Hope you had a week of AAC fun and inspiration. Monday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Are You My Mother? Tuesday – Efficiency or Precision: Striking a Balance for AAC Learners Thursday – Video of the Week: Aided Language Input with Gail Van Tatenhove
Monday – Tracking Natural Speech Changes in AAC: PrAACtical Suggestions Tuesday – Presentation Handouts on AAC Implementation Wednesday – Video of the Week: Family Collaboration by Dr. Barry Prizant Thursday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: I Eat Thanksgiving Dinner
As far as I can tell, most AAC learners are taught by people who don’t specialize in AAC. Their school SLPs may have caseloads of 50, 60, 70, or more students with IEPs, 90% of whom have goals for articulation, language, and fluency. Their classroom teachers serve students whose disabilities range from none at all, to dyslexia to cerebral palsy, to significant intellectual disabilities, and everywhere in between. In all likelihood, neither group had much AAC training. What little AAC they know, they’ve picked up on their own from reading, going to workshops and conferences (usually self-funded), talking to colleagues, and exploring online resources. Many times, their first foray into AAC is with things like choice boards and visual supports, such as daily schedules and first/then boards. From there, they may begin labeling the environment with pictures symbols (e.g., ‘table’ on the table, ‘on/off’ near the light switch), using mini-schedules... [Read More...]
It has been so exciting to hear about the growing number of classrooms, therapy sessions, and families who are prioritizing high-frequency core words with AAC learners. Whether you are using a high tech SGD, AAC app, or no-tech communication boards/books, core vocabulary teaching can play a powerful role in building language skills. If you are following along with our 2013 Year of Core (first set with 12 words/month) or the 2014 A(nother) Year of Core: (second set 16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), you may have printed out some of the word cards to use with the AAC learners in your life. Thanks to the kindness of PrAACtical AAC readers (Bill and Lori Binko, Heidi LoStracco, Alison Wade, Russell Cross, Gail Van Tatenhove, Eric Sailers, Rachael Langley, Laura Kessell, Christine Bayley and others) we have a variety of resources to explore. Once you have them, the idea... [Read More...]
Monday – PrAACtically September: AAC Core Vocabulary Resources Tuesday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: It’s Okay To Be Different Wednesday – Video of the Week: Martin Pistorius Thursday – Throwback Thursday: 10 Posts on AAC for the Beginning Communicator
Monday – 3 Things to Consider in Implementing Core Vocabulary Tuesday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: I Like Myself Wednesday – Video of the Week: Every Second Counts with Lindy McDaniel Thursday – Site of the Month: TASN
Monday – Summer Reading: Five AAC Suggestions Tuesday – How I Do It: Helping Clients Who Use AAC Connect with their Grandchildren by Rebecca Bright Wednesday – Video of the Week: Using AAC Facilitation Strategies Thursday – PrAACtically Reading: Over in the Garden with Karen Natoci
The Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development Team, headed by Dr. Karen Erickson, put together a wonderful video to introduce professionals and families to the concept of core vocabulary. This is a great resource to use to introduce team members to key concepts in core vocabulary and the instructional strategies that support students in learning to use it. Take a look. Direct Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryda0ViRekU&feature=youtu.be
Better Hearing and Speech Month continues with guest blogger Tina Moreno. In this post, Tina shares some thoughts on building meaningful conversations in the classroom. She also made her visual support materials available for downloading (link at the end of her post). You can read Tina’s previous post for BHSM here. CONVERSATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM Fostering opportunities for meaningful conversation is critical throughout the school setting. Great discussions can happen in the classroom, but it can prove challenging for students to remain on topic, take conversational turns and give their peers wait time. In order to help students acquire these skills, we need to provide direct instruction, modeling by adults (and typically developing peers whenever possible!) and visual supports. Aim for the conversation target It can be difficult for students to keep track of the conversation target, especially in large group, fast-paced settings. It can be especially challenging for... [Read More...]
Monday – Core Vocabulary Resources for May Tuesday – How I Do It: Classroom Support for Students with AAC Needs by Tina Moreno Wednesday – Video of the Week: Multimodal Communication in the Classroom Thursday – PrAACtically Reading: The Cat in the Hat with Karen Natoci