102 Search Results for podd

AAC Goal Writing with Lauren Enders: Laying a Solid Foundation

August 2, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Goal Writing with Lauren Enders: Laying a Solid Foundation

Writing goals for AAC learners, whether they are beginning communicators or focusing on more advanced linguistic concepts, can be tricky and intimidating. Today, we introduce a new series authored by PrAACtical AAC friend and AAC/AT expert Lauren Enders to give us insight on the process and tips for developing strong goals and objectives. Throughout this series, Lauren shares her perspective developed from her years of experience in public schools and as a nationally recognized presenter. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Though it may be hard to believe, back-to-school is around the corner! As we get ready to head back into the classroom, now seems like the perfect time to launch a series exploring best practices to consider when writing IEPs for our AAC learners. The thought of crafting IEP goals and objectives for students who are learning to use AAC strikes fear into the hearts of many SLPs, special education teachers, and other school... [Read More...]

Throwback Thursday: Getting the Team on Board

May 27, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

Throwback Thursday: Getting the Team on Board

It’s time for another Throwback Thursday. In today’s post, we’re re-visiting some previously published work on encouraging teams to better support AAC users. Tech Tools for Supporting AAC Team Collaboration AAC Team Leadership Supporting Young AAC Teams: 5 Considerations for Facilitating Growth Teaming with Related Services to Support AAC Users Strategies for Supporting Team Buy-in and Implementation PrAACtical Research: Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members’ Voices On AAC Training: Skill Building for AAC Team Members Helping the General Education Team Support Students Who Use AAC How I Do It with Rachael Langley: PODD in the Classroom – Quick Tips for Teams On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals Five Places for Shared AAC Materials Five AAC and Related Resources to Explore AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #1 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #2 (downloadable) AAC Teamwork: Encouraging Colleagues #3 (downloadable) AAC: More Teaching, Less Testing (downloadable)

PrAACtically January: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words

December 28, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically January: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words

It’s almost time to switch to a new calendar so we’re looking ahead to January and gearing up to model and teach some more core words to our AAC learners. If you have some prep time this week, join us! This is a great time to get the word cards and other materials for the Year of Words (Set 1; Set 2) ready to use with the AAC learners in our lives. Thanks to the generous spirit of PrAACtical AAC readers we have posts with a variety of resources: Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words Minspeak/Unity version: Set 1  PCS versions: Set 1, Set 2 Speak for Yourself version: Set 2 SymbolStix version: Set 1 Lesson Pix: Set 1 Smarty Symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words CoughDrop: Set 1 words; Set 2 words WordPower: Set 1 words (Note: This is a large file... [Read More...]

Heading Back to School with AAC: Tips & Tools

August 13, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

Heading Back to School with AAC: Tips & Tools

Here in the US, millions of teachers, therapists, families, and students are planning to return to school, whether virtually, in person, or with some combination of the two. No matter what the format for instruction, one of the most important things for students who use AAC is having their SLPs, teachers, and families on the same page. They each have a different but very intense relationship with the student’s AAC system. Today, we reprise a popular post with some prAACtical thoughts on getting everyone pointed in the same direction. 1.  Develop a communication profile of the student: In the initial weeks, try to get a baseline of how the student is communicating at the start of the year. For beginning communicators, we track things like their communicative intents (WHY they are communicating), modalities (HOW they are communicating), and the frequency of their communication. We’ve written about one of our favorite... [Read More...]

The Role of Meaning Making with Beginning Communicators: Motivating Interactions

July 20, 2020 by - 2 Comments

The Role of Meaning Making with Beginning Communicators: Motivating Interactions

Finding ways to engage AAC learners is important to professionals across disciplines and service delivery settings. In today’s post, we feature guest author Kate McLaughlin, who is an SLP serving individuals with AAC needs in Connecticut. She shares a perspective on building engagement through the perspective of meaning making.   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: “Motivating” Emergent Communicators through Shared “Meaning-Making” & Communication Responsibility Are you a speech-language pathologist (SLP), teacher, or parent supporting an emergent AAC learner? Maybe you are just starting AAC with a learner who has a complex profile (for example, significant motor impairments, difficulties with motor planning, and/or sensory processing differences)? Maybe you have a learner who has learned to ask for some favorite things, but is not communicating beyond that? Do you struggle to “motivate” them? You’re not alone. I’ve met many kids who have been described as “not motivated to communicate.” I’ve also met many parents and professionals... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #23: June 2020

June 7, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #23: June 2020

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Virtual Calming Room Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Engaging AAC Learners with Complex Bodies Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Strategies for Teaching AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, check out some of these previously published posts. 5 Ways to Tell If Your Students are Becoming Competent Communicators A Look at PODD Books Using Visual Supports to Bring Music Alive Supports for When Modeling AAC is Hard AACtual Therapy: Use Your Best Spud to Teach Vocabulary With Tanna Neufeld How We Do It: Changing AAC Mindsets & Outcomes 

AACtivity Calendar for June Core Words

May 29, 2020 by - 2 Comments

AACtivity Calendar for June Core Words

Rachael Langley has created a perpetual calendar to help us practice the core vocabulary words for June. Whether or not you are following along with the Year of Core Vocabulary, you’ll find a lot of prAACtical suggestions in this wonderful resource.    

Parent Coaching & Tele-AAC

May 7, 2020 by - 1 Comment

Parent Coaching & Tele-AAC

If I had a crystal ball, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it told us that telepractice in AAC is here to stay. My guess is that when schools and clinics re-open there will still be a role for remote AAC services. That’s why I am so pleased that guest authors Jill Senner and Matthew Baud are returning to these pages to share their approach to using tele-AAC to educate and coach parents. Tele-AAC for All With social distancing, local shelter in place orders, and general concerns about the health of our high-risk clients who use AAC, most of us have made an abrupt transition to providing AAC therapy via telehealth.  Doing direct therapy using video conferencing platforms might be going swimmingly for some clients who will sit and attentively gaze at the books, games, and other materials you present remotely.  However, what about your younger clients?  Or kiddos... [Read More...]