355 Search Results for assessment
October 2, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve had concerns about the decision-making process around app selection, the paucity of apps that allow for children to learn true generative language, and a few other things. We continue to advocate for AAC app selection to occur within the context of a feature match process that gives appropriate attention to the full range of AAC options. In this mega-post we’ve included our most recent update of free and lite versions of AAC apps for iOS and Android plus a variety of additional resources related to AAC app selection. Tools to Use In Making Decisions About AAC Apps Feature match form developed by Jessica Gosnell at Boston Children’s Hospital Feature match checklist created by Scott Marfilius and Kelly Fonner Our supplemental rubric covering language and communication features, RELAAACs Places to... [Read More...]
August 24, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We loved it as a computer program and now we love it as an app. 1. The AAC Evaluation Genie app covers a lot of ground, starting with simple discrimination tasks all the way up through word prediction. 2. It helps keep us organized and focused in the app portion of the assessment process: The way the assessment activities are laid out helps us move beyond picture identification in a organized fashion. 3. It allows for a lot of flexibility. How many times have you done an AAC evaluation where you prepared for a client with a certain set of skills, only to find yourself face-to-face with someone whose skills are way above or below what you planned for? It ’s great when you have a tool that will let you move easily to another set of tasks when the need arises. 4. It accommodates both direct selection and scanning. 5.... [Read More...]
August 1, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Biennial Conference: ISAAC 2012 PrAACtically There: ISAAC 2012 Day 1 at ISAAC 2012: What You Should Know About AAC’s Expanding Role in Health Care ISAAC 2012, Day 2: AAC Goes to Preschool ISAAC 2012, Day 3: Let the Games Begin ISAAC 2012, Day 4 – The Fives 5+5 Commandments for Speech Output Communication 5 Under-Used Strategies in AAC 5 Online Notebooks Full of AAC 5 Adapted Play Resources for Children with Motor Impairment – PrAACtical Thinking 92 Free or Lite Versions of AAC Apps PrAACtical Alert: Free AAC Evaluation App This Week Visualize 9 Nice Things to Say to Students who AAC PrAACtical Thoughts About Challenging Behavior PrAACtical Resource: Searching for AAC Devices with SpeechBubble AAC Assessment Round-Up 5 Ways to Use Rating Scales to Enhance Communication with AAC PrAACtical Alert: The World’s AAC Conference Comes to You (Well, a little bit of it) Power of the Visual Planner: 20... [Read More...]
July 30, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Last week, one of our blog followers, Jeanne Tuthill, alerted us to the fact AAC Evaluation Genie, a software program from Hump Software, went mobile. This is a great program (now app) for doing direct assessment to answer clinical questions you have in doing AAC evaluations. Thanks, Jeanne! – There are 14 sub-tests: Visual Identification, Visual Discrimination, Noun Vocabulary, Function Vocabulary, Verb Vocabulary, Category Recognition, Word Association, Category Inclusion, Category Exclusion, Pixon Core Vocabulary, Unity Core Vocabulary, Unity Icon Patterns, Picture Description, and Word Prediction – Yesterday, I learned that the app will be free in honor of #ISAAC2012 for this week. You can download the app version of AAC Evaluation Genie here. –
July 28, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Keeping track of all the AAC devices, vocabulary sets, and other features is a full time job and few of us have the time to do that. And, yet, when we’re considering the different AAC options for a particular client, we have to be able to access that information. Looking for SGDs that have a specific vocabulary set? Need to identify the small, handheld AAC devices? Looking for devices that do voice calling? – Finding an AAC device that is a good fit for the people with whom you work is much easier when you have a searchable database. In the US, many professionals are familiar with AbleData and use it to find equipment that fit the bill. SpeechBubble is another free resource that indexes AAC devices in the UK. – Search by Feature SpeechBubble makes it easy to search for features you know that your client needs. There is... [Read More...]
July 10, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back again with an updated list of free and lite versions of AAC apps that includes many additions for the Android platform. As in the past, we’re including some additional resources and excerpts from previous posts related to AAC app selection and the larger context of AAC assessment. We’ve appreciated the feedback on first draft of RELAAACs, our attempt to quantify some of what we look for when we try to compare AAC apps based on their language and communication features, and continue to welcome your suggestions. We do have plans to revise and update this once we get through the summer semester. (The trimester system is a killer!) —————————————————————————————————– – Thanks to all who’ve given us great feedback and suggestions on our list of free and lite AAC apps. If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve... [Read More...]
June 17, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
There is a more recent version of this post and app list. Click HERE for the updated version. — Here is our most recent update of free and lite versions of AAC apps, including a dozen for the Android platform. As with the previous version, we’re including some additional resources and excerpts from previous posts related to AAC app selection. We’d also like to give a mention to the first draft of RELAAACs, our attempt to quantify some of what we look for when we try to compare AAC apps based on their language and communication features. —————————————————————————————————– Thanks to all who’ve given us great feedback and suggestions on our list of free and lite AAC apps. If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve had concerns about the decision-making process around app selection, and have advocated for that... [Read More...]
June 15, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Charles Darwin – SLPs everywhere are struggling with the game-changing explosion of AAC apps on mobile devices. We’ve mentioned our own internal conflict in previous posts and continue to mull over how best to integrate this into our work as clinical educators without jeopardizing the assessment and intervention principles that have served us so well over the years. We’ve really appreciated the fine work of professionals such as Jessica Gosnell at Boston Children’s Hospital, Scott Marfilius, and Kelly Fonner, and have put their feature match checklists to good use. As we did, we found that we wanted a more systematic way to consider the language and communication of the AAC apps that we were learning about. – This post introduces you to an early draft of RELAAACs: Rubric for Evaluating the... [Read More...]
June 13, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
There’s so much to love about BrainPOP. Geared for students in 4th-12th grades. Solid curricular content. Engaging animation and really fun educational games. Aligned with Common Core. Searchable by learning standard, subject, or grade level. Built-in assessment. Evidence-based. Web-based and app versions. Closed captioned videos. English and Spanish editions. Additional resources for educators. A simplified version for younger learners. And lots of it for free! – I’ve just scratched the surface of this wonderful site, which has been around since 1999, and is growing in depth and breadth. It’s perfect for some of the older students with whom we work and has a lot of potential for AAC learning. – Magic Moments: Ideas for AAC Intervention with BrainPOP 1. Navigation: Even some of our older students are still learning to find their way around complex AAC systems. The engaging content in the BrainPop videos create a fun context for activities... [Read More...]
June 7, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
June is National Aphasia Awareness Month here in the US and there is no better time to share some wonderful resources on using AAC with people who have aphasia. – – Things to Do In Support of Aphasia Awareness Read this article on AAC and aphasia by Dr. Joanne Lasker and Dr. Kathryn Garrett Download some AAC Assessment Materials, also by Drs. Lasker and Garrett View a recorded webcast on a visual scene AAC project for people with aphasia from the University of Nebraska and free templates for visual scenes Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is a less common form of the disorder and leads to a gradual reduction in language abilities. You can learn more about it here. View a recorded webcast on PPA by Dr. Melanie Fried Oken. Check out these free apps designed specifically for people with aphasia. Download Small Talk AAC apps (free) for people with... [Read More...]