Watch It Wednesday: Word Prediction Funnies
Between the ASHA Convention and preparations for Thanksgiving, we’re dragging. Luckily, comedian Lee Ridley (“The Lost Voice Guy”) is ready to give us a smile.
181 Search Results for asha
How I Do It: Connecting with Colleagues in a Shared Community of Practice by Karen Natoci Florka
I had the pleasure of meeting Karen Natoci Florka last month when I visited Michigan and am delighted that she was willing to introduce us to the Shared Community of Practice from the team at The Communication Matrix. Karen is an SLP who has served students aged 3-26 with various physical, sensory and intellectual challenges at Wing Lake Developmental Center (Detroit area) since 2001. She is a part time lecturer at Wayne State University where she teaches a course entitled “Communication Acquisition and Educational Interventions for Students with Moderate to Severe Impairments.” She is part of the Communication Matrix Charter group. Click on the image below to learn more. The Communication Matrix is growing into a Shared Community of Practice! I remember the first few weeks in my new job at a wonderful, magical, school for children with complex communication needs. It was time for my first evaluation. These amazing students were challenging! They seemed... [Read More...]
Throwback Thursday: Teaching Core Vocabulary
While I’m soaking up AAC knowledge at the ASHA Convention, here’s a post from the past. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Among the many changes that the AAC field has experienced in the last decade is the notion that core vocabulary is (or should be) an integral part of any AAC system. We grew to understand the limitations of AAC supports that consist primarily of nouns and descriptors, realizing that those kinds of communication displays restricted our clients to requesting and labeling. Our field realized the inadequacy of providing only prestored messages (e.g., limited the client’s ability to communicate anything novel, not flexible enough to meet most communication needs, etc.). In essence, we realized that without core vocabulary, we were imposing a ceiling on language development. We’re thrilled to see so many communication boards, books, SGDs, and AAC apps reflect this knowledge. Having tools with the appropriate vocabulary is a big step in the... [Read More...]
PrAACtical Questions: “Can I Work with Device Manufacturers and Vendors in an AAC Evaluation?”
In one of my AAC classes, we’ve been talking about working collaboratively with vendors of SGDs and other AT in a way that is ethically responsible. Clearly, we look first to our ASHA SLP Code of Conduct, best practices, agency policies and procedures, and regulations (such as HIPAA and FERPA in the US). Secondly, we use a feature match process to guide the evaluation so that there is appropriate diversity in the communications being considered. Beyond that, here are some of the things we came up with. Open a dialogue and the roles and expectations of each party. If we are inviting a vendor in to provide some support, then it’s best to precede that with a frank conversation so that everyone is clear on how to proceed. Be clear about acceptable and unacceptable behaviors prior to the start of the collaborative activity. Having some guidelines written out in advance... [Read More...]
5 Things That (Should) Guide SLPs in the Practice of AAC
Providing good AAC services is messy stuff. To start with, language therapy can’t be tied up into neat little packages. Add in motor skills, symbolization, perceptual abilities, the technology, and all the rest of it and you can see why SLPs new to AAC get overwhelmed. Here are some resources we turn to when trying to blaze a path to communicative competence with our AAC friends. ASHA’s Roles and Responsibilities of SLPs with Respect to AAC National Joint Committee (NJC) Position Statement on Eligibility to Communication Services Developmental Patterns for Syntax and Morphology Data from a Comprehensive AAC Assessment ASHA Code of Ethics
How We Do It: Tele-AAC with Nerissa Hall and Hillary Johnson
Have you been hearing a lot about telepractice lately and are wondering how that works when the client has AAC needs? In this post, we turn to Nerissa Hall and Hillary Jellison of Communicare who tell us how they use it in their clinical practice. Nerissa and Hillary are both SLPs and assistive technology practitioners specializing in AAC, AT, and telepractice/tele-AAC. They have worked together for a number of years and are the proud owners of Commūnicāre, LLC, organization based in Western Mass and CT, that offers intervention, consultation, and evaluation services focusing on supporting an individuals, or a team’s, success and independence through implementation of AAC, AT and innovative and evidence-based practices. We are committed to our clinical work, as well as translational research and are members of the C.A.R.E. Consortium. Tele-AAC: A Powerful Way of Supporting Individuals Using AAC Telepractice, which is used to provide professional services by linking clinicians... [Read More...]
Fast Fact Friday: School-based SLPs and Students with AAC Needs
If you’re up for a little light reading this weekend, you might want to check out ASHA’s 2014 SLP Schools Survey Caseload Report. Among the findings: 55% of school-based SLPs regularly serve students with AAC needs 90% of them serve kids with ASD. The largest median caseload (60) was in Florida, and the smallest (35) was in New York. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Reference American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2014). 2014 Schools Survey report: SLP caseload characteristics. Available from www.asha.org/research/memberdata/schoolssurvey/.
Alphabet Soup: Acronyms for AAC Practitioners
We’re excited about the passion and enthusiasm for AAC shown by many new SLPs and graduate student clinicians. One of the things they sometimes struggle with in reading and writing reports is the number of acronyms that we tend to use. This is always a problem in clinical and scholarly writing, but when the field is incredibly diverse and transdisciplinary, the challenges multiply. Here’s a starter list of acronyms* and their meanings. Many, MANY thanks to those who helped us create this list on the PrAACtical AAC Facebook page. AAC-RERC – AAC Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center ACOLUG – Augmentative Communication Online Users’ Group AiLS, ALgS, and ALs – Aided language stimulation ALI – Aided language input ALS – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis AOTA – American Occupational Therapy Association APTA – American Physical Therapy Association ASD – Autism spectrum disorder ASHA – American Speech Language Hearing Association AT – Assistive technology ATIA... [Read More...]
AAC Knowledge and Skills for SLPs
What should SLPs know and be able to do in order to provide AAC services? Here’s what ASHA has to say about that. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2002). Augmentative and alternative communication: knowledge and skills for service delivery [Knowledge and Skills]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.
PrAACtically SLPs: Working with Children With Complex Medical Conditions
We are pleased to be sharing another post by a graduate student SLP. Stephanie Amundsen attends the SLP program at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and has worked for the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST) Atlantic Regional Demonstration Center (ARDC) since May 2012. She is currently completing an externship working with children with complex communication needs, and is writing her thesis on AAC access in acute and sub-acute facilities. She has presented posters on service learning using AAC intervention and grammatical intervention using AAC under the direction of Dr. Kent-Walsh at the 2013 ASHA Convention, and has volunteered at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Conference in 2013 and 2014. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: As a graduate student placed in my first externship, I encountered multiple clients with AAC needs from day one. Because one of my placement sites is a Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC) facility, many... [Read More...]