375 Search Results for complex communication
August 28, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we turn to the UK in a guest post by Laura Tarver. a London-based Speech and Language Therapist working with children with ASD and other complex needs. She previously worked in a primary school for children with ASD, where PODD and Aided Language Displays were introduced as part of a school wide approach in order to enhance the communication-friendly environment for all pupils. In this post, she shares how they used PODD books and aided language input to build the students’ communication skills. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PODD (or Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display) communication books were developed in Australia by Gayle Porter, originally for children with cerebral palsy. As their use becomes more widespread throughout the world, practitioners are considering the benefits of using them with other clinical populations. Their structured organisation and emphasis on visual communication means that they are also a valuable tool for developing the communication of those with... [Read More...]
August 14, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We got this question from an SLP who recently helped a young adult get funding for a speech generating device (SGD): Should we put symbols for yes and no on the student’s communication device? Like other things in clinical practice, it depends of the specifics of the situation. In this case, she wanted to start out with a very small vocabulary set and build gradually. That sure makes sense, but where she got stuck was with which specific words to include. Team members were encouraging her to include yes and no, hence the question. There is no one-size-fits-all answer for this. Here are some things we think about in making that decision for and with an AAC learner. Does he/she have another way to say yes/no? If so, then this may not be the best use of the limited ‘real estate’ on the learner’s SGD. In the case of this... [Read More...]
August 12, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
What do we know about the best ways to provide communication support to individuals with severe and profound multiple disabilities (PMLD)? PMLD is a term that generally refers to people who experience profound cognitive limitations in addition to sensory and/or physical disabilities. Many of these individuals have complex medical histories and chronic health concerns. Often, the communication difficulties experienced by individuals with PMLD cause them to be isolated and excluded from many social and educational opportunities. Despite their many challenges, there is evidence to suggest that AAC supports can help these children develop their communication skills. Not much is known, however, about how to structure the AAC intervention to maximize learning. In this study, Harding and her colleagues sought to reduce isolation and promote personal autonomy by providing AAC supports to two children with PMLD. As other researchers have demonstrated the positive impact of AAC on people with PMLD, this... [Read More...]
July 8, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
What do we know about the best ways to provide communication support to individuals with severe and profound multiple disabilities (PMLD)? PMLD is a term that generally refers to people who experience profound cognitive limitations in addition to sensory and/or physical disabilities. Many of these individuals have complex medical histories and chronic health concerns. Often, the communication difficulties experienced by individuals with PMLD cause them to be isolated and excluded from many social and educational opportunities. Despite their many challenges, there is evidence to suggest that AAC supports can help these children develop their communication skills. Not much is known, however, about how to structure the AAC intervention to maximize learning. In this study, Harding and her colleagues sought to reduce isolation and promote personal autonomy by providing AAC supports to two children with PMLD. As other researchers have demonstrated the positive impact of AAC on people with PMLD,... [Read More...]
June 23, 2014
by Robin Parker -
Building sentence length beyond the simple sentence level can be a lot of fun for those of us who love language. Additionally, and even more important, expanded sentences can provide communication impact and power to the communicator. Expanded sentences usually means moving from the simple to complex sentence. As Carole mentioned last week, we often begin with conjunctions like ‘because’, ‘but’, ‘so’, ‘if’, before’, after’. Here are some ideas for conversational routines and games that allow for frequent repetition with variety as well as strong communication power that will help with making it worthwhile to use longer sentences. “Pretty Please” Routine- This routine involves using ‘because’ to negotiate with longer sentences. This routine is reserved for requests that are possible but not always honored. In the case of teaching, we start with requests that can be honored if “pretty please because I worked hard or some other reasonable reason is... [Read More...]
June 9, 2014
by Robin Parker -
As beginning communicators start using single symbols to communicate, the next step immediately becomes to expand sentence length to two words, then three words, then more. Helping learners to use longer sentences spontaneously is the main goal. Teaching spontaneous use of longer sentences helps assure that those sentences can be used with many communication partners and in many contexts. A great facilitator strategy for helping to build sentences is ‘add a word’ or expansions and extensions. This was mentioned in last week’s post: Helping Beginning Communicators Expand Their Sentence Length but is further delineated below. What is it? ‘Add a word’ strategy is more formally called expansions and extensions. Expansions typically refer to adding a word with new conceptual knowledge while extensions add a word with new grammatical information. Expansions and extensions are a form of modeling and can be done both on a communication display as well as verbally. This... [Read More...]
June 2, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Nothing makes an AAC SLP happier than seeing beginning communicators start to use symbols to express themselves. Sure, it is great when a learner grabs your arm to lead you to the snack cupboard or hands you a juice box to get help opening it. Those are important communicative acts that we celebrate. But moving beyond pre-symbolic forms of communication to using signs and pictures, allows us to expand their vocabularies outside of the ‘here and now’ and enables them to communicate effectively with less familiar partners. When we’ve crossed the bridge into symbolic communication, we’re building a foundation for language development. If things go well, the learner will steadily acquire new symbols and words, eventually allowing us to work on word combinations. Are you working with AAC learners who at the early sentence level? If so, you may be considering how to build the length and complexity of their... [Read More...]
May 28, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Recently, I had the opportunity to share some thoughts on AAC at the Spectronics Inclusive Learning Technology (ILT) Conference, in Gold Coast, Australia. It’s hard to explain the level of enthusiasm and energy for all things AAC and AT to those who aren’t familiar with that passionate group of professionals and parents. As a newbie, I was especially impressed with the level of warmth and support provided to anyone there who reached out for information or encouragement, and the ways that the speakers helped participants come away totally re-energized. Since it may have been a bit too far away for many of our prAACtical friends, I thought I’d share some of the websites of other keynote speakers and featured presenters I met along the way. Jason Gibson and Jason Carroll (Systems of Support) – Who challenged us to set smart goals for ourselves, not just the learners we serve Kevin Honeycutt – Who... [Read More...]
May 26, 2014
by Robin Parker -
This month’s ‘Strategy of the Month’ has been focused on supporting families. To fully support families, it is essential to provide family friendly resources that can aid in creating Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s). The more families know and learn, the more likely the AAC learner will progress in their communication skills. Also, the more information families have, the better advocates they will become. And since families are one of the only constants in an AAC learner’s educational and life journey, the family is really the most important part the communication team. About AAC About AAC- ASHA AAC Institute- Parent’s Corner Center for AAC & Autism AAC -Family Resources Assistive Technology Resources- Autism Speaks Communication Matters Communication Books & Boards ConnectAbility http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/ Pre-made Communication Boards Help Designing Communication Books Free & Discounted AAC Apps Appy Malls Smart Apps for Kids Moms with Apps The iMums Apps Wheel *(categorized wheel of apps to... [Read More...]
April 17, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We are pleased to share a guest post by SLP Jason Butcher, who serves students at Grant County Middle School. Jason has been working with middle and high school students for the past 14 years. He earned his Master’s in Communication Disorders from the University of Kentucky in 1999. He admits that he came to do AAC more out of necessity than interest due to serving a huge variety and degree of speech/language impairments on his caseload. He has always enjoyed working with technology and is patient when fixing problems, qualities that he thinks have served him well when hitting the inevitable roadblocks that come with working in the area of AAC. In this post, Jason shares some candid thoughts on the transition from PECS to an iPad for a student with whom he works. It was nearing the end of September when I began to fear that Ms. Ruff, a teacher... [Read More...]