452 Search Results for VISUAL SUPPORTS
March 4, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Good morning, AAC friends! If you had a busy week, you probably missed one or more of these posts from the week. Monday – PrAACtically March: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Wednesday – Video of the Week: Implementing Visual Supports Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: AAC Info to Use & Share Still in the mood for some more AAC? Here are a handful of previous posts to explore. Video of the Week: On Using Symbols with Beginning Communicators Video of the Week: Object Symbols and Core Vocabulary A PrAACtical Look at Getting Started with AAC Symbols Fast FAACt Friday: On Symbols and Reading Core Vocabulary: Making Sense of Symbols
February 22, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Words for emotions and feelings are pretty common in AAC devices and non-electronic communication aids, like PODD books and eye gaze boards. It’s wonderful when our clients can tell us they are sad or angry with words rather than using challenging behaviors or suffering in silence. What can we do to further their skills in this area? Here are some suggestions to get us thinking. Beyond the Basics: Consider going beyond the basic feeling words (i.e., happy, sad, mad, tired, scared) and including additional emotion words in the AAC system (e.g., frustrated, embarrassed, disappointed, lonely, worried). Don’t assume that this is inappropriate just because an individual has lower language levels or cognitive delays. To learn language, we have to have access to it. Model, model, model: Use these emotion words throughout the day to express your own feelings, and narrate your observations of how others are feeling (e.g., “Joey’s crying... [Read More...]
January 18, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
For several years, those who specialize in supporting AAC learners have stressed the need to develop AAC systems and programming that go beyond the communicative function of requesting in order to target the ability to protest, reject, comment, etc. This has been an important trend that will empower users of AAC to express themselves in much fuller ways. What other things should we be targeting in order to help our clients and students become more linguistically competent? Here are some ideas for goal areas to consider. Temporal Markers: While no one can overstate the importance of talking about our current needs, interests, observations, and preferences, we have to be careful not to get stuck in the moment. It is also important for our AAC learners to develop the language skills to be able to talk about things that already happened or that will/might be happening. Why? Among other things, this... [Read More...]
January 11, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for activities and books to help integrate AAC and language learning with content about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr? Here are some resources to explore. Acts of Kindness and Justice Martin Luther King Jr: Venn Diagram: Great for practice of core and fringe vocabulary, as well as information-giving (e.g., name, birthday) and comparing/contrasting Martin Luther King Jr I Have a Dream Speech: Wonderful for older learners and those focused on Tier 2 vocabulary, more complex sentences, main idea, narrative development, and inferencing. Martin Luther King Jr Holiday 5 Resources for AAC Learners Visual Supports, Core Words, and Martin Luther King Core Values: Suggestions for Language Building with AAC Learners
November 20, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Have you had an experience like Stacy’s? Stacy SLP knows the importance of building literacy skills in her students who use AAC and was happy to have found an age respectful book that aligns with the curriculum. She downloaded it onto her iPad and practiced reading it so that the push-in session would go smoothly. Stacy reviewed the students’ SGDs and came up with a plan for targeting specific language or AAC skills. She was determined to infuse more literacy activities into her therapy and began the reading activity with equal measures of excitement and nervousness. It was both frustrating and disheartening when her students didn’t like the activity, were hard to engage, and even tried to escape. Within the first few minutes, her enthusiasm had turned to fear (’What do I do NOW?’) and dread (‘How am I going to get through this session?!’). Many of us have had... [Read More...]
November 19, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts that you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: AT in the IEP Wednesday – Video of the Week: Assessing AAC Learners of Different Ability Levels Thursday – On AAC Training: Skill Building for AAC Team Members ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few more places to browse? Here are some selected posts on making and using visual supports. Free Resources for Making AAC and Visual Supports How I Do It – Using an App to Make AAC Materials and Visual Supports AAC Teaching Tips on Scaffolding and Visual Supports Designing and Using Visual Supports for Older Students 5 Visual Supports for the AAC Classroom Wishing a meaningful week to all who celebrate Thanksgiving!
November 12, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a beautiful day to grab a mug of coffee or pour a cup of tea, and head for a comfy spot to catch up on some AAC reading. Monday – AAC Site of the Month: Centre for AAC (CAAC) Wednesday – Video of the Week: Analyzing the Communication Environment Thursday – PrAACtical Information: 5 AAC Presentation Handouts :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Need a few more suggestions? Here are a handful past post on AAC and young children. Preschool AAC and Visual Supports from Orange County Public Schools TELL ME – AAC in the Preschool Classroom Supporting Preschoolers with AAC Needs-A Case Study Visual Supports in Action: The Preschool Classroom Mining Preschool Routines for PrAACtical AAC Opportunities Have a great week, AAC friends!
November 5, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Busy week? Here are a handful of AAC posts that you might have missed. Monday – PrAACtically November: AAC Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary Wednesday – Video of the Week: Understanding Functional Communication Training Thursday – PrAACtical Families: 5 Grants That Support AAC Looking for materials to get ready for another busy week? You might get some ideas from these posts: AAC on TpT: 5 Free Downloads Miami Dade Prekindergarten Program for Children with Disabilities 5 ‘Go-To Sites for Visual Supports Free Resources for Making AAC and Visual Supports Downloadable AAC Posters
October 5, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back with Georgia-based SLP Jennifer Ro to hear more about a district-wide rollout of AAC in which they established (and have maintained) a core vocabulary focus. Jennifer is currently the lead AAC-SLP on Forsyth County Schools’ Assistive Technology Team where she provides AAC implementation support and trainings for staff and families and conducts individual AAC student consults. You can see Part 1 of the post here. Today, Jennifer shares some of what they learned in the process of creating AAC materials for the classroom and supporting the implementation of those materials. Let’s continue with more ‘lessons learned’ from this AAC experience. ================= How We Do It: Developing, Implementing a District-wide Focus on Communication & Core Vocabulary (Part 2) How we did it. And keep doing it … 😉 Create and develop supplemental materials that can be utilized universally and then modified, if needed, for individual student or teacher... [Read More...]
September 28, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
One of the best parts of blogging is getting to connect with talented professionals who are committed to meeting the needs of people who use AAC. In today’s post, SLP Jennifer Ro shares some of the ‘lessons learned’ in implementing a core vocabulary approach to AAC throughout an entire school district. Jennifer is part of the Assistive Technology Team at Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. Focusing much of her 20+ year career in the field of AAC, Jennifer has provided AAC and speech-language services through the public schools, private clinics, early intervention programs, and community-based adult group homes and workshops. Jennifer helped develop Forsyth’s Core Word Board utilized district-wide. Her current interests include collaborative models of service delivery and staff development in the area of AAC. She has presented at the state and local level with a focus on communication related to AAC, core vocabulary, and language development, social-emotional engagement, visual... [Read More...]