561 Search Results for a year of core
February 3, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Hello, AAC friends! We’ve been busy at the ATIA conference, and have enjoyed connecting with several of you. Here are some of the posts from the week that you may have missed. Monday – Beginning Communicators: Learning Through Touch Cues Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Apps and Resources for Core Vocabulary Teaching Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC Instructional Strategies :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Stick around for some more AAC reading if you can. Here are some suggestions with info and resources from conferences in previous years. Enjoy! Resources to Review from the ATIA 2018 Conference Fun Finds at ATIA 5 AAC-related Handouts from ATIA 2015 PrAACtical Resources: Partner Strategies Handout 3 Presentation Handouts on Core Vocabulary Implementation
January 28, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
15-year-old Jodi has cerebral palsy and significant intellectual disability, among other things. In the most recent assessment of her motor, cognitive, communication, and self-help skills, scores ranged from 6-15 months. She spends most of her school day in her wheelchair. Jodi’s teacher affixes interesting toys to the lap tray so that she can explore them, but has become discouraged that Jodi mostly bangs them, puts them in her mouth, or tosses them to the floor. Her team struggles to find ways to teach Jodi to communicate more effectively. 10-year-old Nathaniel’s team notes that he shows little awareness of his classmates or teachers throughout the day, though he will smile and laugh when they take his hands and clap with him. As a younger child, he demonstrated more awareness of his surroundings but after his seizure activity spiked, it became more and more difficult to get him to engage. 6-year-old Jarrod... [Read More...]
January 3, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We are delighted to start off the New Year by welcoming back Dr. Kathy Howery for another wonderful review of an AAC research article. Dr. Howery has worked in the field of assistive technology and special education for over three decades. Her research uses phenomenological methods to seek understanding of the lived experience of speaking with/through a speech-generating device. She is currently on contract with the Ministry of Education low incidence team, and as a consultant to schools and school districts across Alberta focusing primarily on children and youth with complex communication needs. In today’s post, she discusses a research study that sheds light on the ways that we can better support students with AAC needs. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Chung, Y-C. & Stoner, J. B. (2016). A meta-synthesis of team members’ voices: what we need and what we do to support students who use AAC. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 32 (3), 175-186.... [Read More...]
December 26, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
As the end of the year approaches, we’re looking back to see which posts you liked best. Here are the most popular videos from our 2018 posts. AACtually Doing It: Core in the Classroom Aided Language Input: How Much Language Should We Model? Using Apps to Engage Young AAC Learners Strategies for Helping Early AAC Users Engage and Interact iPad Apps for Learners with Complex Needs Make a Core Vocabulary Folder Teaching Peers to Interact with Young Children Who Use AAC Putting Aided Language Input Into Practice Be More with Core Getting Started with PODD Do you have a suggestion for a video we should feature in 2019? We’d love to hear about it.
December 17, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so pleased to welcome back Sarah Mueller, who teaches high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Rochester, Michigan. In this post, she shares her experiences in working with peer mentors and how she has helped to facilitate meaningful relationships between students with and without disabilities. Don’t miss her video or the links to download some of the materials they used. Enjoy! The Power of Peers We often talk about the functions of communication and their importance in developing and expanding the students’ communicative repertoire. Moving beyond requesting to protesting, commenting, and greeting and other functions is often the focus. But as high schoolers included in the school community, my students want to be social with their peers without disabilities. What does that look like for students with complex communication needs? How, as a teacher, can you structure social opportunities to teach and practice core? What... [Read More...]
December 9, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! It’s a busy time of year for all of us but if you have time to catch up on some AAC reading, take a look at these posts from the week and scroll down to the bottom for news about upcoming AAC opportunities. Monday – Thoughts on Embracing Multilingualism and Diversity in AAC Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Implementing AAC in an Elementary Classroom Thursday – Let’s Read! Online Books for the Holiday Season ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re at it, here are some previous posts that may be of interest. PrAACtical Questions with Vicki Clarke: What’s the Role of Core Vocabulary? Communication Boards: Colorful Considerations Let Me Tell You Something- Narratives for the Beginning Communicator Holiday Shopping with a Purpose Hello Holidays! AAC Ideas for Your Celebration Before you leave, here are two upcoming opportunities for AAC connection. Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 pm... [Read More...]
November 8, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Thanks to all who reached out to express appreciation for Tabi Jones-Wohleber’s training resources in the MASTER PAL series. Many of you have already used the slides, video links, handouts, and discussion points that were shared over the past few months, and others have plans to do so. In this final post, Tabi shares some of the ‘lessons learned’ in creating and utilizing these materials. If you’re new to the series, you can check out each of the 11 modules here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::; Over the last 11 weeks, facilitation strategies for communication partners have been shared through the Model as a MASTER PAL series. Model as a MASTER PAL is a framework for supporting communication partners of those who use AAC that evolved in response to the need go beyond the imperative and always present conversations of “use core words” and “model AAC”. It started as a list of ideas to... [Read More...]
October 22, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve been focusing on training communication partners recently and today we’re focusing specifically on paraprofessionals/educational assistants. Our guest post is authored by SLPs Corinna Duffitt, M.Sc., RSLP (practicing for 21 years, 14 years in AAC) and Jennifer Wiegert, M.A., CCC-RSLP (practicing for 21 years, focusing on AAC for the past 6 years). They are colleagues on an AAC team with 4 other SLPs in a large school district in Surrey, BC, Canada. Their school district consists of 101 elementary schools and 20 secondary schools. Corinna and Jennifer are both passionate about giving children a voice and letting that voice uncovers their potential. They recently joined their private practice endeavours, outside of their public school positions, to form Chickadee AAC Communication Services. You can find them on Instagram (@chickadeeaacslps or #chickadeeaac), check in on their website, and/or follow them on Facebook. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC Training for Educational Assistants Some of the challenges we encountered... [Read More...]
October 15, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Supporting language development through well-planned intervention is a favorite topic here, and it is with pleasure that we feature Indiana-based SLP and ATP, Beth Waite-Lafever. Beth is a speech-language pathologist and has RESNA certification in Assistive Technology. She has worked in the field of AAC over the past 30 years in outpatient rehab, private practice, and public schools. Beth is a frequent presenter at national conferences, including ATIA and Closing The Gap, and teaches monthly online courses in implementation and use of speech generating devices. Currently, she is an SLP and Assistive Technology Coach for MSD Martinsville, a school district 30 miles south of Indianapolis and maintains a private practice. In this post, Beth shares her experiences in using the Expanding Expression Tool in language therapy with students who use AAC. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: EET + AAC = OMG! You may have heard of EET; Expanding Expression Tool, a multi-sensory strategy designed by speech-language... [Read More...]
October 12, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Most times, the goal of AAC intervention is to help those with complex communication needs be able to express whatever they want at any time. For some individuals, we over-emphasize the tools and strategies they will need to get the things they want, whether it is social engagement (attention), assistance (help), objects, events, or even being able to protest or reject unwanted situations. Michigan-based SLP Rachael Langley works tirelessly to support technologies and services that give access to the full range to communicative functions. When she offered to share her thoughts on this topic with us, we jumped on the chance. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Four Functions of Language There are many ways to emphasize AAC use and embed aided language into the day. Sometimes we use a core vocabulary approach to teach specific vocabulary. But we can also approach AAC learning by focusing on a specific function or pragmatic use of language.... [Read More...]