448 Search Results for autism

Transitioning to the Workplace: Resources for AAC Learners with Significant Disabilities

March 15, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Transitioning to the Workplace: Resources for AAC Learners with Significant Disabilities

If we do our jobs well, students with AAC needs will leave school with a solid plan for post-secondary learning and/or the workplace. In most places, it can be challenging to identify meaningful work and learning experiences for young adults with AAC needs as they exit public education. While employment and educational opportunities for these young adults are slowly increasing, it is nonetheless a struggle to help young adults get prepared for their post-school lives. In this post, we share some resources that can help teams guide students and their families. QuickBook Of Transition Assessments (Cline, Halverson, Petersen, & Rohrbach, 2005)  Reading-Free Vocational Interest Inventory–Second Edition (R-FVII:2) (Becker, 2000)  Choose and Take Action Vocational Assessment Software (Martin, Marshall, Wray, Wells, O’Brien, Olvey, & Johnson, 2004)  Self-Directed Employment: A Handbook for Transition Teachers and Employment Specialists, (Martin, Mithaug, Oliphint, Husch, & Frazier, 2002): May be out of print but available in... [Read More...]

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...]

PrAACtical Research: Aided Language Input for People with Developmental Disabilities

March 8, 2018 by - 2 Comments

PrAACtical Research: Aided Language Input for People with Developmental Disabilities

We’re pleased to welcome back Dr. Kathy Howery for another analysis of an AAC research article. Kathy is based in Alberta, Canada, and has worked in the field of AT and special education for over three decades. In the past year, she completed her doctoral studies where she used phenomenological methods to seek to understand the lived experience of speaking with/through a speech generating device. Kathy is currently working as a consultant to schools and school districts across Alberta focusing primarily on children and youth with complex communication needs. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::; Allen, A. A., Schlosser, R. W., Brock, K. L., & Shane, H. C. (2017). The effectiveness of aided augmented input techniques for persons with developmental disabilities: A systematic review. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 33, 149-159. What this Article is All About (The Focus of the Research) This article presents the results of a systematic review of the research into what the authors refer... [Read More...]

Video of the Week: Building a Love of the Social World in a UDL Classroom

March 7, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Building a Love of the Social World in a UDL Classroom

“The love of the social world leads children to develop language.” Today, we turn our attention to some foundational issues important to those of us who try to help children with AAC needs become linguistically competent. Emily Rubin, director of the Educational Outreach Program at the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University in Atlanta, helps us understand the role of social-emotional engagement and ways we can support that in the classroom using Universal Design for Learning. Thanks to Emily Rubin and OCALICON for making this presentation, which was originally a keynote address, available to those who could not attend. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpynZ86usJo

PrAACtical Resources: AAC Info to Use & Share

March 1, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Resources: AAC Info to Use & Share

Looking for information on alternative access for kids with significant motor limitations? Need a basic overview of communication and AAC for a para, parent, or colleague? Wanting to explore a variety of AAC resources? Check out the resources below. Working with Nonverbal Students with Autism: This was written by Susan Stokes under a contract with CESA 7 and funded by a discretionary grant from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. AAC Basics from Louisiana Assistive Technology Initiative’s AT Answers Indirect Access by Justin Sims Enjoy!

Video of the Week: Implementing Visual Supports

February 28, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Implementing Visual Supports

Visual supports are a standard of care for supporting people with autism at home, in school, at work, and in the community. Today, we hear from Laura Ferguson of the Kentucky Autism Training Center on this topic. If you work with teams who are interested in using visual supports and video modeling but could use some help in implementing them effectively, this is a good video to watch. Many thanks to Laura and the Kentucky Autism Training Center for making and sharing this video. You can see a previous video from this series here. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAi1TZP69-I

PrAACtically Printing: AAC Apps & SGDs

January 22, 2018 by - 4 Comments

Whether you are working with a traditional SGD or an AAC app, chances are, you want to print a ‘no tech’ version for modeling and/or as a backup communication aid.  We’ve shared printable communication boards and books on many previous occasions but here are links to some of the ones that are requested most frequently. Proloquo2Go Crescendo (English, Spanish, French, & Dutch) Snap + Core First (multiple sizes/layouts) and editable copies via Boardmaker Online LAMP Words for Life WordPower (many versions: regular and poster; some Spanish) Unity (with free PASS software) Speak for Yourself Core Samples Do you print and use other manual communication boards or posters? We’d love to hear about that.

Video of the Week: AAC, ASD, & Individual Differences

December 13, 2017 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: AAC, ASD, & Individual Differences

When you’ve worked with one person with autism, the saying goes, you’ve worked with one person with autism. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that this diversity shows up in research data as well. In this presentation, we hear from Dr. David Trembath, from Griffith University in Australia, explores the individual differences in AAC research and discusses their implications. Many thanks to the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Autism (CIRCA) at the University of British Columbia, for making this video available. Direct link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvZ-XH6SLVU