March 10, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
It’s Spring Break here in Florida and that makes us think of traveling. Traveling is never easy, but people who use AAC don’t let that stop them. Here are some tips for making travel easier. – 1. Prepare with a social story. There are some great ones available online, like this one from Autisable (downloadable version here) and . Books and narratives about travelling, such as this one from Kids Can Dream, can also be helpful. Keep the visual element strong by downloading travel brochures for places you will visit, looking at images together, or watching online videos of your destination. – 2. Put it on the (visual) calendar. If you have a monthly or weekly calendar, add symbols to for the trip. Look at the calendar together to talk about it, what you’ll be doing, etc. Doing this repeatedly, can ease the transition into this new territory. Consider doing... [Read More...]
February 22, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
No feeling person could read Louise Kinross‘s post, My Child’s Dream: To Have Friends, without being moved. One of the most basic fervent wishes that all parents have is for their sons and daughters to make and keep friends. Disabled or not, parents fear loneliness for their kids, and rightfully so. Loneliness is a sharp and lasting pain. And, in many cases, completely unnecessary. Kinross’s post, brought to my attention by Ellen Seidman of (Love that Max), inspired me to generate this list of things that we SLP’s can and should be doing to support kids and families. is 1. Make friendship skills a priority: Are there friendship goals in the IEP? There could be. If you’re thinking about working on a social skill, take a step back and see if it makes sense to focus more specifically on communication skills in the context of making and keeping friends. Educationally relevant?... [Read More...]
February 3, 2012
by Robin Parker -
How we integrated AAC strategies into a community event… The name of our website is PrAACtical AAC. We continue to look for ways to make AAC strategies fit praAACtically into ALL activities. We are extremely proud to be part of the Dan Marino Foundation WalkAbout Autism, which is a large South Florida Community Event. The Walkabout helps raise money services for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities and their families. It also promotes a sense of community collaboration and awareness about autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities. We are including this information about the WalkAbout not as a plea for money (although read about the WalkAbout and donate if you are so inclined), but instead to tell you how we are incorporating AAC into community events. This past weekend was the 2nd WalkAbout Autism. It was a truly amazing event and day! There was great music and bounce houses,... [Read More...]
January 16, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Just returned from the 19th Annual Statewide Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) Conference (under full disclosure, I am the Director of the CARD Grant at NSU). It was a very busy long weekend that began with a free pre-conference educators day and ended with one of the 47 session options. I have tweeted some educational highlights that included a keynote by Dr. Amy Wetherby about the new DSM 5 (thats right no more Roman Numeral) diagnostic features for Autism Spectrum Disorder (that’s right again, no ‘s’ on the end) and a dinner party talk by Dr. Temple Grandin (wow!). I tend to look at conference information as a teaser… first information is highlighted and then I do a more in-depth review and analysis into specifics that are related to me. Quick Info on My First 3 Favorite Topics/Resources The Learning Curve– resources that include interesting and interactive materials for teachers of... [Read More...]