705 Search Results for model
November 14, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
There are many paths to successful AAC use. For some people, access to language-rich AAC tools and communication partners who model AAC, use naturalistic methods of eliciting language, offer adequate wait time, and respond to communicative attempts in supportive ways, is sufficient. Many individuals, however, need additional support to develop robust language and AAC skills. For them, explicit AAC instruction can be very beneficial. In a previous post, we shared thoughts on strengthening our AAC services with the use of thoughtful instructional sequences. Discrimination learning can play a helpful role in sequencing our instructional activities. Learning to discriminate between one thing and another is a part of typical language development. Babies learn to discriminate between phonemes (e.g., /ma/ vs /ba/), for example. It also helps them to determine that ‘dog’ applies to some 4-legged, furry critters and not to others. As children mature, they learn a variety of linguistic concepts using... [Read More...]
November 7, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Access to robust AAC tools? Check! Consistent use of aided language input? Check! High-interest activities or materials? Check! Supportive interaction style? Check! Kudos to those professionals whose AAC practices include these important elements. In today’s post, we offer a suggestion for those who seek to strengthen their support and boost AAC learning even further: To maximize gains, be thoughtful in selecting or creating instructional activities and pay special attention as to how those activities are sequenced. Create and use well-planned instructional sequences to help AAC learners gain linguistic competence. Language learning is complex. We don’t go from 1-word utterances to complex sentences in a single step. Our language doesn’t progress from basic to advanced in one swift leap. It happens over time and with the right opportunities for learning and practice. Instructional sequences are a powerful means of providing those opportunities. These are specific processes that professionals use to teach... [Read More...]
November 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
We’re sharing some ideas for AAC learning based on a previous post by the late Dr. Robin Parker. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Language learning involves talking about events in the past, present, and future. Since Halloween is over, it is a perfect opportunity to help AAC users talk about past events. Here are 5 tips for getting started. Use a weekly or monthly (calendar) schedule to ‘remember’ Halloween, or if you are sticking to core words to remember the “great day” or “bad day” depending upon the experience. Use photos of the Halloween festivities to discuss what happened and what everyone did. You can use these to discuss costumes, decorations, the best/worst part of the day, etc. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Halloween experiences. This can be done by comparing two people, places, or anything else. For some learners, you can use images to put Halloween things that everyone saw... [Read More...]
October 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Established in 2007 by ISAAC’s LEAD Committee, AAC Awareness month invites us to spread the word about all things AAC, and it’s pretty exciting to think back on all we’ve done and also to plan for the current year. Each week during AAC Awareness Month we’ll share suggestions for things to do to help others learn about a field that emerged to support children and adults with complex communication needs. This week, we’ll focus on hands-on activities. A popular approach to AAC Awareness Month is to invite a group of colleagues or families to come together and communicate only through AAC for the event. Some years, we’ve held ‘Silent Snack’ events before class where we put out a variety of board games and invited some of our AAC clients to come in and play along. They enjoyed serving as our AAC Ambassadors, meeting new people, and ‘wow-ing’ the crowd with... [Read More...]
September 11, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some AAC reading that you might appreciate. Monday – PrAACtical Thoughts on Labor Day Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Video Models & Visual Supports for AAC Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Supporting Early Communication with AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have time for a bit more? Here’s a sampling of past posts for you to browse. PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Apples AAC Partner Training Strategies AAC Device Mounting Fundamentals AACtual Therapy: From PECS to iPad with Jason Butcher 5 Things We’ve Learned from Our AAC Families Understanding and Supporting Families of AAC Learners
August 29, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
In 2013, when schools and other clinical programs were expanding their emphasis on teaching core vocabulary words, Robin Parker and I developed a set of resources for families and professionals that included symbol cards, sample sentences to model, activity suggestions, and more. All of these were based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Over the years, the resources were expanded and grew to include a wonderful series of calendars with daily activity suggestions developed by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. In 2020, a new series was launched, School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa... [Read More...]
August 7, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you might enjoy. Monday – Overlooked AAC, Part 3 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Partner Assisted Scanning + Eye Gaze Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC & Questions Friday – CAA Con Links: Agosto 2022 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few more places to browse? Check out some of these posts on working with teens and young adults. Starting AAC with Teens and Young Adults Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults 5 Ways to Use Magazines in AAC Therapy Books for Beginning Readers of Any Age Making the Environment Communicatively Accessible Visual Supports in AAC Therapy with Older Students and Adults Have a great week, everyone!
July 31, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – Overlooked AAC, Part 2 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Making Connections Between Language, Literacy, & AAC Thursday – August Year of Core Vocabulary & School Year of Core Vocabulary Words :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few more places to browse? Check out some of these posts on working with teens and young adults. Starting AAC with Teens and Young Adults Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults 5 Ways to Use Magazines in AAC Therapy Making the Environment Communicatively Accessible Books for Beginning Readers of Any Age Visual Supports in AAC Therapy with Older Student and Adults Have a great week, everyone!
July 24, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you might enjoy. Monday – Overlooked AAC, Part 1 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Helping School Staff Model AAC in the Classroom Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Do-It-Yourself AAC Gear :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have a little more time? You might be interested in these posts from the archives. Back to School with AAC A Collaborative Approach to Implementing Core Vocabulary in a School-based Setting Goodbye, Summer! A Clinician Preps AAC Materials for the New School Year Essential Tricks for Supporting AAC in Schools AAC in the High School Classroom: Where Core Vocabulary Meets Life Skills
July 17, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! We have some posts for you to browse through. Monday – When Does an AAC Learner Need More Than Modeling? Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Ramps to Cognitive & Physical Access of High Tech AAC Following Acquired Brain Injury Thursday – AAC & Play :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Enjoy these past posts in honor of my dear friend and PrAACtical AAC co-founder, Dr. Robin Parker. An AAC ‘Funny Area’ Solution AUTISM AND AAC: FIVE THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN by Deanne Shoyer More Cooking Beyond Requesting: Let’s Chat with Peers Begin AAC Now: 10 Things to Do AAC Must-Have’s for the Classroom and Therapy Room RECASTING: A LANGUAGE FACILITATION STRATEGY