45 Search Results for partner assisted scanning
February 4, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Busy week? Same here! We’ll fill you in on the AAC goodness from the ATIA 2018 Conference later in the week. In the meantime, here are a handful of posts you might have missed. Monday: PrAACtically February – AAC Resources for a Year of Core Words Wednesday: Video of the Week – Reading with AAC Across the Stages of Language Development ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And if you’d like to keep browsing, check out these past posts on access issues in AAC. AAC Access for Individuals with Significant Motor Limitations Through Partner Assisted Scanning Make It PrAACtical: DIY Switch-accessible Scanner Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners More on Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners Seating and Positioning for AT Access AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: The Eyes Have It-Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access
November 6, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Busy week? Here’s a handful of posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Teaching in the ASD Classroom: Shared Reading Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC Access for Individuals with Significant Motor Limitations Through Partner Assisted Scanning Thursday – AAC and ASD: Beyond Scripting
June 11, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Karen Natoci is back with another wonderful book and plenty of ideas for AAC implementation. Enjoy! Book: Over in the Garden, by Jennifer Ward, Illustrated by Kenneth J. Spengler Core Vocabulary focus: LOOK, IT, LIKE, NOT LIKE, IN, UH-OH OR OOPS. Literacy Level: Emergent COMMUNICATION Matrix Level: I-VII Four Block focus: Shared Reading and Working with Words (at the alphabet/rhyme level) —————————————————— It is spring at our school in Michigan and everything is green and the plants are beginning to grow, fast! I couldn’t wait to share my favorite book to sing: Over in the Garden! We found the nearest plant, gathered a few plastic bugs, adapted the book with some cut out fringe words (each type of bug) and I sang into the microphone! I decided to sing the book and play with sustaining certain words as you will see in this very short video. The rhythm, rhyme and... [Read More...]
May 7, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Who doesn’t love reading books by Theodor Seuss Guisel? Michigan-based SLP Karen Natoci is back to show us how she is using one of his most beloved books to integrate language and literacy instruction with the AAC learners in some of the classrooms she serves. Be sure to download her lesson plan and watch the video clip of Karen in AACtion. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: CLASSIC Book: The CAT in the HAT, by Dr. Seuss Core Vocabulary focus: LOOK, NOT, LIKE, NOT LIKE, NO, GO, DO, UH-OH or OOPS. COMMUNICATION Matrix Level: I-VII Four Block focus: Shared Reading and Working with Words (at the alphabet/rhyme level) ————————————————————————————————————————————- It is Spirit Week at our school and Monday is Hat DAY!! What better excuse to read, The Cat in the Hat!! The rhythm of the reading along with the site of all of our wacky hats made for a fun morning in room 8!... [Read More...]
November 25, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
I had the pleasure of meeting Karen Natoci Florka last month when I visited Michigan and am delighted that she was willing to introduce us to the Shared Community of Practice from the team at The Communication Matrix. Karen is an SLP who has served students aged 3-26 with various physical, sensory and intellectual challenges at Wing Lake Developmental Center (Detroit area) since 2001. She is a part time lecturer at Wayne State University where she teaches a course entitled “Communication Acquisition and Educational Interventions for Students with Moderate to Severe Impairments.” She is part of the Communication Matrix Charter group. Click on the image below to learn more. The Communication Matrix is growing into a Shared Community of Practice! I remember the first few weeks in my new job at a wonderful, magical, school for children with complex communication needs. It was time for my first evaluation. These amazing students were challenging! They seemed... [Read More...]
September 22, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We can’t complete our thoughts on engaging AAC learners without a bit of conversation around the topic of priorities. Here’s the main idea: Go into each activity having a clear priority for what you want to achieve. Everything else become negotiable. As SLPs, sometimes we want it all. We want therapy activities where the AAC learner initiates communications, uses new vocabulary, creates novel sentences, experiments with new grammatical forms, and kicks some morphological butt. We.want.it.all. After a few decades of being an AAC practitioner, I think I’m finally learning that trying to have it all isn’t always the best option. It isn’t about what I want, it’s about what my client needs. Sigh. In this approach, we look at the lesson or activity and create our “Must Have List.’ For Mayra, a kindergartner just learning to use symbols for the first time, our lessons ‘must’ be engaging, have high pay-off... [Read More...]
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 23, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Sunday-Video of the Week: PODD in the ASD Classroom Monday-Something to Say Tuesday-PrAACtical Resources on Communication and Autism Wednesday-PrAACtical Resources on PODD & Partner Assisted Scanning Thursday-PrAACtical Resources on the SETT Framework Friday-PrAACtical Resources on AAC & Language Therapy
April 10, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We are so excited to launch, PrAACtically SLPs, a new series featuring the voices of graduate students in SLP programs who do outstanding work in AAC. We start off with a wonderful group from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Allie Rodriguez, Caitlin Rich, and Megan Latta are second year SLP students who will be graduating in May. They recently concluded an AAC course taught by Dr. Penny Hatch, who continues to mentor them in the field of AAC and literacy. I met these energetic young professionals at the North Carolina Augmentative Communication Association Conference in February and was inspired by their passion. In this post, they tell us about their AAC experiences on a trip to Guatemala. Hungry for Bilingual AAC? Today, our population is becoming more culturally diverse, which, in turn, has caused our caseloads to reflect this change. There is a growing... [Read More...]
March 20, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so excited to introduce a new AACtual therapist, Jeanne Tuthill. Jeanne has been an SLP for over 15 years and has specialized in AAC for the past 6 years. As an AT specialist for the Collaborative Center for Assistive Technology and Training (CCATT) in Northampton, Massachusetts, Jeanne evaluates and provides consultation services for K-12 students in schools throughout Western Massachusetts. In addition, she provides workshops and professional development training in that region. Since 2012, Jeanne has served as an adjunct faculty member for the Assistive Technology Graduate Program at Simmons College. She has also presented at a number of regional and national conferences. You can see Jeanne here with her long-time student Lauren Suprenant, who is using a Step-by-Step Communicator, to share information about how she communicates with others (introduction strategy). Jeanne shares a little bit about her work and then discusses an activity that is used in their AAC... [Read More...]