687 Search Results for communication book
June 20, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It’s another Throwback Thursday! In recognition of Aphasia Awareness Month, we are digging into the archives for content on supporting people who’ve lost a good deal of language following stroke, brain injury, or dementia. If this is a population of interest, we invite you to explore these past posts to get ideas of things to add to your AAC assessment and/or therapy. Making It Work: 6 AAC Strategies for People with Aphasia Low Tech AAC for Adults with Aphasia: What Does That Mean? A Fresh Look at AAC & Aphasia with Dr. Kristy Weissling 5 Questions about Aphasia & Communication Books Aphasia Awareness Month: AAC & Aphasia Bridging the Gap: Helping People with Aphasia to Compensate for Their Language Difficulties AAC Assessment for People with Aphasia
June 2, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you might enjoy. Monday – Honoring Memorial Day Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Ready, Set, Goal Thursday – How We Do It: AAC in the Special Education Classroom – Continuing the Journey ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you head out the door, here are a few posts to explore in honor of Aphasia Awareness Month. Making It Work: 6 AAC Strategies for People with Aphasia Low Tech AAC for Adults with Aphasia: What Does That Mean? A Fresh Look at AAC & Aphasia with Dr. Kristy Weissling 5 Questions about Aphasia & Communication Books Bridging the Gap: Helping People with Aphasia to Compensate for Their Language Difficulties
October 22, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve been focusing on training communication partners recently and today we’re focusing specifically on paraprofessionals/educational assistants. Our guest post is authored by SLPs Corinna Duffitt, M.Sc., RSLP (practicing for 21 years, 14 years in AAC) and Jennifer Wiegert, M.A., CCC-RSLP (practicing for 21 years, focusing on AAC for the past 6 years). They are colleagues on an AAC team with 4 other SLPs in a large school district in Surrey, BC, Canada. Their school district consists of 101 elementary schools and 20 secondary schools. Corinna and Jennifer are both passionate about giving children a voice and letting that voice uncovers their potential. They recently joined their private practice endeavours, outside of their public school positions, to form Chickadee AAC Communication Services. You can find them on Instagram (@chickadeeaacslps or #chickadeeaac), check in on their website, and/or follow them on Facebook. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC Training for Educational Assistants Some of the challenges we encountered... [Read More...]
October 21, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
It’s been a busy AAC week in our part of the world. Here’s what we’ve been up to. Monday – EET + AAC = OMG! Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Systematic AAC Instruction for Adults Thursday – Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 9 (Presume Potential) Friday – Hurricanes, Floods, Fires, & More: AAC Support for Disaster Recovery ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few more posts to browse? Take a look. PrAACtically Halloween! Considerations for an AAC-Friendly Holiday Halloween Recipes for Cooking AAC Style 5+ Fun AAC Things to Do to Get Ready for Halloween The Communication Book is Ready! Now, What? AACtual Therapy: Teaching the Use of Social Phrases and Comments
August 9, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for a few more tips to smooth out your AAC implementation? Here are a few to try out. Do you have parents or other stakeholders observing your therapy or lesson? Get them focused and engaged by having them collect data. For example, you can print out a copy of the child’s main AAC screens and have them make a hash mark on the words that their child uses during the observation. This won’t substitute for your own data but is a great way to keep them involved and help them focus on the target behaviors. Take a photo or screenshot of the main page of a client’s communication book or AAC device/app and make it the home screen on your phone. You can use it to model AAC when the other options are not available. It’s far from perfect but can be helpful in a pinch. Keep an AAC Wish... [Read More...]
July 9, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
How would it feel to be really hungry but allergic to everything on the menu at the only place in town that is still serving food? Can you imagine finding comfortable shoes that you were dying to buy to wear with your navy suit except that they only had fuschia and neon yellow in your size? Have you ever been frustrated by filling out a form that gave only choices for racial groups that you don’t identify with? Let’s face it: It’s incredibly, maddeningly, and impossibly frustrating when our options are overly limited or the choices don’t include things that we want or need. We feel trapped. It’s frustrating, demeaning, and downright infuriating to be constrained in those ways. And yet, most people who use AAC face that situation every day. Their language is limited by the options available to them in their SGDs, communication books, or AAC apps. Until... [Read More...]
March 5, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Know any learners like these? Jacob takes his teacher over to the snack cupboard and uses his SGD to say ‘cracker.’ Mara watches her friend throw a book and signs ‘angry.’ Elisheva finishes her drink and uses a communication book to say ‘more’ Some AAC learners linger at the single word level for far longer than they need to. One of the strategies that we use to help them move forward is to expand on their utterance and build on their word to model a 2-word sentence. ‘Cracker’ becomes ‘Want cracker.’ ‘Angry’ is built into ‘Shoshana’s angry.’ ‘More’ turns into ‘more milk.’ Sounds simple, right? Well, the concept certainly is, but it’s easy to get stuck or draw a blank when trying to do these sorts of expansions in therapy sessions, classroom activities, or daily routines. If you find your team forgetting to expand the learners’ single word utterances, some examples... [Read More...]
January 2, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
The new year brings hope and promise, something that the AAC community can always use a little more of. Here are some thoughts on strengthening our sustainability as AAC service providers as we embark on the upcoming year. View our role in AAC as a marathon, not a sprint. Supporting AAC learners can be an overwhelming experience and requires staying power. Pace yourselves, AAC friends. We have to be in it for the long haul, and that means we can’t use up all of our energy in the first leg of the journey. It’s okay to go home even though there’s more left to do. Remember the flight attendant’s advice: Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. Keep learning. No matter how much you know about AAC, there is always more to learn. Whether it is reading journal articles to keep up with the latest research, viewing videos... [Read More...]
September 7, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Many of us live in areas prone to storms or other game-changing weather events, but even those who don’t should prepare for emergency situations. Today, as we continue our preparations for Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the open Atlantic, my friend, Amy Goldman, takes the reins. With her broad background in AAC and AT and her incredible advocacy work, we are in no better hands. If you’re inclined toward prayers or even if you’re not, we here in South Florida could use any positive energy you can send our way. Stay safe, friends, and remember to take care of those around you. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: With the images of the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in front of us, and with Irma and possibly Jose in the forecast, it is actually a little late to be talking about emergency preparedness. However, it is good to reflect on some of... [Read More...]
May 18, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
When we think of AAC apps, expressive communication and voice output generally come to mind. But there are other kinds of AAC apps, too, including those that are used to create printable materials. Today, we hear from a clinician who uses this kind of AAC app on a regular basis. Georgia Karavias is a speech language pathologist whose career has centered around working with school-aged children and adolescents who have physical disabilities and communication difficulties. Georgia is passionate about utilizing alternative access methods and inclusive technologies to enable independent communication using AAC systems. She currently works at Scope’s Communication and Inclusion Resource Centre (CIRC) as part of the communication access team in a community capacity building role. In this post, she talks about how she uses AAC and visual supports created with an app developed at her workplace. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I am a speech pathologist who has worked with children with complex... [Read More...]