448 Search Results for autism
February 16, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
If you are among those who believe that AAC is a 24/7 proposition, then, like us, you may be looking for ways that we SLPs can better support our clients in the community. Like the rest of us, our AAC clients want and need to be active participants in their healthcare, and we can play an important role in helping them build the receptive and expressive communication skills to be more successful in that. In today’s post, we hear from Dr. Rachel Menzies (Email: r.menzies@dundee.ac.uk) from the AAC Research Group in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. Dr. Menzies shares ways in which her team is developing social narratives around visiting the dentist. I’ve never been a fan of going to the dentist, but I am lucky. I have the cognitive capacity and understanding to consider the consequences of NOT going to the dentist and to regulate my emotions when I... [Read More...]
January 19, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
If you were ever stopped by the police, you know that it can be an anxiety-producing situation. Even when you’ve done nothing wrong, your heart may race, your hands may tremble, and you may stumble over your words. It is easy to imagine how much more difficult these situations would be for those with speech disabilities, particularly those with problems in social interaction. At a meeting a few weeks ago, I was excited to learn about The Wallet Card Project, a collaborative effort between the Disability Independence Group, the Coral Gables Police Department, and the UM-NSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD). The Wallet Card Project created free materials to be used in helping individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families gain skills in interacting successfully with police. The trainings address applicable laws in an easy-to-understand fashion that includes both real examples and hypothetical scenarios. Participants... [Read More...]
January 12, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Video modeling is an empirically supported instructional strategy that can help some learners acquire and use a range of new skills. It involves videotaping the expected or desired behavior so that our clients can see, hear, and better understand the skills they are trying to learn. We’ve posted videos about it in the past and know that many of you use it or have considered using it in your clinical practice. Most of the applications have been with speaking children and young adults, but many AAC learners can benefit as well. If you’re thinking of trying out this strategy in your own practice, here are some resources that might be helpful. In a nutshell: Visit the National Center for Professional Development on Autism to review the EBP practice brief on video modeling. Their documents are great for sharing with families and other team members, too. Getting started: Visit Dr. Christine Reeve’s... [Read More...]
December 7, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Do you get questions about effective AAC practices for individuals with autism? This video, featuring Dr. Joanne Cafiero, provides a helpful review of some of the issues. Many thanks to AssistiveWare for hosting this video.
November 23, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re always happy to find resources that can help our prAACtical learners deal with complex emotions. In this post, we return to the work of Joel Shaul, author of the Autism Teaching Strategies site. We saw the first 4 videos in this post. Video 5: Anxiety – Predicting Without Proof Video 6: When Your Mind Gets Stuck on Sad Video 7: When Your Mind Blames Too Much Video 8: Rigid Thinking
November 13, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
One of the greatest privileges of being an AAC SLP is getting to see kids grow and mature when they are given the appropriate communication tools and supports. The other day, I observed a tall, strong young man with significant autism arrive at this therapy session carrying a padded case. Once in the room, he gently laid it on the table, carefully opened it, took out his SGD, and gingerly placed it on the table in front of him. He had gotten his first SGD this summer as a tween, after having used the one in our AAC lab in his therapy sessions for the preceding months. There were some concerns that when he got his own SGD, he might be a little confused initially since this would be the first time he could actually take the device home. Additionally, some were worried that he might be rough with it... [Read More...]
October 14, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Have you been hearing a lot about telepractice lately and are wondering how that works when the client has AAC needs? In this post, we turn to Nerissa Hall and Hillary Jellison of Communicare who tell us how they use it in their clinical practice. Nerissa and Hillary are both SLPs and assistive technology practitioners specializing in AAC, AT, and telepractice/tele-AAC. They have worked together for a number of years and are the proud owners of Commūnicāre, LLC, organization based in Western Mass and CT, that offers intervention, consultation, and evaluation services focusing on supporting an individuals, or a team’s, success and independence through implementation of AAC, AT and innovative and evidence-based practices. We are committed to our clinical work, as well as translational research and are members of the C.A.R.E. Consortium. Tele-AAC: A Powerful Way of Supporting Individuals Using AAC Telepractice, which is used to provide professional services by linking clinicians... [Read More...]
October 2, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
What better way to promote AAC awareness than to share the faces of people who use AAC and the SLPs who serve them? Today, we go to Poland to visit with Justyna Puchalka, who has a private practice in Bielsko, and her young client, Wiktoria. Justyna has been working as a speech therapist for almost 10 years, mostly with young children who have a range of conditions including Down Syndrome, Prader Willi, cerebral palsy, autism and multiple disabilities. Justyna shared that she is very passionate about her work. “Because ‘my children’ make my work a challenge and, thus, my work gives me much satisfaction, not to mention that I simply like to help these children and their parents.” Justyna made a video to share some thoughts about Wiktoria’s AAC journey. Many thanks to Justyna, Wiktoria, and her family for helping us celebrate AAC Awareness Month! Direct link tovideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eLE2nlA6R8
September 5, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re excited about the passion and enthusiasm for AAC shown by many new SLPs and graduate student clinicians. One of the things they sometimes struggle with in reading and writing reports is the number of acronyms that we tend to use. This is always a problem in clinical and scholarly writing, but when the field is incredibly diverse and transdisciplinary, the challenges multiply. Here’s a starter list of acronyms* and their meanings. Many, MANY thanks to those who helped us create this list on the PrAACtical AAC Facebook page. AAC-RERC – AAC Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center ACOLUG – Augmentative Communication Online Users’ Group AiLS, ALgS, and ALs – Aided language stimulation ALI – Aided language input ALS – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis AOTA – American Occupational Therapy Association APTA – American Physical Therapy Association ASD – Autism spectrum disorder ASHA – American Speech Language Hearing Association AT – Assistive technology ATIA... [Read More...]
August 30, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Sunday: Video of the Week – Is It the Right Device? Monday: Speak AAC Tuesday: Calling All PrAACtical Advocates Wednesday: 5 AAC-related Assessment Tools You Should Know About Thursday: How I Do It – Using PODD Books and Aided Language Displays with Young Learners with ASD Friday: Fast FAACt Friday: Core Words