August 27, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Welcome to Stepping into AAC ! Stepping into AAC is a collaborative project created by PrAACtical AAC and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF) that focuses on supporting families who want to integrate AAC into their lives. There are 20 weeks of Stepping into AAC materials, which are intended to provide simple, week-by-week resources to help families support beginning communicators of all ages. Each week, there are easy hands-on activities, videos and companion handouts, and a newsletter to learn from. Thanks to the generous support of the ASF, these materials are available at no charge. Stepping into AAC is designed for families that include: Children, adolescents, and adults who are new to AAC and would benefit from using communication aids with high-frequency words or core vocabulary; and Individuals of any age who previously used AAC but are not currently communicating with it throughout the day. We hope that Stepping into AAC... [Read More...]
July 27, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, both have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. Many other contributors over the years added to these efforts. The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors Michaela... [Read More...]
June 26, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words has resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising a past post for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial Year of Core Vocabulary series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. Many other contributors over the years added to these efforts. You can access the resources for July words by clicking on the image below. Set 1 & Set 2 Words
May 25, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, both have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by... [Read More...]
April 27, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back with core vocabulary resources and focusing on a new set of words for May. In 2013, when schools and other clinical programs were expanding their emphasis on teaching core vocabulary words, PrAACtical AAC published a set of resources for families and professionals that included symbol cards, sample sentences to model, activity suggestions, and more. All of these were based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Over the years, the resources were expanded and grew to include a wonderful series of calendars with daily activity suggestions developed by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. In 2020, a new series was... [Read More...]
March 27, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Core vocabulary resources are the focus of today’s post. In 2013, when schools and other clinical programs were expanding their emphasis on teaching core vocabulary words, PrAACtical AAC published a set of resources for families and professionals that included symbol cards, sample sentences to model, activity suggestions, and more. All of these were based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Over the years, the resources were expanded and grew to include a wonderful series of calendars with daily activity suggestions developed by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. Many other contributors over the years added to these efforts. In 2020, a new series was launched, School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by guest contributors... [Read More...]
February 23, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Planning for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction? The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, both have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, authored by... [Read More...]
January 26, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
It takes time and effort to plan for comprehensive core vocabulary instruction. The Year of Core Vocabulary Words and The School Year of Core Vocabulary Words, two series of monthly resources for core vocabulary teaching, both have resources that can be helpful to therapists, educators, and families. We’re reprising those posts for anyone interested in following along and utilizing the resources developed by quite a few people in the AAC community. The initial series was based on a small set of core words for each month (see that post here). We followed that with a second set of Year of Core Vocabulary Word resources for a new list of words (click here for that post). Among the many resources are the activity calendars created by AAC SLP and co-founder of Talking AAC, Rachael Langley. There were many other contributors over the years who added to these efforts. The School Year... [Read More...]
January 2, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
With 2022 in the rear-view mirror, we’re excited to welcome some prAACtical additions in the New Year. Here are a few things to watch for in the months to come. AAC Implementation Series PrAACtical AAC contributor Vicki Clarke will be back with a limited series on strengthening our AAC practices. Here’s what she shared about the direction of this series. The journey from acquiring an AAC system to using it to communicate autonomously is a long one, with many different routes. Knowing where to begin is a challenge for all of us! AAC 101 Steps of Learning Process is our effort to define this process in our schools, to help professionals and families support their students. In this series of posts, we are considering 5 steps, to move from training to talking, offering a defined path for you and your student learner. Learning to communicate is a shared journey between... [Read More...]
December 30, 2022
by praacticalaac -
Stepping into AAC is a joint project between the Angelman Syndrome Foundation and PrAACtical AAC. You can access the project information and materials through either site. Access Stepping into AAC through the Angelman Syndrome Foundation site: Click here. Access Stepping into AAC on PrAACtical AAC: Click here. Stepping Into AAC Team Principal Investigator: Carole Zangari Video Manager and Signposts Creator: Tabi Jones Wohleber Graphics and AACtion Steps Creator: Rachael Langley Videography, Audio, and Editing: Michaela Ball Travelog Contributing Author: Krista Hadeed Larson Additional Videography: Zack Hoaglund