699 Search Results for communication book
May 26, 2014
by Robin Parker -
This month’s ‘Strategy of the Month’ has been focused on supporting families. To fully support families, it is essential to provide family friendly resources that can aid in creating Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s). The more families know and learn, the more likely the AAC learner will progress in their communication skills. Also, the more information families have, the better advocates they will become. And since families are one of the only constants in an AAC learner’s educational and life journey, the family is really the most important part the communication team. About AAC About AAC- ASHA AAC Institute- Parent’s Corner Center for AAC & Autism AAC -Family Resources Assistive Technology Resources- Autism Speaks Communication Matters Communication Books & Boards ConnectAbility http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/ Pre-made Communication Boards Help Designing Communication Books Free & Discounted AAC Apps Appy Malls Smart Apps for Kids Moms with Apps The iMums Apps Wheel *(categorized wheel of apps to... [Read More...]
May 8, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Motivating clients to use and learn more about their AAC systems can sometimes be a challenge, particularly if the learner has had decades of life experience before being introduced to AAC. In this post, we welcome SLP Samantha Weatherford, who works in the areas of early intervention and adult rehabilitation. She blogs at So To Speak regarding the educational, professional, and clinical processes of becoming an SLP. She resides in Delaware with her cat Simon, and took some time to share her thoughts about helping adult clients get motivated to use AAC. On Motivation and AAC Have you ever started the AAC training and trialing process with an adult client and realized, “This person is just not interested in being here or doing this?” Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like this happens quite often. I would never rule-out the possibility for AAC eligibility as a result of an... [Read More...]
April 10, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We are so excited to launch, PrAACtically SLPs, a new series featuring the voices of graduate students in SLP programs who do outstanding work in AAC. We start off with a wonderful group from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Allie Rodriguez, Caitlin Rich, and Megan Latta are second year SLP students who will be graduating in May. They recently concluded an AAC course taught by Dr. Penny Hatch, who continues to mentor them in the field of AAC and literacy. I met these energetic young professionals at the North Carolina Augmentative Communication Association Conference in February and was inspired by their passion. In this post, they tell us about their AAC experiences on a trip to Guatemala. Hungry for Bilingual AAC? Today, our population is becoming more culturally diverse, which, in turn, has caused our caseloads to reflect this change. There is a growing... [Read More...]
December 26, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so thrilled to have Shareka Bentham back as an AACtual Therapist, this time talking about her journey into high tech AAC. You can see other posts from Shareka here. One of our colleagues completed the AAC evaluation on a client of Shareka’s. While preparations for that evaluation were underway, we were fortunate enough to learn of an AAC device that was no longer needed. The family agreed to donate it to this little fellow, and that seems to have launched a whole chain of prAACtical events. Shareka takes it from here… Sadly, this is not the first step into my career as a rapping superstar, but more a description of my journey from ‘no tech’ to high tech in AAC use. If someone had told me a year ago that I would be showing off my skills on a high tech AAC device, and teaching children, parents, and teachers... [Read More...]
December 12, 2013
by Robin Parker -
originally published December 13, 2012 We write about a lot of AAC strategies and we often give examples of different types of learners. Sometimes the learners we work with have more challenges than we explain. Lest you think, we do not see the really ‘challenging’ learners, we do, we really do. For those individuals with more challenges than most, sometime we are asked, well what do a few visual supports or AAC strategies do? What difference do they make? The truthful answer is A LOT. Here are a just a few recent examples from some really amazing families. When a mom is on the phone, a young adult brings in a timer and sets it so mom will get off the phone and go sit with her. When a communication book is forgotten on an emergency trip to the dentist, drawing on a napkin is enough to keep everyone calm... [Read More...]
December 5, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Strategy of the Month Thoughts on Teaching Core Vocabulary Teaching Core Vocabulary with Direct Instruction Strategies New Word Teaching: A Look Inside Some PrAACtical Therapy Sessions Core Words, Direct Vocabulary Instruction, & the Beginning Communicator PrAActical Thinking Fun Friday- 5 Tips for Talking About Halloween After it is Over 31 Posts You May Have Missed in October A PrAACtical Literacy Activity for Beginning Communicators Writing Goals for AAC Learners Fun Friday: Holiday Shopping with a Purpose 10 Apps to Gift to An SLP Hockey Lessons Watch it Wednesday: Using Routines to Promote Interactions by the Watson Institute Throwback Thursday: Say This, Not That to Reinforce Vocabulary Learning Fast FAACt Friday: AAC’s 1st Appearance in the Professional Literature How Do You Teach Others to Implement AAC Facilitation Skills? Watch it Wednesday: Time Timers At the Very Beginning: Working with Pre-Intentional Communicators Display Stand for Visual Supports or Books PrAACtical Thoughts on... [Read More...]
November 1, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Language learning involves talking about events in the past, present, and future. Since Halloween is over, it is a perfect opportunity to help AAC users talk about past events. Here are 5 tips for getting started with ALL learners. Use a weekly or monthly (calendar) schedule to ‘remember’ Halloween or if you are sticking to core words to remember the “great day” or “bad day” depending upon the experience. Use photos of the Halloween festivities to discuss what happened, what everyone did, and you could even go for the best and/or worst part of the day. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Halloween experiences. This can be done with comparing 2 people or 2 groups. For some learners, you can use images to put Halloween things that everyone saw or did while others you will need text only. Then, a discussion of what each student/group did that... [Read More...]
October 29, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Work with someone who uses AAC but not as consistently as you would like? Here are some thoughts on how to make an impact in that area. 1. Write goals that help you fight this battle. E.g., Janie will use her AAC system to ask for help at least once per activity; Jimmy will use his AAC system to answer 2-3 curriculum-related questions in each class period; Given her AAC system, Jenny will use the correct morphological endings for plurals and past tense at the beginning or ending of each group activity. 2. Be an AAC cheerleader. In most settings, it is the adult who sets the tone for how communication will proceed. If it isn’t important to US, then it will never be important to the AAC learners. So, we try our best to use AAC every time we see the learner. It takes some work to build... [Read More...]
October 17, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Core Word Round-up! Core Word PrAACtice Ideas Magic Moments: AAC Intervention with Stop and Go App Magic Moments with Toca Store Magic Moments with Sentence Builder Magic Moments with Verb Circus HiJAACked! Putting an AAC Twist on Gen Ed AACtivities: The Hallelujah Flight AAC Goes to PreSchool 5 PrAACtical Uses for Flashcard Apps Visual Language, Core Words, & Martin Luther King Can I Ask You A Question? Breakthroughs with Bubbles with Tanna Neufeld 14 Valentine’s Day Activities, Love, Literacy, & Learning AAC Learning with Play Dough by Jamie Cooley 5 Ways to Use Power Point in AAC Intervention 5 PrAACtical Thoughts on Catch-Up Conversations How I do It- Marlene Cummings Shares an Implementation Toolbox AACtual Theray with Tanna Neufeld- Use Your Best Spud To Teach Vocabulary How I Do It- Marlene Cummings On Strengthening the Communication... [Read More...]
September 19, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Would you want someone else to pick the car you drive? How happy would you be if someone else selected your wardrobe? How would it feel if the only things you could say were based on words that someone else decided were appropriate for you? Choosing vocabulary is a BIG responsibility. When the client is not fully literate, he/she is constrained to communicating with the words we provide and nothing more. If we left out important concepts, he’s stuck. If we worded the message in a style/tone that doesn’t fit her personality, she’ll be reluctant to use the AAC to communicate. Given this, it makes sense to involve the client in the process of choosing the single words, phrases, sentences, and narratives that we put on the AAC device or in the communication book. If the client is involved, then the messages we end up with are more likely to... [Read More...]