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School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for October

September 26, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for October

It’s prAACtically October, AAC Awareness Month! Guest authors Michaela Sullivan and Lindsay Dougherty are back with wonderful ideas for your older students who are building their skills with core vocabulary. Don’t miss the slide decks full of activities and the data collection forms specific to the October core words. In this post, they also discuss how the the importance of following the AAC user’s lead. SCHOOL YEAR OF CORE- Older Student Lessons  Access & Copy below: Weeks 1-2 Google Slides Weeks 3-4 Google Slides INTRODUCTION- OCTOBER 2024 We hope that the School Year of Core (SYOC-OSL) resource can provide you and your students with additional support in learning about core vocabulary through thematic activities and icebreakers.  This busy and fun time of year provides opportunities for celebration as we learn core vocabulary. In October, we celebrate holidays and celebrations across various cultures such as Halloween, Day of the Dead/Dia De... [Read More...]

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for August

July 25, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for August

As we prepare for a new academic year, we’re delighted to reconnect with guest authors Michaela Sullivan and Lindsay Dougherty. Today, they kick off preparation for the upcoming school year with another wonderful set of Older Student Lessons in the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words series. Scroll down for some terrific resources, including two slide decks full of activities and the data collection forms specific to the Sugust core words. Their post also includes some helpful information on a key AAC support strategy, aided language input. SCHOOL YEAR OF CORE- Older Student Lessons  Access & Copy below: Weeks 1-2 Google Slides Weeks 3-4 Google Slides INTRODUCTION- AUGUST 2024 Welcome back to the School Year of Core – Older Student Lessons: August!  School is back in session for many and the summer is nearing the final stretch. Welcome back to the School Year of Core- Older Student Lessons (SYOC-OSL resource,... [Read More...]

Throwback Thursday: AAC for the Little Ones

July 11, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

Throwback Thursday: AAC for the Little Ones

We get lots of questions about using AAC with young children, from babies to toddlers to preschoolers. There are many ways to approach this, so today, we are looking back at some of our earlier posts on AAC for little learners.  Using Vest Displays with Preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum with guest author Dr. Carol Goossens’ Mining the Preschool Routine for PrAACtical AAC Opportunities Supporting Preschoolers with AAC Needs: A Case Study Visual Supports in Action in the Preschool Classroom Video of the Week: Parent-Implemented AAC Intervention for Young Children PrAACtically Reading: Books Featuring Children & Youth with Disabilities From Wheelchair to Hands-free Walker for Preschool Children with AAC Needs, Part 1, Part 2 TELL ME: AAC in  the Preschool Classroom TELL ME About It (Year 1) TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits Brown Bear, Brown Bear I Went Walking From Head to Toe Here Are My Hands What Do You Like?... [Read More...]

Video of the Week: Alternative Ways to Access AAC Technologies

July 10, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Alternative Ways to Access AAC Technologies

Technological advances, perseverance, and creativity are combining to offer new opportunities for accessing AAC technology. In today’s post, we share Pancho Ramirez’s insights on new options for alternative access. Many thanks to Mr. Ramirez and the AAC Research Summit for making this presentation available. Direct link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7DVWDeYZIE&ab_channel=CommunicationFirst

PrAACtically Juneteenth: Ideas for AAC-friendly Learning & Celebrating

June 13, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically Juneteenth: Ideas for AAC-friendly Learning & Celebrating

In the US, Juneteenth is one of our newest federal holidays and many are now getting ready to celebrate it. Whether you are relatively new to an understanding of Juneteenth or have been honoring it for decades, we hope today’s post has some ideas for integrating it into the AAC work you do. First published a few years back, we’ve updated it with some additional books, videos, and other resources. PrAACtically Juneteenth In the US, June 19th is a day that commemorates the ending of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863, it took an additional two and half years for it to take root in all of the states. It wasn’t until June 19th, 1865 that Texas became the final state to uphold the proclamation. There are other days that memorialize the freedom of enslaved people, but Juneteenth is the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration.  Traditionally marked... [Read More...]

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for June

May 30, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

School Year of Core Vocabulary Words – Older Student Lessons: AAC Resources for June

Here in the US, the school year is just about over, but there’s still enough time to welcome back guest authors Michaela Sullivan and Lindsay Dougherty for another set of Older Student Lessons in the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words series. As usual, they share some wonderful resources including two slide decks full of activities and the data collection forms specific to the June core words. They also provide a perspective on the presumption of competence and share their thoughts on its role in AAC. SCHOOL YEAR OF CORE- Older Student Lessons  Access & Copy below: Weeks 1-2 Google Slides Weeks 3-4 Google Slides INTRODUCTION- JUNE 2024 Welcome back to the School Year of Core – Older Student Lessons: June!  Summer is finally here, and we are celebrating with new core words and themes for the month of June. Engage in core word-centered activities centered around the end of... [Read More...]

PrAACtical Groups: Tips, Tricks, & Positive Outcomes

May 27, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Groups: Tips, Tricks, & Positive Outcomes

We hope that guest authors Marisa Portanova and Marnina Allis have inspired you to develop AAC groups for the children and adults you serve. Today, they wrap up their series with some final tips for creating and running successful groups. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PrAACtical AAC Groups Made Easy – Positive Outcome and Tips and Tricks  Our AAC groups were a hit, and we want to help you all knock it out of the park as well! We had some great positive outcomes we would like to share to help with motivation to get started. Variety of communication opportunities – talking about their weekends, playing fun games like HeadBandz, giving opinions about a book read Language learning opportunities – within literacy contexts and natural social environments Social interaction opportunities are hard to accomplish in 1:1 settings between child and therapist. These groups allowed for peer-to-peer interaction as well. They allowed children to see other... [Read More...]

PrAACtical Groups: AAC Let’s Have a Weekly Social  

May 13, 2024 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Groups: AAC Let’s Have a Weekly Social  

We’re excited to welcome back guest authors Marisa Portanova and Marnina Allis to extend the conversation about running AAC groups for children. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PrAACtical AAC Groups Made Easy – Let’s Have a Weekly Social  Lions and tigers and AAC groups, OH MY! Group therapy can be intimidating. We have some tips, tricks and ideas we want to share to help you get started. Let’s jump in!  So welcome back, and thanks for following along our AAC group’s journey with us. Within Blythedale Children’s Hospital, we have a school program run in coordination with the Mount Pleasant Blythedale Union Free School District. These children come to school on a regular school calendar, including the extended school year 6-week summer session. Once we were doing groups with our verbal children, we decided to start groups for our AAC users. We wanted to model core language and target literacy, so we made... [Read More...]