48 Search Results for generalization
November 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
If you’re in the position of supporting students with AAC needs in school, you know that it takes a lot of planning and coordination to do this well. In today’s video, we learn from SLP Brie Norton who provides district-level support to students with AAC needs and their educational teams. Hosted by PRC Saltillo, this recorded webinar covers prAACtical tips for collaboration, therapy, generalization, and progress monitoring. Many thanks to Brie and to PRC Saltillo for this helpful webinar. You can obtain the handouts for this session here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0fRSI7gx6s
October 24, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
As we all know, parents of kids with complex communication needs play a critical role in their children’s learning of communication, language, and AAC. Today, our guest authors describe an important study that can help us support these families with effective training, practice, and coaching. Jill Senner, Kathy Post, and Matthew Baud describe the study they did on AAC parent training and explain the outcomes. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In 2018, we wrote about the importance of evidence-based practice in ensuring a high standard of care for our clients and patients. Reading AAC-related journal articles is a great way to both continue developing clinical expertise and stay informed about best research evidence. It can be quite time consuming for busy professionals to regularly read journal articles and keep up with the AAC literature so we’ve been invited back to share a summary of our latest publication with PrAACtical AAC readers. The article... [Read More...]
September 2, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
AAC SLP Amanda Samperi is back with another post in her series about the prAACtical aspects of AAC therapy. In this post, Amanda shares her views and experiences on helping students with AAC needs build their language skills. You can see her previous posts in this series here. Putting the FUN Back in FUNctional Working with Multiple Symbol Sets ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: AAC Therapy is Language Therapy I’ve traveled between several states and many different schools over the past few years. Because of this, I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing SLPs! They’re talented, strong, creative, and love their kiddos more than anything. And just like any other team, each of us has different strengths and weaknesses. When I’m joining a Speech team, there’s usually at least one other SLP with specialties that are outside of my wheelhouse. However, she isn’t very comfortable with AAC. It... [Read More...]
August 19, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Combining AAC learning with literacy activities is one of our favorite ways to support young learners. We start off the week with a taste of how AT specialists in one school district are helping preschool special education teachers build a foundation of core vocabulary in their students. Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. This is the first of a series of posts in which Maggie and Jeanna discuss ways that books from the TELL ME program can be used to support AAC learning. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: As AAC facilitators for a special education cooperative, we are always on the lookout for effective ways to provide our students access to instructional materials and activities that not... [Read More...]
August 12, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
In the US and some other countries, we’re starting a new school year and SLP Amanda Samperi is here to get us off to a good start by sharing her experiences and suggestions for engaging AAC activities. After graduating from Penn State, Amanda worked for several years as an SLP in school, home, and medical settings. She has presented on AAC-related topics st ASHA, an IEE Electrical Safety Workshop, and at the AAC in the Cloud Conference. Amanda hopes to continue sharing her knowledge and experiences about AAC through her blog, AAC is where it’s AT. Today, she introduces us to a series of posts that focus on creating fun AACtivities for language learning. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Back-to-School with AAC: Putting the FUN back in FUNctional There is something special about this time of year – students are trying on their back-to-school outfits, school supplies are magically discounted beyond belief, and parents... [Read More...]
July 28, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – AAC Resources for Core Vocabulary Teaching Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: A Recipe for Summer AAC Thursday – PrAACtically Visual: Supports for Self-regulation & Understanding Expectations :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more to explore before you go. Why We Love Language Experience Activities 5 Things to Do If You’re Not Confident Teaching Core Vocabulary Building Sentence Length through Conversational Routines & Games 5 Quick & Easy Games That Build AAC Skills 5 Ways to Promote Generalization of AAC Use Have a great week, AAC friends!
June 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
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...]
April 22, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Have you worked with students like these? 19-year-old Jaclyn has used a number of SGDs over the years with a moderate degree of success. Her language is very predictable and the team is concerned that Jaclyn’s progress has stalled. Judging by his progress on IEP goals, 9-year-old Mason has made wonderful strides in learning to use his AAC app. Of the hundreds of words that are available to him, Mason has only ever used about 50 and uses far fewer than that in day-to-day life. Sloan is fairly proficient with her AAC device and can easily answer questions, relay information, and share her thoughts and ideas. Her language is much less sophisticated than her middle school peers, though. While they often integrate some of the academic vocabulary words that they learn in science, language arts, math, and other classes into their conversation and writing, Sloan tends to stick to the... [Read More...]
March 24, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here’s what we’ve been up to. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Communication with Children with Deafblindness or Visual and Multiple Impairments Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC (Re)Boot Camp-It’s Not About the Technology Thursday – Using Generalization Probes to Gauge Language Learning in AAC :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We’ve been talking about AAC and book reading with some prAACtical friends this week. It seemed like a good time to share some book-related posts from the archives. 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners Alphabet Books and AAC Implementation Adapting Books with Visual Scenes Make It PrAACtical: Display Stand for Visual Supports or Books Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask
February 4, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
As expected, the ATIA Conference in Orlando last week had a robust selection of AAC learning opportunities. Here are two of the fun finds we thought you’d like to explore. The AAC Strand Spotlight Session This panel asked four thought leaders in AAC to each identify two intervention challenges and discuss their ideas for addressing them. The speakers were from a variety of practice settings and addressed a range of implementation issues. Christopher Bugaj, AAC and AT Specialist at Loudoun County Public Schools Transitions & Turnovers: Killers of Language Learning Progression Keeping Up With The Training Demand Vicki Clarke, SLP/CEO, Dynamic Therapy Associates, Inc. Addressing Opportunity Barriers to Participation Facilitator Attitude, Knowledge, & Skill Barriers Caroline Musselwhite, Literacy & AAC Specialist Facilitating Generalization Age-Respectful and Engaging Materials/Activities for Adolescents & Teens Gail VanTatenhove, SLP/CEO, AACell, Inc. Providing Person-Specific AAC Design in an App/MAP Happy World The Aging of AAC Users... [Read More...]