687 Search Results for communication book
July 25, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Looking to up your game in creating and using visual supports in your AAC work? Sit tight because the post below has plenty of information and downloadable files to help you out. Today, AAC SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber is back to continue her series, this time focusing on supports for self-regulation and comprehending expectations for different situations. Tabi has worked in schools and early intervention supporting families, professionals, and individuals with AAC needs in West Virginia and Maryland. Tabi’s prAACtical approach to supporting AAC professionals has enriched the work of many of our readers. If you missed the initial segments in the series, you can get those here. Part 1 Part 2 Visual and Environmental Supports for Self-regulation & Understanding Expectations I hold the position that all behavior is communication. Attending to what an individual is attempting to communicate through behavior provides insight into why the behavior is occurring. And to... [Read More...]
July 11, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We’re very excited to welcome back AAC SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber to these pages. You may remember Tabi from the wonderful AAC training materials she shared (11 full modules) or used her Classroom CORE book. Maybe you downloaded her All-In-One Visual Support Tool, used some of her great suggestions about AAC therapy with young children, or were lucky enough to attend one of her conference presentations. Her expertise, generosity, clear command of AAC practices, and commitment to ethical service provision have enriched the AAC lives many of our readers. Today, Tabi launches a new 6-part series on one of our favorite topics: Visual Supports. Let’s get started! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Visual and Environmental Supports…4 – 3 – 2 – 1! Visual and environmental supports are the bread-and-butter of many a classroom with students with complex communication (and learning) needs. They may be presented on paper-based or electronic platforms. Understanding the purpose and process... [Read More...]
June 23, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Have some catching up to do? You’ve come to the right place. Monday – How I Do It: Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens, Part 2 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Using Sensory Activities to Build Communication & Literacy with Students who Have Visual & Multiple Disabilities Thursday – When Language Is Lost: AAC Supports for Individuals with Aphasia ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Are you looking for some AACtivity suggestions? Here’s a few from past posts. Sometimes I Feel Sunny: AT Recipes for Success from CHoR PrAACtical Supports for AAC Learners: AT Recipes for Success – Sensorimotor Activities Pete the Cat, Rockin’ in My School Shoes: AT Recipes for Success PrAACtical Supports for the Young AAC Learner: Recipes for Success (Bubbles, Cars) PrAACtical Supports for Older Learners: AT Recipes for Success (Computer, Scrapbooking)
May 30, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It’s such a pleasure to have Angi Pearce back on these pages to share her experiences and passion for teaching students with AAC needs. Angi is a teacher at Kowhai Special School in Hastings, New Zealand, and serves as the team leader for the Junior School classes (ages 5-11). Her initial post (see that here) introduced us to the ways that she embraced AAC and integrated it into her classroom. In today’s post, she talks about how things have evolved. Enjoy the journey! How We Do It: AAC in the Special Education Classroom – Continuing the Journey This is my fifth year teaching in a school for children with special needs. Five years ago, AAC was a new term for me. Core vocabulary boards were the first tools which were introduced to me, which I did not understand the benefit and purpose of until I observed the way it enhanced... [Read More...]
May 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Are you ready for some reading, AAC style? In today’s edition of PrAACtically Reading, Karen Natoci and Karen Baca share a preschool book about farm animals. Karen Natoci is an AAC Supervisor who is well-known to the readers of this site (see her wonderful contributions here.). Her colleague Karen Baca is an AT and AAC Specialist with over 30 years in the field of AT, specializing in AAC, alternative access, and literacy for all students with disabilities. They both work for The Speech Pathology Group in the San Francisco Bay area. Book: Over on the Farm by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Cathy Morrison (Copyright © 2003, Little, Brown and Company; Hachette Book Group, www.lb-kids.com) Vocabulary focus: All core words Fringe Vocabulary focus: horse/foals/neigh, cat/kittens/meow, cow/calves/moo, goat/kids/maa, chicken/chick/cheep-cheep, owl/owlets/hoot-hoot, mouse/pups/squeek, turkey/poults/gobble-gobble, duck/ducklings/quack, pig/piglets/oink Actions: peck, nibble, swish, wash, gallop, hide, fly, strut, waddle roll Communication Matrix (Rowland, 2009) level: I-VIII... [Read More...]
April 1, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
What does Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month mean to you? From where I sit, it is a personal challenge to learn more about the lived experiences of autistic people and discover the most impactful ways to support communication learning and quality of life. Our understanding of what autism is and how we can help autistic people have a rich, fulfilling, self-directed lives is evolving. Even if you’ve worked with autistic people for a long time, chances are that there are still many more things to learn. Here are some ideas for things to do in honor of people with autism. Take advantage of the deep discounts offered by many AAC app developers and share this information with those who might benefit from it. AAC Specialist and SLP Lauren Enders does a wonderful service to the AAC community by tracking the app discounts in the US app store and sharing that... [Read More...]
March 28, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Eva doesn’t seem to be interested in any of the books or playthings her SLP typically uses, and reinforcer preference testing was inconclusive. Zach tends to grab the teacher’s materials and put them in his mouth, or sometimes bang them on a hard surface. Bryce often engages with them for a few seconds then drops or throws them. Do you work with students like these? They have lots of AAC learning ahead of them, but creating therapy sessions or instructional lessons is a challenge because of the ways in which they interact with the materials. For some students, keeping the number of materials to a minimum can be helpful. Here are a few things to try. Create activities where the focus is on movement rather than on materials. Create a simple movement game or make up your own version of a childhood classic (e.g., Red Light, Green Light) that... [Read More...]
March 24, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here’s what we’ve been up to. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Communication with Children with Deafblindness or Visual and Multiple Impairments Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC (Re)Boot Camp-It’s Not About the Technology Thursday – Using Generalization Probes to Gauge Language Learning in AAC :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We’ve been talking about AAC and book reading with some prAACtical friends this week. It seemed like a good time to share some book-related posts from the archives. 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners Alphabet Books and AAC Implementation Adapting Books with Visual Scenes Make It PrAACtical: Display Stand for Visual Supports or Books Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask
March 21, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
In her role as the team’s SLP, Christy frequently collaborates with classroom teachers to identify areas of language development where students learning AAC need specific goals and instruction. Goals for her students address a range of areas. Given frequent aided language input, Evan will use 2-symbol sentences to make relevant comments at least twice per activity. When presented with preferred and non-preferred options, Sasha will independently request desired activities/objects with 70% accuracy. In the context of peer interactions, Tegan will ask a ‘What’ question in 3 out of 5 opportunities. Given gestural cues, Matthew will converse on a partner-selected topic for at least 4 conversational turns. With visual supports, Gabby will use subject + verb sentences to describe pictures, materials or events in 4 out of 6 trials. To help the students acquire these skills, Christy carefully plans the instructional sequence and selects contexts appropriate for the intervention targets. She... [Read More...]
February 28, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Every once in a while, we’re refreshing a blog post authored by the co-founder of PrAACtical AAC, the late Dr. Robin Parker, to share her clinical wisdom with those who may have missed it the first time around. Enjoy! ————————————————————————————— Behavior-It’s All about Perspective: Funny Time in the Funny Area A ‘funny area’ is not a technique or strategy you will see in a behavior or speech-language therapy textbook. But here is how we came to know and love ‘funny time’ & the ‘funny area’ A Little Background Tommy, a 9-year-old boy, seemed to be getting the ‘giggles’ each session. The graduate student clinician was not sure how to ‘control the situation’. Tommy typically worked hard using his SGD to build long and complex sentences for communication during natural age-appropriate activities (i.e., golf, art, and reading). But then the ‘giggles’ would start… and less and less communication was getting done.... [Read More...]