1027 Search Results for Core
February 9, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
With apologies to the SGD and app designers for making things more complicated for you we offer up these wishes for the next generation of AAC devices and apps. Everything should have a readily accessible ‘un-do’ button. Seriously, folks. Are we the only ones who make mistakes? AAC devices/apps that let you pick the symbol set/system and organize the vocabulary accordingly. Variety is still the spice of life. A universal standard or convention across SGDs/apps for button shapes and color-coding, with option to customize, of course. (Isn’t it great to have your cake and be able to eat it, too?!) Built in core word libraries that make it easy to populate screens with the words we use most often ‘Smart’ templates that suggest vocabulary and organization options as you build the display. – How about you? What do you dream of in the next generation of AAC technology?
February 4, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Imagine having one key communication strategy and no one knew that it existed. This horrifying experience was documented in the book ‘I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes,’ the autobiography of Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer. For years, she effectively used eye gaze with her family to answer yes/no questions, but when Ruth was placed at a residential facility, things eventually changed. Staff turnover, something we’re all familiar with, was the culprit. With time, new staff came in and didn’t realize that Ruth communicated with her eyes. Ruth was silenced for years until someone noticed that her ‘eyes up’ movement wasn’t reflexive or random. She was talking, but no one was listening. — While this was an extreme example, most AAC practitioners can recount their own stories of people whose AAC messages weren’t effectively translated once they moved to new settings. The transition to a new environment, where untrained partners may fail to recognize... [Read More...]
January 17, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We’re super excited to see more and more AAC apps give real attention to core language. There are plenty of AAC tools and apps that allow for choicemaking, requesting, and other types of functional communication. Not all of them, however, have the key ingredients for the development of linguistic competence. We’ll be talking more about that in future posts, but for now, let’s just celebrate the fact that more AAC apps have what it takes for us to teach morphology and syntax.Speak for Yourself is one of the newest kids on the block and it looks like this one was worth waiting for. Developed by two SLPs, Heidi LoStracco and Renee Collender, Speak for Yourself piqued my interest when I saw it at the ASHA convention in San Diego. We’re having fun exploring what it can do and looking forward to using Speak for Yourself with some of our AAC... [Read More...]
January 15, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Sean Sweeney, from Speech Techies, always has great ideas for free or low cost apps or web-based materials that have wonderful therapeutic potential. Recently, he posted about Painting with Time, a free app that you can read about here. It’s such a cool app that we decided to use it to launch our Magic Moments series. – Magic Moments is an occasional series that gives PrAACtical suggestions for therapy materials, apps, software, and websites that are easy for SLPs to access and use in their clinical work. We’ll focus on materials that many of us already own and use, as well as on free or nearly free materials. Sometimes the materials will be electronic, like iPad apps or software. Other times, we’ll go ‘old school’ and bring out some of our favorite therapy materials, like toys, games, photo albums, and more. The focus will be on using those materials to teach language... [Read More...]
January 14, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
I had some great conversations with families this month about AAC and how to effectively translate strategies from therapy and school to a home environment. Although their children were all different ages, had various disabilities, and used a diverse set of AAC tools, there were a couple of common elements in those conversations.One thing that played a central role was this question: What IS an AAC system? We all know the textbook definition of AAC and that it refers to a set of tools, techniques, and strategies used to enhance the communication of people with significant language difficulties. We know that AAC is often subdivided into unaided communication (including gestures, signs, movement, vocalization, etc) and aided communication (such as communication books, speech generating devices [SGDs], and choice boards).But the general case is only helpful if you’re in AAC class or studying for the PRAXIS. In clinical practice, we need to... [Read More...]
January 4, 2012
by Robin Parker -
2012 is here and we have been reflecting on some videos (just a few) that will remain in our PrAACtical tool box. These videos ‘say’ it better than any words, lecture, or article. They inspire active exploration into the topic as you think about AAC systems & inclusion at home and the community. About Core Words About Employment And the program expands For critics of technology
January 4, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Welcome to the PrAACtical AAC Strategy Series! Each month we hope to focus on a new topic related to AAC intervention. Over time, we plan to cover the things that we’ve found to be important in our work with scores of graduate student SLPs and families. We’ll try to do a post each Saturday with information on that AAC topic. Early on, we’ll focus on some of the AAC basics and then progress into more strategies. Throughout the week, we’ll try to tie in some of our other posts to the monthly strategy when that seems to make sense. Look for info, anecdotes and links designed to flesh things out and extend the conversation a bit. Speaking of intervention, here’s something we’ve noticed: Information about communication strategies is sometimes written for a narrow audience, but has broader applicability. Try to keep an open mind and check out the links to sites, articles, and... [Read More...]