How can we help communication partners use aided language input to support AAC users? In today’s featured video, SLP Gretchen Storm discusses strategies that can be used in partner training? Many thanks to Gretchen for this presentation and Saltillo for hosting it so that we can all benefit. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBQASNVSfGc&feature=youtu.be
It’s just about time to turn the page on the calendar and that means we’re looking ahead to ways we can highlight more of the core vocabulary words in our clients’ AAC devices and communication aids. One approach to boosting practice opportunities is to select a dozen or so core words to focus on each month. Throughout the month, we can then pay special attention to that small group of words by highlighting them with focused language stimulation, aided language input, and specific activities designed to teach or practice those words. In previous years, we shared lists of some core words to help you do just that and every month we share some ideas for prioritizing a small set of words. You can use these materials to remind yourself which words to highlight this month, with using aided language input and focused language stimulation. What else? Here are some ideas... [Read More...]
Welcome back to another installment of TELL ME About It, guest authored by Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. In this series, they discuss how they support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students. Today, they walk us through the ways that they facilitate AAC use while focusing on the book ‘What Do You Like?’ Don’t miss their Lesson Plan, video demonstrations, and other resources at the end of the post. TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘What Do You Like?’ TELL ME About Reading: The fifth book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “What Do You Like?”. ... [Read More...]
Welcome to a new edition of TELL ME About It, with AAC Specialists Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrip. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings. They’ve collaborated on a series to share their experiences in supporting preschool classrooms that implement the TELL ME program that Lori Wise and I created. If you missed the earlier posts in this series, you can get caught up using the links below. From Head to Toe I Went Walking Brown Bear, Brown Bear TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Here Are My Hands’! TELL ME About Reading: The fourth book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “Here Are My Hands.” A... [Read More...]
We’re all about the visual presentation of concepts, whether it is through aided language input, graphic organizers during vocabulary instruction, timelines for facilitating narrative development, or a host of different situations. There’s something about the visual layout that clarifies and inspires. Over the past few years, there has been a huge increase in the number of software programs and apps that allow us to visually depict the relationship between things. You can create mind maps and flowcharts in Google Slides and Powerpoint, but sometimes you just want a dedicated, specially designed program to create them. Here are some free or low-cost options to explore. Mind Meister MindMup Connected Mind (Chrome extension, app) Text2MindMap Transno Bubble.us Are you using mind mapping software/apps in your AAC work? Please comment or get in touch with us. We’d love to hear about it.
It’s time for another installment of the TELL ME About It series which focuses on AAC, language, and literacy learning with preschool children. Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim are back with more great ideas for AAC intervention, this time focusing on the Eric Carle book, From Head to Toe. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in central Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings. You can check out the earlier posts in this series below. I Went Walking Brown Bear, Brown Bear TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘From Head To Toe’! TELL ME About Reading: The third book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “From Head To Toe.” We love when books are interactive... [Read More...]
Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson are back with another installment of their series on implementing TELL ME in preschool classrooms. Each month, they share their tips and suggestions for helping classroom teams target core vocabulary with a different book. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in central Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings. In today’s post, Jeanna and Maggie share their ideas and experiences in target a set of core words with activities that focus on the book, I Went Walking. Looking for the other posts in this series? TELL ME About It: AAC Literacy Kits Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with I Went Walking TELL ME About Reading: The second book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early... [Read More...]
Looking for an engaging activity to support AAC and literacy learning? Today, we’re adding to our Magic Moments series and getting ideas (and materials) from Maggie Judson. Maggie is an SLP and ATP, working as an AAC facilitator for a special education cooperative in central Illinois. In her work as an AAC SLP, she provides direct therapy, evaluations, consultations, and trainings for staff and families. You can find some of Maggie’s previous posts that she co-authored with her colleague Jeanna Antrim, here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Magic Moments – Crafty with Core I love hanging out on Instagram and Pinterest because there are so many cool educators doing cool things, and I get so inspired by them. As an AAC SLP, I follow a lot of SLP and teacher accounts. But I also follow some crafty accounts, because you never know where your next inspiration will come from for a super fun and engaging... [Read More...]
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! We’ve rounded up some posts that might be of interest. Monday – How I Do It: Setting Up an AAC Implementation Plan Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: The Unspoken Voices Project Thursday – From Wheelchair to Walker: The Cascading Benefit of Hands-Free Mobility :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We’ve got a few more posts for you to browse. On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals From Referential to Descriptive Teaching with AAC Learners Aided Language Input – How Much Language Should We Model? PrAACtical Resources: Promoting Inclusion and Participation for People Who Use AAC When Students are Reluctant to Use AAC: 5 Things to Try
Amanda Samperi is back with the second post in her series about getting ready to return to school-based AAC services. Amanda is an AAC SLP who has worked in a variety of service delivery settings and runs the blog, AAC is Where It’s AT. Currently, she provides push-in language therapy to children with complex communication needs at a substantially-separate center school in Florida. She also conducts AAC/AT evaluations, provides year-round parent trainings, and assists the SLP team in instructing teachers/staff about communication supports and strategies In today’s post, she addresses a situation faced by many AAC teams: Serving children who use a variety of different AAC symbols and systems. If you missed Amanda’s initial post on back-to-school AAC, you can catch up on that here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets It’s the beginning of the year – desks are in their spots, students’ names are... [Read More...]