794 Search Results for praactical teaching

PrAACtical Alert: AAC Professional Development Options

March 12, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Alert: AAC Professional Development Options

Lauren Enders, an amazing AAC SLP from Pennsylvania, graciously shared this list of professional development opportunities that may be of interest. Lauren works as an Augmentative Communication/Assistive Technology Consultant for Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22. In the list below, she shares resources for AAC learning in both online and face-to-face formats. Enjoy! You can see more of Lauren’s guest posts here. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS FOR AAC IMPLEMENTATION            ONLINE SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING OPTIONS: Power AAC modules: a FREE training series developed by The Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN)with Gail Van Tatenhove, CCC-SLP. This series of brief modules can be used for professional development by individuals or groups who are supporting students with complex communication needs and who need or use AAC. The POWER AAC modules are intended to build the capacity of school personnel to improve communication skills and provide flexible, generative vocabulary for students who need or use AAC. AAC Institute... [Read More...]

PrAACtically March: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

February 26, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically March: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

Do the AAC users in your life use only a fraction of the core words in their SGD, AAC app, or communication board? One way to help them move forward is to make a concerted effort to use, highlight, and provide additional teaching on a variety of words. It’s hard to do this without getting overwhelmed, so find a strategy that works for you.  A few years ago, we decided to approach this by focusing on 12-16 core words each month. (If this is too much for the teams with whom you work, that’s not a problem. Just cut it back to 4-6 words/month.) Each month, we can highlight those words in our conversation (aided language input), direct intervention, and home programming activities with AAC learners. The repeated experiences with those 12-16 (or 4-6) words helps our AAC learners develop new skills, and keeps the team focused on the same destination.  It’s... [Read More...]

PrAACtically February: AAC Resources for a Year of Core Words

January 29, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically February: Resources for a Year of Core Words

As prepare to bid January a fond farewell, we’re looking ahead to ways we can highlight more of the core vocabulary words in our clients’ AAC devices and communication aids. One approach to boosting practice opportunities is to select a dozen or so core words to focus on each month. Throughout the month, we can then pay special attention to that small group of words by highlighting them with focused language stimulation, aided language input, and specific activities designed to teach or practice those words. In previous years, we shared lists of some core words to help you do just that and every month we share some ideas for prioritizing a small set of words. You can use these materials to remind yourself which words to highlight this month, with using aided language input and focused language stimulation. What else? Here are some ideas to get you started. Print them and... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #5: January, 2018

January 28, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #5: January, 2018

We’re just about ready to turn the calendar page to a new month, but before we do, take a look at some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday –  PrAACtically Printing: AAC Apps & SGDs Wednesday – Video of the Week: Teaching Peers to Interact with Young Children Who Use AAC Thursday –  PrAACtical Resources: Building Our Skills in Interactive Book Reading ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And while we’re packing up for the 2018 ATIA Conference in Orlando, here are some posts with handouts and such from previous years for you to browse through. 5 AAC-related Handouts from ATIA 2015 Fun Finds at ATIA 2015 3 AAC Presentation Handouts You May Have Missed PrAACtical Fun A PrAACtical Idea for Aided Language Input If you’re headed to Orlando for the 2018 ATIA Conference, I hope to see you there. Come say hello! Tuesday 4:30 – Strand Advisor Meet and Greet at the Cabana Area between Towers 2... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #4: January, 2018

January 21, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #4: January, 2018

Happy Sunday,  AAC friends! Looking for tips to hone your AAC therapy and instruction? We shaerd quite a few on the blog this week. Monday – 10 Tips for Starting AAC Therapy with Little Ones Wednesday – Video of the Week: Supporting Emergent AAC Learners in Inclusive Education Through Descriptive Teaching Thursday –  Building Linguistic Competence in AAC Learners: 3 Areas to Consider Targeting And if you are thirsty for more, check out some past posts on activities and materials for AAC therapy and instruction. Magic Moments with Verb Circus PrAACtical Ways to Make Decisions about Thematic Therapy Materials Why We Love AAC Language Experience Activities Vocabulary Activities: 5 Sites About Learning with Avatars AAC Intervention: 5 Activities with PrAACtical Potential  

Video of the Week: Supporting Emergent AAC Learners in Inclusive Education Through Descriptive Teaching

January 17, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Supporting Emergent AAC Learners in Inclusive Education Through Descriptive Teaching

How can we better support AAC learners in general education classrooms? With great teaching and appropriate supports! In today’s video, Erin Sheldon discusses the rationale and implementation of an important educational/clinical strategy, descriptive teaching, that can be used in a variety of settings.  We are so grateful to Erin and others who willingly share what they know and make that available for all of us to learn from. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQA5RpVXGQo&list=PLlsAGwcMnu5pRo7HCpy77ZqVQEtEqEgbh You can learn more from Erin here and here.

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #3: January, 2018

January 14, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #3: January, 2018

It’s been a busy week of classes and conferences. Here are some AAC posts you might have missed. Monday: PrAACtical Resources: AT and Transition Planning Wednesday: Video of the Week – Using Evidence to Improve our Professional Development Thursday: It’s PrAACtically Martin Luther King Jr Day And if you need a few more posts to browse, here are some suggestions. AAC in the ASD Classroom: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary Supporting AAC Learners in Emergent Writing: 5 Helpful Resources Shared Writing and AAC PrAACtical Resources for Writing Notes to Send Home Using an Alphabet Flipbook for Writing

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #1: January, 2018

December 31, 2017 by - Leave your thoughts

Ready to launch a brand new year? Let’s make it full of AAC goodness! In the meantime, here are a few posts from last week to catch up with. Monday: Happy Christmas! Wednesday: Top AAC Videos Thursday: PrAACtically January: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words Looking for more to browse? Check out these previous posts for a little AAC inspiration. Teaching Peers About AAC A Classroom Journey with PODD Writing to Read It’s All About Us Magic Moments with Tellagami

PrAACtical Collaboration: Teaming Up to Build Communication with a Treat Cart (Part 1)

December 7, 2017 by - 1 Comment

PrAACtical Collaboration: Teaming Up to Build Communication with a Treat Cart (Part 1)

Looking for ways to give your AAC learners the opportunity to communicate with a broader range of communication partners? Interested in practicing AAC skills outside of the classroom? When I saw this fun learning experience that SLP Kimberly Walker and her colleagues developed, I knew it would spark the imaginations of some of our prAACtical friends. I am continually amazed by the creativity of teachers, SLPs, OTs, and others who are passionate about helping students become more proficient with their AAC and language. Based in Colorado, Kimberly works with students in kindergarten through grade 5 at Tarver Elementary. In this post, she explains how they set up a Treat Cart in order to spice up the opportunities for AAC, language, and literacy learning. ——————————————————— Finding ways for our AAC users to see the power of communication by using their AAC device is hard at times.  My Occupational Therapist and I... [Read More...]