610 Search Results for visual support
September 14, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
September is back-to-school month in our part of the world, and it’s fitting that the site of the month be from an educational entity. Today, we travel to Canada to visit Special Education Technology – British Columbia (SET-BC). Among the highlights: AAC Activity Day Package pictureSET: Hundreds of downloadable visual supports curriculumSET: Educational materials broken down by content area Accessible Book Tutorials and Templates Dozens of recorded training webinars Resource Guide: Planning for the Arrival and Implementation of a Speech Generating Device SET Stories (Who doesn’t love seeing AT in action?!) Happy exploring!
September 7, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
As we all know, it’s a big leap from having an AAC system to being able to use it functionally. For many of our prAACtical friends, one of the areas in which they struggle is conversation. It is no easy thing to have even a brief social interaction. We’ve written before about the use of scripting, a powerful strategy that we can use to help learners build conversational skills.` Scripts provide structure. As clinicians and educators, we understand that many of our learners do best when there is a clear beginning, middle, and end to an activity. For many people learning to use AAC, conversation is a VERY challenging thing because it can be quite amorphous. Scripting gives the learner practice getting comfortable with some of the skills that they need to use in conversation by adding the element of structure. The script has a clear starting point (e.g., “Look... [Read More...]
August 13, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
August’s Site of the Month is chock full of resources for professionals and families working with individuals who have ASD. The Kansas Autism Spectrum Disorders website is maintained by the TASN Autism and Tertiary Behavior Supports. Among the highlights: Over 150 social narratives Downloadable materials for communication 50+ classroom resources, including data forms, visual supports, and more Summary sheets on things like The Incredible 5-point Scale, motivational assessments, and reinforcer preference assessments. Dozens of examples of visual tasks A wide variety of archived webinars Hope you enjoy exploring this site!
August 6, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Many SLPs involved in AAC service provision are called upon to provide inservice training on implementation strategies. In this post, we are very fortunate to have Tabi Jones-Wohleber back to share both her thoughts and training materials. Tabi, an SLP on the AT Team for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland, wrote two previous posts for us. In those posts, Tabi shared her All-in-One Visual Support Tool and Classroom CORE Tool. Today, we hear about her experiences with professional development for teachers, aides, and therapists who serve students with AAC needs. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Implementing AAC: A Picture…AND…A Purpose As I work with staff and students to support implementation of AAC, I’ve learned 2 important things about making it work: 1) Folks need to know what it looks like “in their classroom/life” AND 2) effective implementation does not emerge from directives, but rather evolves from understanding, engagement and ownership of the WHAT... [Read More...]
August 4, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve all been there. You have meaningful goals, engaging materials, and a solid lesson plan for our therapy session. Five minutes into the session, it’s clear that the AAC learner has little or no interest in what we’ve prepared. Now what? Our choices are limited: persevere with the plan, modify it somewhat, or scrap it entirely. What’s a clinician to do? Take A Breath The first thing to do is breathe. Know that you are not the first one to struggle to engage this learner, and you won’t be the last. Think of it not as an excuse for an unproductive session but as a problem-solving challenge. Previous clinicians may have justified the session’s difficulties and atttibuted them to the learner’s lack of engagement, limited attention span, or behavioral problems. Personally, I feel sad for those clinicians because when we take that approach, not only do we fail the client,... [Read More...]
July 13, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
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...]
June 15, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Although summer is just beginning, many SLPs in our region are already thinking about the next school year. If you are trying to increase classroom use of AAC, you will want to check out the core vocabulary resources developed by Tabi Jones-Wohleber. Tabi is a Maryland-based SLP who works on the Frederick County Public Schools AT Team. You can view her earlier post (and accompanying downloads) here. In this post, Tabi shares her wonderful Communication Opportunities Ready to Engineer (CORE) book and explains how she uses these materials. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Classroom CORE (Communication Opportunities Ready to Engineer) Book: When posed with the question “How can I use core more?” by a group of teachers inspired to make communication a priority, I was thrilled to be part of a team motivated to investigate this exciting question. These talented Rock Creek School educators teach a diverse population of students with all manner of physical,... [Read More...]
May 21, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Better Hearing and Speech Month continues with guest blogger Tina Moreno. In this post, Tina shares some thoughts on building meaningful conversations in the classroom. She also made her visual support materials available for downloading (link at the end of her post). You can read Tina’s previous post for BHSM here. CONVERSATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM Fostering opportunities for meaningful conversation is critical throughout the school setting. Great discussions can happen in the classroom, but it can prove challenging for students to remain on topic, take conversational turns and give their peers wait time. In order to help students acquire these skills, we need to provide direct instruction, modeling by adults (and typically developing peers whenever possible!) and visual supports. Aim for the conversation target It can be difficult for students to keep track of the conversation target, especially in large group, fast-paced settings. It can be especially challenging for... [Read More...]
April 21, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
“But my kid wants to use the app on his own terms, not with ME!” Ever faced this conundrum? There are so many wonderful apps that are terrific for building interaction and language skills, but some of our prAACtical friends don’t want us to interact with them during iPad play**. Today, we’re thinking about strategies to use when kids would rather engage in solitary play as opposed to welcoming us as interaction partners in their iPad games. How can we help them increase their tolerance for interaction when playing on the iPad? Here are a few things to try. Make expectations clear with visual supports. It’s hard to cooperate when you don’t have an understanding of what’s supposed to happen. When kids are used to playing games, reading books, or watching videos on their own, they sometimes resist our participation out of the fear that they won’t get to do... [Read More...]
April 13, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Core Words for the Month (2013 List): big, busy, do, drink, feel, he, in, make, out, some, tell, who By definition, core words are useful in any situation, with any topic and any communication partner. They are the perfect words for Earth Day because they are words that they we re-use and recycle. Even though it is a very minor holiday (at least in the US), most schools do a lot of thematic work around the topic, both because it ties in so beautifully with science education, but also because all kids seem to have a connection with and curiosity about the natural world. Before we knew better, SLPs would spend lots of time programming specific vocabulary into the learner’s AAC device. (I’m guilty as charged and can still remember trying to find symbols for things like trash compactor and pollution.) For learners who have good command of core vocabulary, we... [Read More...]