223 Search Results for partner strategies
June 20, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Concerned about AAC systems not being implemented as often as they should? Looking for ways to help AAC learners gain additional practice? Trying to help colleagues build the habit of actively supporting AAC learners? You are not alone. There are several strategies to boost the use of AAC, and adding some key phrases to the goals we write is one of them. Here are some thoughts on ways to use goals to strengthen the day-to-day AAC experiences of the learners with whom we work. Aided Language Input: Experienced AAC professionals and knowledgeable families understand that consistent use of this strategy is the most powerful way to build AAC use. If this is an issue for your AAC teams, consider adding verbiage to the goals that mandate the use of this strategy. Examples: “Given consistent AAC modeling, ___ will…” “When provided with aided language input, ___ will…” Frequent Implementation: Like many... [Read More...]
June 1, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome back Vicki Clarke with more helpful information on conducting AAC assessments. If you work with individual who are at the early stages of communicative development, this post is for you! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Some of my most favorite students are those who, at first, may not seem to notice me at all. Sometimes these students seem to exist in their own worlds. They don’t seem to respond in ways we would expect: looking, attending, listening, or gesturing. They may have a diagnosis of Autism, significant developmental delay, epilepsy, or any number of syndromes. I love these kids, and unfortunately, these are often the students who don’t get referred to me. Sometimes it takes years of working in a district before I get to see students with significant developmental delays. These children are typically served in classrooms for students considered to be severe/profound or multi-handicapped. Honestly, I usually get the... [Read More...]
May 5, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
AAC assessment is an area that most professionals struggle with for one reason or another. I am so grateful to Vicki Clarke for returning to share her thoughts on the prAACticalities of conducting these evaluations. If you are looking for tips on assessing someone who needs high tech eye gaze AAC, this post is for you. For other posts authored by Vicki, click here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Eyes Have It: Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access Eye gaze control for AAC device access is a hallmark technological achievement in the world of speech generating devices. For people with significant motor challenges we are no longer limited to scanning as our one choice for AAC access. AAC Specialists have been using light tech eye gaze boards and PVC pipe frames with these friends for years, but now we are able to offer voice output. Eye gaze is for a much... [Read More...]
February 23, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
AAC learners need a lot of support as they build the skills needed to have rich and effective conversations. Often, their role in the conversation is punctuated with partners’ reliance on context, prior knowledge, and questions to make sense of the message. What do we do when the learner gives us partial information or uses language skills below his/her capability? Do we accept the limited language so that we get to the bottom of the message our learner is trying to express? Or do we use it as an opportunity to shape improved language skills? One approach to making this decision is to start with a question. “What is the top priority for this interaction?” Making a decision about the most important goal of the conversation is a critical step in determining how to respond. In some cases, the time is right to use the opportunity to improve skills in... [Read More...]
October 8, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Last month, we began some musings about the sad reality that the percentage of people who use AAC to communicate in a grammatically correct fashion is woefully small. In that post, we explored some of the reasons for that and looked at conversations in which the communication partner does a lot of vertical scaffolding. While the term vertical scaffolding may be new to some of you, the concept is one with which you are quite familiar. Here’s an example: Learner: Olaf. Elsa. Clinician: Are you telling me about Frozen? Learner: Nods Clinician: What about Frozen? Learner: Book. Clinician: Oh, did you get a Frozen book for your birthday? Learner: Nods excitedly Clinician: Awesome! You should bring it next time so we can read it together. Scenarios like this are very common in AAC, especially among communicators who use their AAC to say 1-2 words at a time. Because their... [Read More...]
September 8, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
It isn’t every day that we get to hear from AAC interventionists who’ve been doing this work for decades. Today, we are thrilled to welcome back SLP Marlene Cummings from Oakland Schools in Michigan. Marlene has written several very popular posts on AAC in educational settings. (Click here to peruse them.) In this post, Marlene gets us thinking about ways to deal with change in a positive and sustainable fashion. Her passion for supporting both kids and colleagues is infectious. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I have the privilege, as part of a 5 member AAC Team, of supporting 28 school districts with more than 100 teams serving students with complex communication needs using AAC. The staff members and teams we support come with varied levels of knowledge, diverse experiences, and degrees of confidence. For us the new school year is just around the corner. We are already receiving calls and emails reporting... [Read More...]
August 10, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
The power of core vocabulary is only realized when AAC is being utilized throughout the day. A key benefit of having core words on an AAC system is that they apply to any situation, in any location, with any communication partners. But unless we’re actually teaching and using the AAC under those conditions, we haven’t really tapped into the power that they offer. It would be like upgrading to a powerful ‘gamer’ laptop, then just using it to check email. Core vocabulary is a powerful concept, but it only becomes a powerful tool when it gets used throughout the day by anyone who speaks to the learner. It may take some time to get there, but it’s critical that we keep striving for this. Otherwise, we’re checking email on a super-charged computer. While powerful, core words can’t do everything. AAC learners also need words that reflect their own lives and... [Read More...]
August 6, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Many SLPs involved in AAC service provision are called upon to provide inservice training on implementation strategies. In this post, we are very fortunate to have Tabi Jones-Wohleber back to share both her thoughts and training materials. Tabi, an SLP on the AT Team for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland, wrote two previous posts for us. In those posts, Tabi shared her All-in-One Visual Support Tool and Classroom CORE Tool. Today, we hear about her experiences with professional development for teachers, aides, and therapists who serve students with AAC needs. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Implementing AAC: A Picture…AND…A Purpose As I work with staff and students to support implementation of AAC, I’ve learned 2 important things about making it work: 1) Folks need to know what it looks like “in their classroom/life” AND 2) effective implementation does not emerge from directives, but rather evolves from understanding, engagement and ownership of the WHAT... [Read More...]
August 4, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve all been there. You have meaningful goals, engaging materials, and a solid lesson plan for our therapy session. Five minutes into the session, it’s clear that the AAC learner has little or no interest in what we’ve prepared. Now what? Our choices are limited: persevere with the plan, modify it somewhat, or scrap it entirely. What’s a clinician to do? Take A Breath The first thing to do is breathe. Know that you are not the first one to struggle to engage this learner, and you won’t be the last. Think of it not as an excuse for an unproductive session but as a problem-solving challenge. Previous clinicians may have justified the session’s difficulties and atttibuted them to the learner’s lack of engagement, limited attention span, or behavioral problems. Personally, I feel sad for those clinicians because when we take that approach, not only do we fail the client,... [Read More...]
May 12, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
While the Index of Augmented Speech Comprehensibility in Children (I-ASCC) has been around for almost 20 years, few clinicians know and use it. In this post, we welcome back Matthew Baud and Jill Senner to talk about how they are using this assessment tool. Enjoy! AAC evaluations can be challenging, especially if there is disagreement among team members as to whether AAC is necessary or not. We frequently see disagreements about AAC arise when a student is able to speak. Let’s examine the following case. Mrs. Brown has had Johnny in her class for the last 2 years and she “understands everything” he is saying during their routine calendar time. The new SLP, who only sees Johnny once weekly for 30 minutes, tried to elicit information about his weekend at home and reported that she “didn’t understand anything.” What is going on here? How can two communication partners have such vastly... [Read More...]