It’s been a fine week for AAC! Monday – Beyond the Core: A Guide to Teaching New Words for Students Who Use AAC Tuesday – PrAACtical Resources: Activities and Materials to Download or Explore Wednesday – Video of the Week: Narrative Skills in Students with ASD Thursday – Remembering Robin: AAC and Autism Spectrum Disorders Hope you had some AAC fun, too!
The great thing about getting stuck at an airport these days is that almost all of them have free internet connections. Some people surf the web for celebrity news, fashion tips, or recipes. AAC people, on the other hand, never miss an opportunity to search out interesting tools and resources. Here are a few from my latest airport adventure. Communication Games and Activities from AAC Scotland: Lots of fun and prAACtical ideas, like the Roving Reporter activity. Graphic Organizers with Teaching Notes: Graphic organizers are some of my favorite tools, but it takes time to convert the paper-based ones to interactive PDFs that our AAC learners can use. When I found this site from Holt McDougal (part of Houghton Mifflin), I squealed with joy. It’s a real time-saver! Story Visualizer: This website from the Education Team at Lego is a great way to motivate kids to communicate and build narratives.... [Read More...]
Teaching AAC learners to expand their vocabularies beyond a basic set of core words is an important goal to target in language development, and a topic that we’ve written a lot about in this space. For the student to be successful, SLPs need to think of vocabulary instruction as an ongoing process that has a clear 3-part structure. Introduction: Word is used in context, defined, and produced by the learner. Students assess their own knowledge of the word. Explicit Instruction: Activities are created to help the student really understand what the word means and how to use it. Students begin using it throughout the session. Continued Practice: We continue to use these words and help the student use the target words in the session. Engaging activities, often with technology, are used to help our learners deepen their understanding of the word. This will be accomplished over multiple sessions. In this... [Read More...]
You don’t have to do AAC work for very long before you become acutely aware that many of our prAACtical friends experience chronic pain. We can all relate to the ways in which pain impacts a person’s behavior and participation in life experiences. Even very low-level pain can be terribly distracting, highly annoying, and cause us to have difficulty concentrating. From GERD to muscle spasms to constipation, children with AAC needs often experience pain that goes undetected or inadequately treated. In today’s post we look at some resources for assessing pain in children with disabilities. Thanks to Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital for these fine resources. You can access their resources here and watch a brief video on pain in children with cerebral palsy here.
“My client has a new SGD and will begin bringing it to school. What words should I program on it?” We are so fortunate to be practicing at a time when the high tech SGDs and robust AAC apps come pre-loaded with lots of vocabulary. Still, when you sit down to prepare the device for an actual client, it can be hard to determine what needs to be there right away and what can wait. You’ll find lots of forms and checklists floating around, some for children and some for adults. There are lots of right ways to do this. In making these decisions, I typically run through a mental checklist of a few categories, thinking both about single words and longer messages. Single Words Core Vocabulary: In most cases, we’ve selected an AAC tool that has ample core words to choose from. Use what you know about normal language development... [Read More...]
Sunday: Video of the Week – Thoughts on Functional Communication Teaching Monday: I Have A Lot to Say Tuesday: Teach Me Tuesday – PCEye Go from Tobii Wednesday: Watch It Wednesday – Viva La Evidence! Thursday: Happy New Year!
“Behavior is communication.” We’ve all heard it, but knowing what to do help a learner communicate effectively in less stressful, more socially appropriate ways is a complex issue that is best addressed through teamwork and collaboration. In this video, Rob Haupt shares some basic thoughts on Functional Communication Teaching from an ABA perspectivie.
Whether it is electronically or by postal mail, many of our prAACtical friends are sending and receiving holiday greetings this week. Here are some thoughts on taking advantage of their novelty and using them to build language and literacy skills. Core Vocabulary: Lots of opportunity to practice using core words. Can I have it? I like it. It is fun. Give it to me. Do you want it? I want to see. We can do it (together). I can see it. Do you want to do more? Can you see the ___? WH Questions: Make it a game to pick a card to talk about. Everyone can have a turn asking and answering questions like these and get some core word practice in at the same time. Who gave it? Where are they? What do you think? Why do you like (not like) it? Stop and Go: Have a cute... [Read More...]
Feeling grateful during this holiday season? It’s hard not to get distracted with all the preparations and celebrations but our AAC mission is more important than ever. What prAACtical things are on your agenda? Here are some possibilities. Just for today… I will speak to an AAC learner using the language he/she is working hard to acquire. I will recognize someone for their efforts to support AAC use. I will read something challenging to see how I can apply it to my AAC work. I will mentally dissect my own therapy or teaching to see where I can improve. I will explore a new AAC-related resource. I will share something of value to the AAC community. I will finish ‘that project.’ I will reach out to a discouraged parent or service provider who is on an AAC journey. I will give feedback to an AAC app developer or SGD manufacturer... [Read More...]
Sunday: Video of the Week – Aided Language Input in Conversation Tuesday: Teach Me Tuesday: Communicator Wednesday: Watch it Wednesday – I Am Able Thursday: Throwback Thursday: Teaching Core Vocabulary