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June 15, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Charles Darwin – SLPs everywhere are struggling with the game-changing explosion of AAC apps on mobile devices. We’ve mentioned our own internal conflict in previous posts and continue to mull over how best to integrate this into our work as clinical educators without jeopardizing the assessment and intervention principles that have served us so well over the years. We’ve really appreciated the fine work of professionals such as Jessica Gosnell at Boston Children’s Hospital, Scott Marfilius, and Kelly Fonner, and have put their feature match checklists to good use. As we did, we found that we wanted a more systematic way to consider the language and communication of the AAC apps that we were learning about. – This post introduces you to an early draft of RELAAACs: Rubric for Evaluating the... [Read More...]
May 26, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– A curator? Who, me? When a colleague first suggested that the online things we were sharing were part of the digital curation trend, I didn’t quite see it. Yes, I was always on the hunt for sites with quality AAC-related content. Yes, I sifted through those finds carefully to figure out which to keep, which to share, and how to organize it all so that I could actually find it when I needed it. But a curator?! Images of quiet basement rooms and dusty shelves came to mind…not quite the realm of my day-to-day experience. – On closer inspection, though, I began to see what my colleague was saying. Because I teach so many AAC graduate classes fully online, I am always trying to figure out new ways to use technology to get student SLPs engaged and passionate about AAC. It’s been exciting exploring the new web tools over... [Read More...]
May 14, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– Today’s post is in honor of the first ever International Cri du Chat Awareness Week and the lovely young lady pictured here (as well as in the brochure linked below). – Cri Du Chat Syndrome (CdCS, also called Lejeune’s syndrome and 5p deletion) is a low incidence genetic disorder caused by a deletion on the short arm of chromosome 5 (5p-). Most children with CCS experience general developmental and communication delays, some of which are quite significant. They tend to have strengths in receptive language. Their speech is often marked by frequent articulation errors, small phonetic inventories, and restricted syllable shapes. Many infants and children with CdCS also have feeding and swallowing difficulties. Children with CdCS have a higher co-occurrence of cleft lip/palate. – 1. 5p- Society (US) and the Annual Conference: Positive Attitude, Reaching New Heights (July, 26-29 in Denver, CO). This group also has a network of... [Read More...]
May 6, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– The content of this post has been updated. Click HERE for the most current version that includes Android apps and a link to our AAC app rubric. – The AAC app market is growing faster than any of us could have imagined even a few months ago. Here is our current list of AAC apps that are offered free or in lite versions. Thanks to Jane Farrall for the heads-up about some of the most recent additions. AlexiCom AAC Answers: Yes/No Free Augie Free (Free version not currently available in US) Autism 5-Point Scale EP (Autism Help) Com App Comunicador Personal Adaptable(Spanish) Communicate Mate Female: NEW Communicate Mate Male: NEW Connect Cards:NEW DIME Lite FreeSpeech: NEW Functional Communication System Lite: NEW Gabby Tabs Lite: NEW Grid Player iBlissymbols Lite iComm Education iPhonic Lite iPicto Lite Locabulary Lite MetaTalk Lite My Choice Pad Lite: NEW My Talking Phone MyTalk Tools Neo Julie... [Read More...]
May 5, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– Usually, our Strategy of the Month posts focus on things that SLPs and others can do to enhance AAC learning with their clients. In honor of ASHA’s Better Hearing and Speech Month, our strategy focuses on you, the SLP. – Since we started blogging and using social media, we’ve learned a lot about professional learning networks and using the internet more effectively to access resources that enrich our work. That led us to our May Strategy, PrAACtical Learning and Resource Networks. – Our plan is to share an AAC-related resource each day that will help in developing our professional resources. As we tell our graduate students, if you have a well-packed toolkit and you know what to do with those tools, nothing can stop you! – We’ll be sharing resources that build on what you already know about and have, keeping a prAACtical focus, of course – ... [Read More...]
April 28, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
AAC is a field that involves many different disciplines, including OT, PT, SLP and education. In the best-case scenario, professionals in these disciplines work together to evaluate and provide intervention for the individual with little or no functional speech. If that option is not available, consider what discipline makes sense in your particular situation. For example, individuals with complex motor impairments may be best served initially through an OT who knows how to identify the best means of accessing AAC devices as the primary AAC service provider. For a child who is just learning to communicate, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) may be the best person to coordinate AAC services. A comprehensive AAC evaluation will always have the SLP playing a central role, which is important because of the special knowledge that they have about language and communication. How do you find an SLP with adequate skills in AAC? While there... [Read More...]
April 21, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Although every field has its moments, speech-language pathology is not generally known for high levels of controversy and drama. In the AAC world, the glaring exception to that is Facilitated Communication (FC). FC has had many critics and supporters (e.g., Syracuse University’s FC Center, now the Institute on Communication and Inclusion). The editors of Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, Drs. Ralf Schlosser and Jeff Sigafoos, have graciously allowed us to share a link to a paper by a former FC facilitator which appears in the EBP Speaker’s Corner section of the journal. You may download the article for free until June at: http://bit.ly/I7JEt4 .
April 20, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
The content of this post has been updated. Click HERE for the most current version that includes Android apps and a link to our AAC app rubric. It’s hard to believe that since our original list of free/lite AAC apps was posted two months ago, there have been at least 10 more that we were able to add. Thanks to Amy Taylor for her suggestions on the previous list. Keep them coming! This list is for iOS devices. Stay tuned for one for Android devices. – AlexiCom AAC Answers: Yes/No Free Augie Free (Free version not currently available in US) Autism 5-Point Scale EP (Autism Help) Com App Comunicador Personal Adaptable(Spanish) DIME Lite Grid Player iBlissymbols Lite iComm Education iPhonic Lite iPicto Lite Locabulary Lite MetaTalk Lite My Talking Phone MyTalk Tools MyVoice Communication Aid Neo Julie (also Kate and Paul) Noni Lite OneVoice-AAC Phrase Board Pic A Word Pics Aloud Lite Picture... [Read More...]
March 19, 2012
by Robin Parker -
It has been a really long weekend. A very close relative had a significant medical emergency this week. The emergency involved intubation, an air ambulance (that is helicopter), and many many procedures. With the intubation, there was a temporary loss of speech which made communication difficult to say the least. This was a time that the patient (my relative) needed communication most, yet there were multiple barriers to effective communication (no speech sounds, tubes in the mouth obscuring lip movement, noise, etc..). Although the hospital staff was amazingly wonderful, communication was not their priority. Lucky, for us, I just happened to have some AAC apps on my iPhone. At one point, the AAC app was literally a lifesaver (thanks so much to Verbally for providing an easy way to communicate complex questions, reminders, and comments). As I was waiting around for many hours, texting Carole, we started thinking about... [Read More...]
February 24, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We love people who take a chance and put themselves out there to learn and grow. This video of teacher Amy Powell, who had 2 hours of Minspeak instruction before her “friends” caught her on video, gets a double thumbs up from us. Using the Smart Board to Model AAC for the learners is a great way to make learning big and real. Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQmWw3GprW8&feature=related