October 22, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Between the AAC Awareness Activities, conferences, and preparations for Halloween, you might have missed these posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – AAC Awareness Month, Week 3: Look, Listen, & Learn Wednesday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: The Family Book Thursday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Ready, SETT, AAC Evaluate! Saturday – Faces of AAC: Making It Work in A Busy Family Need a few more posts to browse? PrAACtically Halloween: Considerations for an AAC-friendly Halloween (downloads) Halloween Recipes: Cooking AAC Style AACtual Therapy: Teaching Comments and Social Phrases How We Do It: Handy Tools for Language Sampling in AAC Aided Language Input with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite
June 29, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Today we learn from a veteran AAC SLP, Lindsey Paden Cargill, who has been working in the field of SLP for 12 years and is passionate about service provision and research in the area of AAC for individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition to her caseload, she is also the Therapy Manager at a private therapy and education center in Columbus, Ohio called Bridgeway Academy. Lindsey is currently collaborating with The Ohio State University on several AAC-related research studies including an immersive AAC classroom and a parent-training course. AAC Intervention Strategies for Beginning Communicators: Presume Competence and Be the Fun In the last ten years providing energetic, creative and data-driven AAC language therapy has become my passion… or maybe obsession. My mission statement is for anyone interacting with a new AAC user to “presume competence and be the fun.” To accomplish my goals I have to prioritize several things: providing a... [Read More...]
June 28, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Karen Natoci is back with some wonderful suggestions for reading and building AAC skills with young children. Although her focus is on little ones with visual impairment, these books and the implementation suggestions, would be useful for a wide range babies, toddlers, and preschoolers who are developing their language skills. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Books Hello Baby Words (high contrast board books) by Roger Priddy, illustrated by Holly Jackman (Published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, NY 10010) Hello Baby Words: On The Go Hello Baby Words: Faces Hello Baby: Animals Hello Baby: Faces Core Vocabulary Focus: GO, GET, WHO, THAT, SEE, IT Fringe Vocabulary Transportation: digger, balloon, train, roller skates, helicopter, truck, car, submarine, rocket, dump truck, fire truck, boat, race car, tractor, car carrier, plane Animals: cat, turtle, fish, pig, butterfly, cow, mouse, bird, bear, zebra, rabbit, panda, penguin, dog, sheep, snake Faces: boy, girl, woman, man, grandfather, grandmother... [Read More...]
June 8, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
It is sunny and hot where we live, and we’re honoring the tradition of using beach and pool time to catch up on some of the books and articles that have been piling up throughout the year. Are you looking for summer reading material that goes beyond magazines and light fiction? Here are a few AAC selections to round out your summer reading list. The Impact of IQ on Using High-tech Augmentative Alternative Communication AAC in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder by Drs. Rana Zeina, Laila Al-Ayadhi, and Shahid Bashir AAC in the Schools: Best Practices for Intervention by Drs. Nancy Robinson and Gloria Soto Aided Augmentative Communication for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder by Dr. Jennifer Ganz Critical Issues Using Brain-Computer Interfaces for Augmentative and Alternative Communication by Dr. Katya Hill, Mr. Thomas Kovacs, and Sangeun Shin Real-Life Challenges in Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication by Persons With Amyotrophic Lateral... [Read More...]
February 12, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Those of you who are still digging your way out of the most recent snowstorm may not believe it, but it’s almost time to make plans for summer. There are quite a few AAC camps, some that are quite well established and others that have been running for only a few years (see our AAC Camp Pinterest board here). In this post, we hear about one of them from Tina Moreno, an SLP and mom of Mateo, who uses PicturePower 100 on the Maestro to communicate, maintain friendships with his teammates on the cross country team, advocate for himself, reveal his wicked sense of humor, and even sing the National Anthem for his high school’s basketball games. Tina blogs at Voices4All. With the help of Drs. Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver, she and her friend Gina Cunningham created Camp ALEC together in memory of Gina’s son Alec, who never gave up, and... [Read More...]
November 1, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Sunday: Video of the Week – Core Vocabulary in Activity-based Intervention Tuesday: Teach Me Tuesday – Dynavox V/VMax Wednesday: Now It’s Your Turn Thursday: AAC Assessment Forms Friday: The Faces of AAC – Paula and Brian
October 18, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Sunday: Video of the Week – More on Mentoring Tuesday: How We Do It: Tele-AAC with Nerissa Hall and Hillary Johnson Wednesday: Watch It Wednesday: Bob Williams on Celebrating the ADA Thursday: The Faces of AAC: Gretchen and Zach Friday: 5 Things to Do to Help AAC Learners Communicate About Illness or Injury
October 4, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Sunday: Video of the Week – Using Eye Gaze Monday: Strategy of the Month – Engagement Take-Aways Tuesday: Teach Me Tuesday – DynaVox Eyemax Wednesday: 2014 AAC Awareness Month Celebration Thursday: The Faces of AAC – Justyna and Wiktoria Friday: Fun Friday – Successful Interactions
March 27, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Have a few minutes and want to get in some core word prAACtice without making it seem like work? Giving the AAC learner a chance to boss us around and direct us do things just because they tell us to is something that has worked for us more times that we can count. Put the AAC learner in control and make it fun. Get your silly on and ham it up but remember to use aided language input throughout the process. Here are some ideas. They say: “Go,” “Sit,” “Tell,” or “Walk.” We act that out in the craziest way possible. They say: “Happy,” “You happy,” “Sad,” or “You sad.” We make the most ridiculous happy/sad faces imaginable. They say: “What,” “What is it?” or “What is that?” We use the context to figure out what they’re referring to and say “It is a ___.” They say: “Get the ____,”... [Read More...]
March 20, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so excited to introduce a new AACtual therapist, Jeanne Tuthill. Jeanne has been an SLP for over 15 years and has specialized in AAC for the past 6 years. As an AT specialist for the Collaborative Center for Assistive Technology and Training (CCATT) in Northampton, Massachusetts, Jeanne evaluates and provides consultation services for K-12 students in schools throughout Western Massachusetts. In addition, she provides workshops and professional development training in that region. Since 2012, Jeanne has served as an adjunct faculty member for the Assistive Technology Graduate Program at Simmons College. She has also presented at a number of regional and national conferences. You can see Jeanne here with her long-time student Lauren Suprenant, who is using a Step-by-Step Communicator, to share information about how she communicates with others (introduction strategy). Jeanne shares a little bit about her work and then discusses an activity that is used in their AAC... [Read More...]