313 Search Results for communication boards
July 1, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s always exciting to see how university programs are inspiring future professionals to enter the world of AAC. Today, AAC SLP Vicki Haddix, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis, is back to share some of the work completed by her SLP graduate students. With her guidance, they create videos, handouts, and other materials that can be used by families, clinicians, and educators. Kudos to Vicki and her students for their fine work! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When I designed the AAC course, I tried to incorporate elements of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) within the class. One of the elements I’m particularly proud of is allowing the students to choose their own final projects, which are worth 50% of their grade. I give them the following guidelines: Your final project should: Collect information from a variety of sources (i.e.: not only a survey or only research articles); Ground itself within the... [Read More...]
April 29, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to all who’ve reached out with questions, comments, and words of appreciation for the Year of Core Vocabulary series. In today’s post, we share some ideas for integrating AAC into your daily life. Here are some helpful resources for those who are using the words in Set 1 ( Year of Core Words) or Set 2 (Another Year of Core Words). If you are contemplating this approach, feel free to jump in at any time. The best time to start (or re-start) is right now. Don’t worry about retracing steps, or not ‘doing it right.’ The best way to get better at core vocabulary instruction is just to keep at it. It takes time, practice, and a willingness to keep at it. Our words for this month are as follows. Set 1: all, down, good, little, my, question, sad, she, turn, up, who, why Set 2: bathroom, car, child, confused,... [Read More...]
April 2, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
AAC friends, it’s time for another AAC Link Up in Spanish. If you have materials or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. But before we get to that, we want to continue sharing AAC experiences with families in different Spanish-speaking countries, to help us create ties and form AAC communities in Spanish, to learn from each other. In addition, this post features the words of Robinson Díaz, a Communications and Web Assistant from Chile who uses AAC. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: No dejes pasar la oportunidad de compartir tus links en español, para apoyar a la comunidad hispano hablante, que crece cada día en el campo de la CAA. Continuamos con nuestra serie de experiencias de... [Read More...]
March 21, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘The Skin You Live In’! Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Language Learning AACtivities Thursday – Readiness: 7 Days of AACtion ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for some AAC materials? We pulled out a few from the AAC Toolbox just for you. Spelling Boards & FlipBook– Letter boards (alpha & QWERTY) used at Camp Alec; Created by Tina Moreno Visual Supports Wiki Resources from OCPS – See also How We Do It: Essential TRICKs for Supporting AAC in Schools, Part 1 How I Communicate – Template for a Gesture Dictionary Communicare Language Board Templates – Communication board templates for the post “How We Do It: Using Language Boards to Support AAC Use” Colorful Connections – Templates for teaching modified Fitzgerald Key and Goossens’, Crain, & Elder color-coding schemas
February 15, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome Katrina Cohen Cosentino, Head of Communications at Cboard app. Katrina has been working with Cboard, a free web-based AAC app, for the past 3 years. Cboard uses the Mulberry Symbol Set and is available in more than 40 languages. In today’s post, she gives an overview of what Cboard is, how it started, and how it works. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Cboard can be accessed here: www.cboard.io Cboard is a free AAC web app for children and adults with speech and language impairments, aiding communication with symbols and text-to-speech. Cboard is funded by UNICEF. Who are we? We are an international group of professionals whose sole goal is to develop a free and open-source communication aid for people around the world. Co-founder of Cboard and Developer Martin Bedouret began the project after being diagnosed with ALS in 2015, along with an Israeli programmer. The idea stemmed from a conversation with... [Read More...]
December 7, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
If you’re in search of ways to support preschool teachers who are implementing TELL ME or another core vocabulary program with their young students, this post has some great information and downloadable resources for you. AAC SLPs Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson are back with another guest post the TELL ME About It series. Maggie and Jeanna 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. TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘It’s Okay to Be Different!’ TELL ME About The Book The fourth book in this new series is “It’s Okay To Be Different” by Todd Parr. A perfect book for a preschool classroom, with its repeated phrases, simple text, and engaging illustrations. And oh, did we mention it’s full of... [Read More...]
November 19, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
For beginning communicators, the pairing of storybook reading with aided language input is a powerful combination. Today, Dr. Kimberly Ho, SLP and Director of Speech, Language and AAC Services at Confidence Connection, shares her thoughts on selecting which words to model and also shares a number of video examples. Modeling for Children with ASD: Which Words Should We Choose? We know that many individuals with ASD have complex communication needs. It is estimated that 50% of individuals on the Autism Spectrum can’t meet their communication needs with speech alone (Light, Roberts, DeMarco, & Greiner, 1998). This is not surprising to clinicians and educators who have seen their caseloads swell with children with ASD who require AAC. Modeling is the most frequently used instructional method by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with children with ASD who use AAC (Clark & Williams, 2020). Clinically, the intent of providing a model is NOT... [Read More...]
November 6, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Octubre – Mes de la CAA Las personas sin habla tienen mucho que decir. Esta comunicación no será posible si no disponen de las herramientas y los aprendizajes para conseguirlo. La Comunicación Aumentativa y Alternativa (CAA) es la vía de acceso a una participación plena para muchas, muchas personas. ¿Es necesaria una campaña de concienciación y sensibilización? Rotundamente sí. Familiares y profesionales de personas usuarias de CAA tienen todavía en este momento muchas dificultades para acceder a todas las opciones de SAAC, a veces por desconocimiento, a veces por cuestiones económicas e incluso por falta de un equipo de apoyo para su implementación. Nuestro objetivo para el mes de octubre ha sido ofrecer un espacio para dar a conocer en redes la realidad de nuestro día a día y cómo la CAA nos está proporcionando una herramienta de crecimiento personal. Así que bajo la guía de María @5sentidosymedio iniciamos el... [Read More...]
August 31, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
August may be on the way out but the words for this month are useful all throughout the year. The new Year of Core Words School Edition is in development and the plan is to get these monthly to you prior to the start of each month so that you can plan and prepare. Please bear with us for the first few posts as we get up to speed. Each of the monthly posts will highlight a selected set of words and a suggested order in which to teach them. You’ll also find resources, such as Activity Sheets for each word and data collection forms, and information on a key intervention strategy. The series authors, Michaela Sullivan, Beth Lytle, and Alisa Lego, created an introduction that you may want to review before digging into this month’s target words. You can see that here. Enjoy Month 1 of the School Year... [Read More...]
April 30, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the Covid-19 situation is the necessity of separating desperately ill patients from their loved ones. In most instances, visitors are not allowed or are severely limited. The sense of isolation makes this terrible situation worse, both for patients and for families. So several weeks ago when I first saw the prototype for Co-VidSpeak, I could instantly see its potential to make life more tolerable for patients who are unable to speak and their families. In today’s post, you can learn more about Co-VidSpeak from its founders, Bill Binko (LessonPix) and Brian Whitmer (CoughDrop) who are offering this at no cost to eligible individuals. If you are so inclined, please consider supporting their efforts through a donation (details below). Another way that you can make a meaningful contribution to these efforts is to share this with healthcare providers, especially those with decision-making power in... [Read More...]