328 Search Results for communication boards
October 27, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Nothing makes us smile like seeing teams in which professionals serving students with AAC needs work together to ensure that those students can use and grow their language skills. In this guest post, we learn about an approach that has worked for one such team, Lori Sanzeri and Chelsea Collins. Lori Sanzeri, MA CCC-SLP, TSHH, received her B.S. in Speech Language Pathology from SUNY Cortland in 2003 and M.A. from St. John’s University in 2009. She has worked for the NYC Department of Education since 2003 and teaches AAC and phonetics at St. John’s University. Chelsea Collins, MS CCC-SLP, TSSLD, received her B.S. in Special Education from Seton Hall University in 2009 and M.S. in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from New York University in 2012. She has worked for the NYC DOE since 2012 and specializes in AAC and early intervention. They are on Instagram as @thelanguageladies and have a Facebook page as... [Read More...]
October 4, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back with another post featuring learning resources about AAC apps, software, and SGDs. This week, we’ll look at CoughDrop, an open source AAC program, and hear from a young clinician who uses it in her work. If you are new to CoughDrop, consider taking a little time to get to know it using the links below. Ready to explore? Here are some resources to get you started. Video overview Links to various versions: iOS app; Android app; Windows 64-bit; Windows 32-bit; Kindle app Video Tutorials Where to go for help: Support Requests; Contact page; Frequently Asked Questions My Experience with CoughDrop by Samantha Cutler Primarily, I’d like to issue a disclaimer that I am in no way affiliated with CoughDrop nor do I receive any financial gain from them. It is merely a program that I enjoy using and I wanted to share my experience with the AAC community. In the... [Read More...]
September 19, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Our Site of the Month addresses a topic relevant to many of you who serve AAC learners. The Project Core website is the public face of a research project looking at the use of an AAC intervention program that uses a consistent set of core vocabulary that grows with the learner over time. The multi-tiered system for augmenting language used in this project begins with extensive aided language input and explicit instruction of selected core words during meaningful interactions throughout the school day. This forms a foundation on which more specialized and individualized intervention and vocabulary selection is built. The project is part of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where the team has been developing a classroom-friendly intervention approach based on the System for Augmenting Language that was pioneered in the 1990s and continues to build an evidence base... [Read More...]
September 7, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
In an earlier post, I shared a graphic on the ways that AAC skills are ‘taught’ versus ‘caught.’ Teaching AAC skills involves the use of specific instructional strategies that give learners information and experiences which result in them being able to communicate more effectively. In many instances, we set out to do just that, but end up with an interaction that ‘catches’ what the student already knows how to do, rather than helping them gain additional skills. There are a few important concepts here. They both have an important role. ‘Catching’ skills isn’t bad. We can do this to figure out what the learner already knows/can do, and give him/her practice with the skill so that it becomes faster and easier to produce. When our interactions ‘catch’ a skill, we’ve created (or taken advantage of) an opportunity for communication. That’s important BUT, it isn’t teaching them anything new. Our learners do... [Read More...]
July 24, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Here are some AAC posts you may have missed in your prAACtical week. Monday – Make It Monday: More Words, Please! Expanding Our Manual Communication Boards Wednesday – Open Source AAC Thursday – PrAACtical Supports for Young AAC Learners: Recipes for Success, Part 3
July 17, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Monday – Make It Monday: Manual Communication Boards with Core Vocabulary Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC in the Classroom for Students with Significant Disabilities – Implementation & Data Collection Thursday – PrAACtical Supports for Young AAC Learners: Recipes for Success, Part 2
July 5, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Summer is a great time to prepare materials for the busy year ahead. Next week, we launch a new series, Make It Monday, to help you do just that. We’ll focus on creating one thing at a time so that you’re ready to start the school year with an ample supply of core vocabulary resources that you can use in therapy, instruction, and informal conversation. Later in the series, we’ll be making individual and classroom communication boards and instructional materials. For now, though, we’ll spend some time getting organized and prepared. Before you make the investment of time and resources, it helps to make a few key clinical/educational decisions. This will keep us from wasting color ink, laminating pouches, velcro, and, most of all, time. Here are the things to think about before you begin. Symbols In order to make AAC materials, you’ll need to decide on how language is... [Read More...]
June 12, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you had a wonderful, AAC-filled week. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Book-related Communication Boards Wednesday – Video of the Week: Teaching Clients to Program Their Own AAC Devices Thursday – On Friendship: Supporting AAC Learners
May 9, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
It has been so exciting to see that AAC learners are increasingly provided with communication boards, books, SGDs, and apps that feature a robust set of core vocabulary words. For many years, ‘providing AAC’ used to mean access to topic and choice boards or activity-specific communication displays (ABCDs). Now, we recognize the limitations of those approaches and do our best to move beyond them in favor of more linguistically robust options. AAC systems with core vocabulary that is organized to support the development of a motor plan allows learners to build and grow their skills over time. For a long time, the AAC field has known that providing access to appropriate tools (in this case, a core vocabulary set) is only the first step toward successful use of augmentative communication. Providing it is necessary but not sufficient for most AAC learners to develop any sort of linguistic competence. For... [Read More...]
January 19, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Doing a training or workshop on core vocabulary? Looking to help a team get more fluent in AAC modeling? Teaching an AAC course to graduate students? There are lots of you out there spreading the word about AAC, core vocabulary, and aided language input. Whether you are doing an informal training, presenting a workshop or teaching a class, you may be interested in giving the participants some hands-on practice with core words. If so, here’s a fun activity to help get them engaged. Get ready for…Battleship, AAC Edition! Battleship is a barrier game in which two players cannot see each other’s game boards. The game boards consist of identical grids, labeled with players placing their battleships somewhere on the board. They take turns calling out coordinates to find and sink one another’s battleship. You can learn more about how to play the game and see the game boards here. Teachers have... [Read More...]