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5 More Handouts from ISAAC 2012

September 28, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

5 More Handouts from ISAAC 2012

In past posts, we shared links to some handouts from the ISAAC 2012 Biennial Conference in Pittsburgh. While it is great for those of us who attended but couldn’t get to every presenter we wanted to hear, the main idea was to help spread the awesome content to those of you who couldn’t be there. Here are some others that may be of interest. Creating a Core Vocabulary for a Common Core Curriculum by Karen Erickson, Penelope Hatch, Allison Dennis, & Marlene Cummings Baby Talk/Kid Talk PWUAAC Talk to Little Ones! by Krista Howard, Kaitlyn Graham, & Caroline Musselwhite Evaluating Preferred Augmentative and Alternative Communication Strategies for Patients in Long Term Health Care Hospitals by Susan Fager, Jenna LeDoux, & David Beukelman Prompting:  A Cautionary Tale of Use, Misuse & Abuse by Jane Korsten & Terry Foss Supporting Linguistic Skills Through iDevices: Cool Tricks with New Applications  by Caroline Musselwhite,... [Read More...]

Communicating in the Hospital

September 14, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Communicating in the Hospital

We are so happy to share a link to downloadable resources that come from the collaborative effort of the Patient Provider Communication Forum, Central Coast Children’s Foundation, Dr. Bronwyn Hemsley, and Widgit Software. These research-based materials were developed to help improve communication in hospital settings.   The link takes you to the Widgit Health site and is a set of cards with 26 key phrases for patients who use picture symbols to communicate. The cards are printable and available in 20 different languages. You can access those materials here.

5 Presentation Handouts from ISAAC 2012

August 25, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

5 Presentation Handouts from ISAAC 2012

It seems like only last week that I was enjoying ISAAC 2012, spending time with friends, and attending AAC sessions. Here are some links to handouts for a few of the sessions. 1. Sarah Blackstone and many others: Effective Patient Provider Communication: The Expanding Role of our Professions 2. Jane Farrall: What’s APPropriate: AAC Apps for iPhones, iPads and other devices 3. Melanie Fried-Oken: A Comparison of Communication Board Use for Conversations in  Primary Progressive Aphasia and Alzheimer’s Disease 4. Janice Light and her colleagues: Effects of AAC Systems with “Just in Time”  Programming For Children with Complex Communication Needs 5. Janice Light & David McNaughton: Evidence-based Literacy Intervention for Individuals with Autism who Require AAC

ISAAC 2012, Day 2: AAC Goes to Preschool

July 29, 2012 by - 23 Comments

ISAAC 2012, Day 2: AAC Goes to Preschool

It was another wonderful day here in Pittsburgh at the 15th Biennial ISAAC Conference. It was a special day for me because I had the opportunity to speak about a really fun topic, core vocabulary teaching for young children with AAC needs. It was certainly a group effort! A talented graduate student of ours, Tathiane Paiva, and I shared a framework for developing a curriculum to teach core language in preschool classrooms, and used the curriculum I developed with Lori Wise (special educator and literacy specialist with UM NSU CARD) as an example. The basic principles behind the approach we shared are listed below. – •Language and literacy learning happen all day long. •Children learning AAC need high-quality instruction to learn and use basic vocabulary. •Children learning AAC need frequent opportunities for learning and practice. They need dozens of carefully planned opportunities to use their new words each day. •The focus is on... [Read More...]

Power of the Visual Planner

July 20, 2012 by - 3 Comments

Power of the Visual Planner

We need to continue to talk about scheduling…..especially as we talk about tools for positive behavioral supports.  We know that having monthly, daily, and mini-schedules make us ALL feel more competent and calm.   We have written a lot about visual schedules and visual schedule resources because we have seen schedules reduce or eliminate so many  behavior challenges. They have helped with transitions, wandering away during activities,  activity completion, asking repetitive ‘‘when are we going ________ questions,  and with meltdowns during a less preferred activity. We also continue to write about schedules because there are still myths suggesting schedules might hinder independence when exactly the opposite is true.    We personally continue to use  a combination of no-tech to high-tech visual schedules, but we are loving mobile schedules especially during the summer when we are traveling and moving around from place to place even more frequently than usual.  We gathered together... [Read More...]

92 Free or Lite Versions of AAC Apps

July 10, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

92 Free or Lite Versions of AAC Apps

We’re back again with an updated list of free and lite versions of AAC apps that includes many additions for the Android platform. As in the past, we’re including some additional resources and excerpts from previous posts related to AAC app selection and the larger context of AAC assessment. We’ve appreciated the feedback on first draft of RELAAACs, our attempt to quantify some of what we look for when we try to compare AAC apps based on their language and communication features, and continue to welcome your suggestions. We do have plans to revise and update this once we get through the summer semester. (The trimester system is a killer!) —————————————————————————————————– – Thanks to all who’ve given us great feedback and suggestions on our list of free and lite AAC apps. If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve... [Read More...]

Language and Self-Determination

July 1, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Language and Self-Determination

  Last month we discussed strategies for building language skills with people who use AAC. Learning to use those skills to speak up and advocate for yourself is another process altogether. In this week’s feature videos, we share a link to the work of Dr. Pat Mirenda, hosted on the wonderful SET-BC site. –

Before It’s Too Late: A PrAACtical Resource for Emergency Situations

June 25, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

Before It’s Too Late: A PrAACtical Resource for Emergency Situations

We’re in the first month of hurricane season and preparedness is very much on our minds. With that in mind, we thought it was a good idea to share a link to this important resource. The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust funded the development of this Communication Passport which is disseminated via the Widgit Symbol website. – This Communication Passport is designed to give important information about a person who uses AAC to healthcare professionals and first responders in case of accident or emergency. It uses a stoplight metaphor to guide the partner through important information, such as emergency contacts, health conditions, medications, how the person takes their medication, how to communicate with the person, and more. – Even those who are always accompanied by a familiar adult, such as a child, could benefit from this tool. In an emergency situation, there is often confusion and having all the key information... [Read More...]

72 Free & Lite Versions of AAC Apps

June 17, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

72 Free & Lite Versions of AAC Apps

There is a more recent version of this post and app list. Click HERE for the updated version. — Here is our most recent update of free and lite versions of AAC apps, including a dozen for the Android platform. As with the previous version, we’re including some additional resources and excerpts from previous posts related to AAC app selection. We’d also like to give a mention to the first draft of RELAAACs, our attempt to quantify some of what we look for when we try to compare AAC apps based on their language and communication features. —————————————————————————————————– Thanks to all who’ve given us great feedback and suggestions on our list of free and lite AAC apps. 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, and have advocated for that... [Read More...]

F is for Feedback

June 16, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

F is for Feedback

  This month we’ve been talking about ways to use traditional language facilitation strategies with people who use AAC. So far, we’ve covered expansion and extensions and recasts. This week we talk about feedback. Feedback is a critical component of any learning experience. It functions as a signpost and let’s us know where we are relative to our destination. Let’s think about how we can use it to improve the language of people who use AAC. – Contingent Responses What we do and say after the AAC learner communicates can be a powerful way to impact patterns of language use. The cardinal rule in AAC intervention is to provide consequences that are contingent on what was communicated. So, if the beginning AAC learner requested a something they don’t really like by mistake, we’d still provide that item and have them interact with it briefly before giving them a chance to make a different choice.... [Read More...]