March 8, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
The good news is plentiful. A growing number of classrooms incorporate some form of AAC. Teachers and therapists are increasingly aware of the value of augmentative forms of communication and are recognizing the potential for communication growth in all of their students. School teams are stepping up to provide access to activity-based communication boards, communication books, low tech SGDs, and AAC apps. They are creating opportunities for teaching and using these forms of AAC in specific classroom activities. In many cases, teachers and therapists are growing dissatisfied with the outcomes. Students are more engaged in the activities are improving their ability to participate appropriately. They aren’t always becoming competent communicators who can express themselves independently throughout the day. It’s frustrating to scramble to find and/or create materials and resources, make significant changes to activities, work hard to implement them, and still not get the expected outcome. It’s exhausting. It’s disappointing,... [Read More...]
April 22, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
If you work in educational settings, there’s a good possibility and you and and your colleagues have had many conversations around the topic of progress monitoring. Progress monitoring in an approach to assessing student performance and evaluating the effectiveness of instruction. How does that apply to students who use AAC and other AT? Today, we hear from Elizabeth Panek on that very topic. Thanks to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and PaTTAn for making this available.
August 31, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we go back to the resources at PaTTAN, this time to learn about switches from OT Karen Kangas. These two videos are from a full day workshop, which is a lot to get through, but if you need information on this topic, this is a great resource. You can view Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
October 27, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
In many schools, educational teams struggle to develop appropriate curriculum-based instruction for students with significant disabilities. In this week’s video, the group from PaTTAN has collaborated with from University of Kentucky to present a workshop addressing this topic. Enjoy Educating Students with Complex Support Needs in a Standards-Aligned System, presented by Jeannine Brinkley, Sarah Kennedy, Dori Anderson, Debbie Brown, Mariel Zeller, and Sharon Leonard.
October 13, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
The wonderful team at PaTTAN provides amazingly strong content for school-based professionals and families in support of students with AT needs. Lucky for those of us who live far from Pennsylvania that they videotape some of their trainings and provide them online for the broader world. In this set of videos, Drs. Jacqueline Kearns and Jane Kleinert from the University of Kentucky, share information about helping students with significant communication challenges become better communicators as they learn academic content.
September 25, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Need some help or new ideas for working with people who have challenging behaviors? Here are some resources to explore. 1. The Challenging Behavior Foundation is a UK-based organization with many good resources. You can check the archives of their newsletters here. 2. Wonderful instructional module on Functional Communication Teaching on the Autism Training Modules website. It takes time to work through this, but the information makes it worth the trouble. You may have to register (free) the first time you visit the site. 3.The National Professional Development Center on ASD has great information on Functional Communication Teaching, an approach with a strong evidence base. 4. The Functional Behavior Assessment Worksheet by PaTTAN 5. Our Pinterest board on Positive Behavior Support
May 27, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Ask any 10 professionals how they do AAC evaluations and you’re likely to get 10 different answers. We look for the same things (I think!) but go about it in different ways. We’re always happy to take a look at the protocols and forms that our colleagues develop and/or use. Here are some that might be of interest. 1. Bloom and Lahey Recording Sheet for staging language by Sherri Vernelso and Emily Pratt 2. Kate Ahern’s form for AAC device trials 3. SETT process assessment forms by HILIA Coordinators of Assistive Technology Services 4. The Functional Behavior Assessment Worksheet and Observation Forms by PaTTAN 5. Assessing the metaphoric use of pictures (e.g., Minspeak, Unity) protocol and forms by Gail Van Tatenhove If you have a protocol or form that you’d like to share, please get in touch. We’re always looking for new and better tools.