Thanks to Rachael Langley, who tirelessly creates these wonderful resources, we have a new calendar of suggested activities to practice January Year of Core Vocabulary Words. Hang it on the fridge, tack it to the bulletin board, send it home in a backpack…let’s talk! Click here or on the image below to download a copy.
Before we get too far into the new year, we thought you might like one last look at some of the most popular AAC videos of 2019. Looking at AAC Modeling Growing Language with AAC Modeling The Critical Nature of Literacy in AAC Apps and Resources for Core Vocabulary Teaching AACtually Doing It: Core in the Classroom A Look at PODD Books Parent-implemented AAC Intervention for Young Children Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom PrAACtically Visual: Supporting Communication Across Activities & Environments Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list? We’d love to hear about it.
We are so very pleased to welcome Vicki Clarke back to these pages for another installment in our AAC Assessment Corner. Vicki is the CEO of Dynamic Therapy Associates and Director of DTA Schools, is back with another wonderful edition of AAC Assessment Corner. In addition to their clinic, Vicki and her team support school districts in AAC evaluation, equipment procurement, and implementation for individual students in the academic environment. DTA Schools also supports district-wide AAC implementation through the Classroom Communication Goals Project, training, and supporting all team members in classroom AAC implementation. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Evaluating Skills For the Use of Comprehensive AAC Systems: CORE WORD USE ACTION/OBJECT REQUESTS-RECURRENCE, CESSATION, ACTION More, Stop, Go and Want Once we have assessed our student’s ability to understand and use photos and symbols for concrete, motivating items, it’s time to take a look at their ability to understand and use more abstract, generalizable core vocabulary. ... [Read More...]
Looking to create a sustainable AAC program in your school? Today, we learn about the way one school district in Illinois created a core vocabulary initiative that has been up and running for almost a decade. Kelly Key, the Assistive Technology (AT) Coordinator for Barrington School District 220 serves as our tour guide. Kelly is passionate about giving students a voice through core vocabulary and empowering others to support students. She has been in the field for over 22 years as a special education teacher, an administrator, and AT Coordinator. Kelly presents at local, state, and national conferences and colleges on various AT topics including core vocabulary and AAC implementation. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How We Do It: Getting to the CORE of Communication (Part 1) Rolling Out a Core Vocabulary Initiative- How this District has been going strong for a decade! The Importance of Using Core Vocabulary As we all know, individuals with complex... [Read More...]
It is wonderful to see the ways that SLPs and educators are collaborating to support AAC implementation in the classroom. Today, we hear from SLP Kristen Ponce who works at the Gerner Family Early Education Center in the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Missouri. Kristen has a particular interest in working with preschoolers with autism and AAC needs and is passionate about teaching her students to become competent and independent communicators. In this post, she shares her experiences in collaborating with classroom teachers to promote the use of AAC throughout the school day. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Incorporating Core Throughout the School Day The majority of my caseload is preschoolers who have autism spectrum disorder and who use AAC. We usually introduce communication and how to use an AAC device through learning to request. It is easy to teach that communication is fun when you have a very tangible and... [Read More...]
Looking for some additional resources that can help you implement A Year of Core Vocabulary Words? Help yourself to this flipbook with sentence suggestions for a variety of activities. It goes along with our monthly series of core words and features the August words, but works well with any system that is rich in core vocabulary. You can download the file for it here. Happy talking!
Following along with our Year of Core Words or another approach to building core vocabulary? Our latest flipbook has suggestions for sentences you can model throughout the day. This set corresponds to our Year of Core Vocabulary July words but can be used with any AAC system that contains these words. You can print them in black and white or colored paper for a bit of fun. Click here for the link to download this file.
Looking for ways to help the team remember to model and elicit core words? Visual supports work for adults, too! This handy flipbook has sentence suggestions for the June Year of Core Vocabulary words, but you can use it with any AAC system that has core vocabulary. Print in black and white on plain paper or choose some brightly colored cardstock to give it a pop. You can download the file here.
Thoughtful interventionists make AAC decisions based on the nature of the situation, not trends or personal preferences. Still, it’s easy to get caught up in the groundswell when you’ve been to a training, gotten hold of a promising resource, or had success with a particular approach. Core vocabulary has done a world of good for the AAC field as a whole and the individual clients we serve. But, like anything else, it’s not appropriate in all situations. When I was a doctoral student, poring over every issue of the new journal, AAC, I was struck by an editorial Dave Beukelman wrote, entitled “When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” They were different times and different issues, but the sentiment still applies. In some cases, core vocabulary has become a shiny hammer that we seem to hold onto whether or not it will get the job done. There’s... [Read More...]
What’s better that modeling AAC? Doing it with a pal, of course! In this post, we hear from special education teacher Carissa Thompson and SLP Hannah Sellers who work at Princeton House Charter School (PHCS) where they serve students with autism spectrum disorder. Both work with students who use a variety of AAC to communicate and access their curricula. PHCS uses a daily integrated language therapy model which allows for increased opportunities to collaborate with teachers and to organically meet the communication needs of their students. Today, Hannah and Carissa share ways in which they team up to provide AAC supports with a fun twist. AAC & Autism: Making Core Words Fun with Bluebee Pals In this post, we would like to introduce you to a recently discovered therapy and classroom tool that has made core words fun for our students! Meet Bluebee Pals Bluebee Pals are a group of... [Read More...]