687 Search Results for communication book
September 12, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
When young children with significant motor challenges are unable to move freely around the environment, it impacts many things. Today, we introduce a limited series on why hands-free mobility is so crucial during the early years, and what we can do to promote independent mobility. We are extremely fortunate to have Christine Wright-Ott authoring this series. Christine is an Occupational Therapist and consultant at The Bridge School in Hillsborough California. She authored the chapter, Mobility, in several editions of the book, Occupational Therapy for Children. Christine lectures at universities and conferences including ATIA, Closing the Gap, ISAAC, ISS, and AAC by the Bay. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Why Hands-free Mobility Matters for Children with AAC Needs Speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists have long been aware of the many ways that mobility and communication go hand-in-hand. Without a way to move around, a child’s opportunities for incidental learning and motivation to communicate are severely... [Read More...]
September 2, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
AAC SLP Amanda Samperi is back with another post in her series about the prAACtical aspects of AAC therapy. In this post, Amanda shares her views and experiences on helping students with AAC needs build their language skills. You can see her previous posts in this series here. Putting the FUN Back in FUNctional Working with Multiple Symbol Sets ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: AAC Therapy is Language Therapy I’ve traveled between several states and many different schools over the past few years. Because of this, I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing SLPs! They’re talented, strong, creative, and love their kiddos more than anything. And just like any other team, each of us has different strengths and weaknesses. When I’m joining a Speech team, there’s usually at least one other SLP with specialties that are outside of my wheelhouse. However, she isn’t very comfortable with AAC. It... [Read More...]
August 29, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Are you supporting AAC learners who have SGDs or communication boards/books with high-frequency words? If so, join us as we work to model, practice, and teach these words throughout the day. It can feel overwhelming, so we tend to focus on a subset of words each month. The Year of Core Vocabulary approach isn’t a developmental list of words to be introduced in a specific order, but rather a way of gradually exposing learners to more and more words over time. We do that by modeling them on their device or communication aid when we talk, and plan specific instructional activities to teach word meanings, play games to help them better recognize and understand the symbols for those words, and, elicit them frequently from those who are just learning their AAC systems. Our AAC friends need practice, practice, and more practice. Over time, they will gain more fluency and automaticity with the words in their AAC... [Read More...]
August 26, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Amanda Samperi is back with the second post in her series about getting ready to return to school-based AAC services. Amanda is an AAC SLP who has worked in a variety of service delivery settings and runs the blog, AAC is Where It’s AT. Currently, she provides push-in language therapy to children with complex communication needs at a substantially-separate center school in Florida. She also conducts AAC/AT evaluations, provides year-round parent trainings, and assists the SLP team in instructing teachers/staff about communication supports and strategies In today’s post, she addresses a situation faced by many AAC teams: Serving children who use a variety of different AAC symbols and systems. If you missed Amanda’s initial post on back-to-school AAC, you can catch up on that here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets It’s the beginning of the year – desks are in their spots, students’ names are... [Read More...]
August 19, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Combining AAC learning with literacy activities is one of our favorite ways to support young learners. We start off the week with a taste of how AT specialists in one school district are helping preschool special education teachers build a foundation of core vocabulary in their students. Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. This is the first of a series of posts in which Maggie and Jeanna discuss ways that books from the TELL ME program can be used to support AAC learning. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: As AAC facilitators for a special education cooperative, we are always on the lookout for effective ways to provide our students access to instructional materials and activities that not... [Read More...]
August 15, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Visual supports are among the most helpful tools that AAC interventionists can use to maximize learning. Tabi Jones-Wohleber’s series on utilizing them in AAC work comes to an end today with a few more visual supports for your toolbox. Tabi is a veteran SLP who has supported individuals with AAC needs in a variety of practice settings. Many thanks to Tabi for this wonderful series and all of the free downloads that were included. You can access previous posts in the series here. Part 1: Visual & Environmental Countdown Part 2: Organizing Time & Tasks Part 3: Self-Regulation & Understanding Expectations Part 4: Supporting Communication Across Activities & Environments Part 5: Supports for When Modeling Communication is Hard ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: More Visual Supports for Your Toolbox I find there is no end to the rabbit-hole of visual supports, once you dive in. Tools and structures to support comprehension and learning are... [Read More...]
August 12, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
In the US and some other countries, we’re starting a new school year and SLP Amanda Samperi is here to get us off to a good start by sharing her experiences and suggestions for engaging AAC activities. After graduating from Penn State, Amanda worked for several years as an SLP in school, home, and medical settings. She has presented on AAC-related topics st ASHA, an IEE Electrical Safety Workshop, and at the AAC in the Cloud Conference. Amanda hopes to continue sharing her knowledge and experiences about AAC through her blog, AAC is where it’s AT. Today, she introduces us to a series of posts that focus on creating fun AACtivities for language learning. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Back-to-School with AAC: Putting the FUN back in FUNctional There is something special about this time of year – students are trying on their back-to-school outfits, school supplies are magically discounted beyond belief, and parents... [Read More...]
August 11, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. If you had a busy week, you may have missed some of the posts below. Monday – How We Do It: Getting to the CORE of Communication (Part 1) Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Making Shared Book Reading Awesome for AAC Users Who Don’t Like Books Thursday – PrAACtically Visual: Supports for When Modeling Communication is Hard :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Here are a few more for those who want to do a little more AAC reading. Back To School with AAC (printables) AAC Goes to High School: The Power of Peers AAC Goes to High School: Community-based Instruction Extension Activities for AAC Practice Making AAC Core Vocabulary Materials
July 31, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Appropriately programmed AAC device? Check! Engaging communication style? Check! Multimodal communication? Check! Interesting storybook? Check! Multiple communication systems? Check! Aided language input? Check! Let’s pull it all together and see some lovely examples of reading with AAC from the Beenleigh School. Enjoy! Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrhBeWRfC1k&fbclid=IwAR1o-szfopgUI4gnVrywjrknXed1UWy0LPDZIRbLhH2DGDLMpE1GHlfvJM4 The Very Itchy Bear Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igdwa-laGfQ No, David! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii1hwdMKoME
July 29, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
The summer is zooming by here in Florida and lots of professionals and families are starting to think about heading back to school. Teachers, therapists, and aides play a pivotal role in helping AAC learners develop skills with core vocabulary so that they have a body of words that can be used across activities, environments, and communication partners. There are lots of ‘right’ ways to support these students. Among them is an instructional approach in which a new set of core words is introduced every few weeks in order to build their experiences with AAC. Our Year of Core Words materials has two versions, Set 1 (12 words/month) and Set 2 (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words). If you’ve been following along, or are just getting started, these resources may be of interest. Set 1 Words: any, bring, day, fall, give, hot, job, know, other, sick, sorry, together Set 2 Words: aide,... [Read More...]