond... [Read More...]
January 16, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Thematic language therapy can be part of a meaningful language experience. This is true for everyone but especially helpful for learners with social communication/language difficulties. The theme of a session or theme of a month (or semester) can help a learner understand the relationship of individual activities to a larger main idea. For some learners it is easier to understand the details than to understand the ‘big picture’. By adding well thought out thematic features in intervention, the learner can then have many opportunities to relate the component parts of a theme to a main topic. Another aspect and benefit of thematic language learning has to do with word, concept, & vocabulary access. If a theme is used in a variety (or ALL) activities, there is a greater chance that the learner will be using similar words and concepts in talking, listening, reading and writing. By using all language modalities, vocabulary, word... [Read More...]
January 15, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
2012 was certainly the year that saw an explosion of SLPs and teachers authoring materials that they offer for sale. TeachersPayTeachers (TpT) is one of several sites that became popular this year and is credited with giving a huge boost to the movement. Here are some of prAACtical interest. Kate Ahern’s Core Word Boards: This set of communication boards can be a big timesaver for anyone who wants to implement a core word approach and needs help in getting set up with some initial materials. (17 pp) Fun for Learning’s visual support with a Star Wars Theme. Use this (or one of her other thematic kits) to customize picture schedules and supports based on the learner’s area of interest. (Free) Working on semantics? This PowerPoint template for making vocabulary teaching supports from Jerilyn can be used to provide practice. (Free) Teaching interrogatives is something that most of us don’t... [Read More...]
January 12, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Choicemaking and requesting may be the most frequently targeted areas for beginning communicators who are starting out with their AAC systems. That makes sense for some learners because making choices is a very concrete focus for interaction and is loaded with motivational power. It seems pretty straightforward but, like anything else we do clinically, there are lots of decisions and choices to be made as we delve deeper into the process. How can we craft an AAC system that targets requesting for now, but also supports core language learning? For communicators who are at the earliest stages of making requests with AAC symbols, the strategy we discussed earlier this month or simple choice boards are a good starting point. But unless we quickly address where this is all going, the client will be strictly limited in their language learning. There are many ways to do this. Here is one approach.... [Read More...]
January 4, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are so excited to see the expanded web presence by SLPs who are blogging, running groups on Facebook, sharing resources on Pinterest, and maintaining online stores on TeachersPayTeachers. We’ve been thinking about how to connect with some of these creative professionals, both to extend our own professional learning networks and also to broaden the reach of our AAC message. Recently, when an opportunity to forge a few connections presented itself, we decided to collaborate with a few new SLP friends. Periodically, we will be featuring the materials of a fellow SLP who typically writes for colleagues serving primarily children with high incidence disabilities. They post great ideas and materials for students with articulation and phonological difficulties, fluency problems, and language disorders. We hope to put a prAACtical spin on their great ideas. In our inaugural post of this type, we hope to inspire some Magic Moments with fellow SLP Jocelyn... [Read More...]