139 Search Results for recipe

7 Writing Apps & Activities for ALL Levels of Writers

August 16, 2013 by - 3 Comments

7 Writing Apps & Activities for ALL Writers

These are some ‘non-traditional’ but really fun apps and activities that can be used to help improve writing, choice making, & AAC skills for all levels of writers.  These apps allow you to create meaningful language experiences through the process of creating the written documents, by talking about &  printing out the finished product, as well as by using writing specific reinforcement so that the learner knows they are really a writer (“wow, you are an author”, “great writing”, “awesome using many different words”, “excellent poetry”, etc.).  Have fun and write. Type Drawing– TypeDrawing allows you to enter text or choose from a text word bank to draw lines or pictures. The text is repeated each time you begin drawing or touch and drag on the screen with your finger.  We used this to make text pictures and then sent the pictures as notes to friends,  birthday cards to a... [Read More...]

AAC ‘Must Haves’ for the Classroom and Speech Room

August 10, 2013 by - 2 Comments

AAC 'Must Haves' for the Classroom & Speech Room

As we were getting ready for back to school and thinking about ‘must haves’, it quickly became apparent that it is not so easy to narrow it down. And the ‘must haves’ would definitely vary depending upon type of class, students, and even school.  Based on a wide variety of differences, we organized a wide variety of choices to explore (we apologize in advance if we got carried away but…). Choose what you need, bookmark what  you may need later and let us know your  ‘must haves’ for a classroom and speech room AAC collaborative approach.  We will create an ongoing list. Get Started Before School Starts         Do these 10 Things to Get Started with AAC  if you are new to an AAC student or classroom Provide AAC Support in the Classroom. Support teachers and educators with tips from Jane Farrall, & learn about AAC in the Classroom by Joan... [Read More...]

Visual Schedule Myths Live On..

July 11, 2013 by - 2 Comments

Visual Schedule Myths Live On and On

There are many myths about visual schedules for learners with special needs. Those myths multiply for older learners as well as for learners who are thought to have higher or lower skills. It is amusing to us (in a not really funny way) that these myths don’t typically extend to the  SLP’s, educators, or other professionals and THEIR schedules/day planners. We have heard a lot of visual schedule myths in the last couple of weeks, which means the topic may need some re-visiting.  Here are some TRUTHS about visual schedules. Please share if these myths come up in your area. Visual Schedules Increase INDEPENDENCE– Independence is supported when you can follow a visual schedule and do not need another person with you to tell you the steps to complete a day or a task. Independence is also facilitated when you can check for yourself when an event is happening rather than... [Read More...]

PrAACtical AAC Core Words & July 4th: Get Ready, Get Set, Go

July 3, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAActical AAC Learning & July 4th: Get Ready, Get Set, Go

Begin the July 4th conversation now, talk about it on the 4th as it is happening, and then  summarize the experience on Friday (after) with pictures, conversation, writing, and reading.  We love holiday celebrations for the preparation as much as the celebration itself. It builds excitement AND gives us a chance to prAACtice core words as well as begin special activities.  If you have not already started, today is a good day to introduce a social story™ especially if a learner has difficulty with loud noises (firecrackers), crowds or lots of people, new foods (picnics) or  routine changes. A participation story is also helpful just to prepare learners for the celebration activities. It is also a good idea to develop meaningful language activities about July 4th today.  Get some great free stories from TarHeel Reader – July 4th Books.  Make art projects, play games, sing songs, prepare recipes which will help teach new... [Read More...]

PrAACtical Summer Activities

June 27, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Summer Activities

It’s summer time and hopefully you have some time for some fun meaningful language experiences.  There are many resources to help prAACtically support many summer time traditional activities.  Check these out: Swimming– Special Education British Columbia- Picture Set has a great visual support for pool routines. Tammy Anderson from Aqua Pros Swim School shares Innovative and Fun Visual Supports for teaching swimming. Cooking– Recipes visualized from Dade County Schools (need boardmaker software to open) OR Recipes visualized from Your Special Chef (no boardmaker necessary) Bubbles are a great outdoor activity for the summer. SLP Tanna Neufeld shares her ideas and communication displays to make bubbles a meaningful language learning experience.  Nature Walks- Visual checklists help make nature walks meaningful language experiences. The checklist provides a visual organization that can build in symbol/language learning as well as providing an easy way to talk about the event after it is over. Check Lakeshore... [Read More...]

It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day!

May 16, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

It's PrAACtically Memorial Day

It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day! Memorial Day is prAACtically here.  We remember, appreciate, and honor the people who have protected our freedoms. Getting ready so EVERYONE can participate is important. We wrote about memorial day last year and had found some good  gluten-casein free Memorial Day recipes. There are even more resources today. Check out Gluten Free Memorial Day Weekend Menu and Recipe Ideas or Gluten Free Casein Free Applesauce Muffins.  Cooking and baking provide meaningful language experiences as well as just plain fun. There are symbol based recipes on Pinterest  at Picture Recipes and Visual Recipes for Children with Autism, and at Specialty Chef. There are also prAACtical AAC ways to teach about Memorial Day’s meaning as well as the typical memorial day vacations, activities, and events. Learning about Memorial Day  Memorial Day Activity Board Memorial Day Vocabulary Cards Memorial Day Bingo Memorial Day Adapted Bingo Summer Pack  Memorial Day  After learning about Memorial... [Read More...]

It’s PrAACtically Mother’s Day- 5 Activities that Support Communicating with Mom

May 8, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

It's PrAACtically Mother's Day- Communicating with Mom

It’s PrAACtically Mother’s Day and we are thinking about gifts and activities that promote communication, language, & literacy. Here are 5 activities that are fun and interesting to plan for and do interactively.  In the end, there will also be a tangible and/or intangible gift for mom. Enjoy and please share any additional activities that you have done or seen that you think are great. Visual Supports to Support Conversations with Moms-Thanks so much to Joel Shaul at Autism Teaching Strategies for creating this great visual support that helps support  meaningful conversations with mom. Saying I Love You On Mother’s Day– Ideas for teaching communication of “I Love You” for beginning communicator. Mother’s Day Word List– Ideas for using this Mother’s Day Word Bank to create a poem, story, or more.. Words, words, and more words for conversation about mom. Your Special Chef– Use this picture recipe and lesson plan... [Read More...]

It’s PrAACtically Saint Patrick’s Day

March 13, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

It's PrAActically Saint Patricks Day

Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up.  We love focusing on holidays in our sessions because it is a chance to teach new vocabulary and as importantly (if not more for some learners) it is a chance to teach social conversation about what many people in the community are talking about. Holiday’s also give us fun ways to focus on many other goals as well. The theme (in this case – a holiday) can serve as the platform for any goal that is appropriate. We just always ask ourselves (and our graduate students)- ‘What is the point’ or ‘What is the Goal’ when we have a great new themed activity. This is a time to work on core and fringe vocabulary, social conversation and interaction, play skills, and more. These are some fun activities matched to goals that we use to get ready for  Saint Patrick’s Day. Surveys & or Questions–... [Read More...]

Beyond Requesting: Let’s Chat with Peers

February 23, 2013 by - 4 Comments

Beyond requesting Let's Chat with Peers

As we wrap up the February Strategy of the Month, we need to add strategies for helping AAC users talk/chat with peers. For some learners, it is more about providing access and opportunity while for others, it is more about providing a platform for the social awareness and exchange. However, for all  learners who need assistance in ‘chatting’, there are many goals and strategies that will help.   Setting the Foundation for Social Exchanges with Peers Provide frequent opportunities for peers to communicate with each other- Build in many opportunities within all (or almost all) activities for generic small talk, gossiping, & chatting. Create activities that have’ built in’ communication with peers- develop activities that require communication with peers to make the activity work. Instead of having all communication directed at the adults/facilitators in the room, have the learners talk to peers to take steps in the activity. Set up... [Read More...]

It’s PrAACtically the New Year- Let’s Cook!

December 27, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

It's PrAActically New Years- Let's Cook

The New Year is almost here. But first is hopefully a big New Year’s Eve celebration whether at home or in the community.   We usually bring a home made ‘dish’ with us where ever we ‘go’ or ‘stay’.  New Year’s Eve is a family event for us and as we have said before we cook and bake as part of our holiday season traditions.  Here are some great visual recipes sites and one new visual recipe from us to you.   Special Chef–  The recipes are organized with a shopping list, category of food, level of difficulty and lesson guides.   Food Tastes Better Outside (Widgit)– Visual recipes for healthy picnic food.  Symbolworld Recipe Section–   Many recipes simply illustrated using widget symbols. Speaking of Speech Cooking Materials-   Visual recipes presented in different ways         Chocolate Covered Pretzels-  Our recipe on Teachers Pay Teachers.         ... [Read More...]