1456 Search Results for link up
December 15, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Four-year-old Josiah had a tiny one that was clipped to his belt loop so it was handy all throughout his day in preschool. Mr. Allan, who was hemiplegic and used a manual wheelchair, liked to keep one underneath his right thigh so he could grab it quickly whenever he wanted to talk. Dougie’s was big, really big, and he carried it under his arm wherever he went. Marla’s was a permanent fixture on her wheelchair laptray, and if she came without it because a caregiver forgot to put it on, it was likely to be a very l-o-n-g day. Geena’s looked like a DayPlanner and had it’s own special compartment in her purse. What are we talking about? Communication books, of course. And despite the fact that they all served the same general purpose, the communication books referenced in these examples couldn’t have looked more distinct. In this week’s post,... [Read More...]
December 4, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Earlier this fall, I spoke with an SLP who was beginning to serve a new classroom of students with significant disabilities, including many kids with AAC needs. Jenna had been into the classroom a few times to meet the teacher and the kids, and get a sense of the daily schedule, curriculum, and materials. She was (rightfully) concerned about how few AAC materials were available and we strategized a little bit about a long-range plan to address that. In the short term, though, we decided to focus on what they DID have in that classroom. Among the treasures, a sequential message communication device. What Are Sequential Message Communication Devices? These are simple devices that let you record messages in segments and then replay them in that same order. The initial activation of the device speaks the first part of the message aloud and then stops. When you activate the device... [Read More...]
November 30, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Maybe you didn’t get to the ASHA Convention this year. Or maybe you did, but couldn’t get to all the sessions you had hoped to attend. In either case, we’ve linked to handouts from a number of AAC presentations. Enjoy! AAC in the Common Core State Standards? Karen Erickson, Penny Hatch, Allison Dennis, & Marlene Cummings have your back. This is a project to watch! Janice Light’s presentation on Building Communicative Competence with Individuals who Require AAC: From Research to Effective Practice AAC for Adults With Acquired Neurological Conditions: Today & Tomorrow by David Beukelman, Susan Fager, Julia King, & Karen Hux Analyzing Language Development of Physically Impaired Children Using AAC Devices by Monika Ortloff, Paul Andres, Meher Banajee, & Gail Van Tatenhove Presentation by Cathy Binger and Jennifer Kent Walsh on Selecting Skills to Teach AAC Communication Partners
November 20, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
An essential part of the model we shared for AAC semantic intervention is Step 2, teaching the new words with explicit instruction activities. In our posts, explicit instruction refers to the process of designing and using carefully planned sequence of empirically-supported teaching activities. Though focused on reading, not vocabulary, development, this PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Anita Archer gives an excellent overview of the characteristics of explicit instruction. In our initial teaching of new words, we to be sure that the learners have frequent opportunities to respond: Active participation is critical at this point. We have to give the learner a lot of opportunities to say the word (e.g.,“resume”) and tell about it (e.g., “keep going,” “start again and not stop,” “verb”, etc.). We want to elicit a lot of responses so that we can monitor their performance. That allows us to provide feedback that is affirmative when the learners respond... [Read More...]
November 7, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Earlier this month, we introduced a general sequence of how we conceptualize semantic instruction. We promised to elaborate on that. There are two things that I really love about this approach to to vocabulary teaching. The first is that is honors a principle that we know to be true: providing repetition with variety not only helps us reach learners with different strengths, but also gives our AAC learners much-needed practice. The other thing that makes this really work for us is that assessment has an active role but not a central one. Testing takes a backseat to teaching. As we all know, getting accurate assessment information from people who are learning their AAC systems is a huge challenge. Often, our AAC friends don’t have decent test-taking skills so we’re not really testing what we think we’re testing. Just last week I got to see Kristofer, an adorable little fellow who... [Read More...]
October 16, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?” (Rabbi Hillel) Join the 4th Annual 24-Hour Global AAC Chat tomorrow, which starts tomorrow October 17 at 8:00 am (Eastern Time, USA) and runs until Thursday morning. The AAC Chat will continue nonstop for 24 hours on Skype, Facebook, and Twitter. Judy Bailey and Justin Bergers have organized this year’s event. Join people from around the globe in a chat session, by tweeting, or posting to a web page. Share information and resources. Share a story, ask a question, or encourage someone on their AAC journey. Make new friends. Connect with others. Everyone with an interest in AAC is welcome. Here’s how you can support this effort: Skype: Send your Skype name to info@aacawareness.org or contact Judy Bailey directly (via Skype at judy.bailey3) to... [Read More...]
October 12, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Being sick is no fun, but when you can’t communicate effectively with your healthcare provider, it can be disastrous. Here are some resources that SLPs can use to help promote effective communication and prevent adverse affects. Accommodations Cards: One of the simplest things we can do to help healthcare providers understand the needs of a person who uses AAC, is to give some basic information on an accommodations card. Health Bridges is a project of the Western Pennsylvania Initiative to support individuals who have hearing and vision loss. Their website includes a section that allows you to create quick accommodations cards for this population and serve as a good example for ones that you can make on your own. Accommodations cards don’t solve all the problems, but they’re a quick and easy way to make a start. Patient-Provider Communication Website: Amazing array of information and resources from around the world.... [Read More...]
October 11, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Like some of you, we often get asked “The Question.” People sometimes ask us to give them a recommendation about what AAC device or app is best for a particular individual. When the question comes from a parent or therapist whom we don’t know, it’s understandable. But when it is from a clinician we’ve taught, (who should know better), it’s a bit baffling. Obviously, we’d never make that kind of recommendation without having done an evaluation, or at least reviewing someone else’s assessment. We dread “The Question.” On the other hand, there are a lot of things that we wish people would ask that relate to how to help the communicator develop strong skills. This post relates to to one of those type of questions. “What should I work on?” “What kinds of AAC goals should we write?” We like those kinds of questions and our answers generally have one... [Read More...]
October 2, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve had concerns about the decision-making process around app selection, the paucity of apps that allow for children to learn true generative language, and a few other things. We continue to advocate for AAC app selection to occur within the context of a feature match process that gives appropriate attention to the full range of AAC options. In this mega-post we’ve included our most recent update of free and lite versions of AAC apps for iOS and Android plus a variety of additional resources related to AAC app selection. Tools to Use In Making Decisions About AAC Apps Feature match form developed by Jessica Gosnell at Boston Children’s Hospital Feature match checklist created by Scott Marfilius and Kelly Fonner Our supplemental rubric covering language and communication features, RELAAACs Places to... [Read More...]
September 30, 2012
by Robin Parker -
PrAACtical AAC got an amazing makeover and are we ever thrilled with the feel and functionality of our new site! Thanks to the support of some wonderful friends, especially Bruce Quiroz of Elemental Studios and Jay Churba, we are up and running on a more secure site that can safely handle the number of links and images we use in our posts. You’ll find all of the features that we had before, like Strategy of the Month and Video of the Week, but with a new, fresh look and faster load time. With larger images and better organization, it should be easier for you to find the content you want to explore. Plus, it’s easier to connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, if you’re so inclined. We’re eager to get back to our regular schedule of posting AAC content and excited to be back in action just in... [Read More...]