486 Search Results for opportunities
May 21, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
It’s no coincidence that some of our favorite apps to use with AAC kids don’t rely on good receptive language in order to be successful and have fun. Count us among the fans of Toca Boca for their creative play-based apps with great graphics and lots of repetition with variety. In this post, we share some Magic Moments for using Toca Store as a communication-building experience.– 1. Core Word Practice: Lots of opportunities for practice with familiar nouns (e.g., banana, doll), common verbs (e.g., get, see, want) and modifiers (colors, some, little). 2. Negation: This is another fun app to use when teaching a child to use language appropriate for negation, protests, and rejection. We like teaching that under low stress conditions like this at first to build their skills. Once they get the hang of it, then we help them use it under more natural conditions. That way we can... [Read More...]
May 13, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Saying “I Love You” is very important to most moms (and dads), especially on Mother’s Day (& Father’s Day). I never need to receive a mother’s day present from my son….. he is my present….. he was born on Mother’s Day (18 years ago). I feel like he is my never-ending perfect gift. He says “I love you” often, even at 18. So mixing this sentiment with my work, it saddens me to hear people say, my daughter does not “talk”, I only wish she could say “I love You“. I have learned that with AAC strategies, ALL children can say “I love you”. Here are some ways to help children (adults) ‘say’ it more often, in a conventional way, and so everyone can hear it. Record “I Love You” on a one hit message device/card/picture (Record with #1- your child’s voice, #2 same aged matched peer, or #3... [Read More...]
May 5, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– Usually, our Strategy of the Month posts focus on things that SLPs and others can do to enhance AAC learning with their clients. In honor of ASHA’s Better Hearing and Speech Month, our strategy focuses on you, the SLP. – Since we started blogging and using social media, we’ve learned a lot about professional learning networks and using the internet more effectively to access resources that enrich our work. That led us to our May Strategy, PrAACtical Learning and Resource Networks. – Our plan is to share an AAC-related resource each day that will help in developing our professional resources. As we tell our graduate students, if you have a well-packed toolkit and you know what to do with those tools, nothing can stop you! – We’ll be sharing resources that build on what you already know about and have, keeping a prAACtical focus, of course – ... [Read More...]
May 1, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
— – – Strategy of the Month From Disney Princesses to Houseplants: More on Building Communication Opportunities 5 Apps for Tempting Commenting and Other Language Functions Go Ape! 10 Commenting Communication Temptations PrAACtical Play: Creating Communication Opportunities with Favorite Toys How to Make Communication Temptations Really Work Mining Preschool Routines for PrAACtical AAC Opportunities. Meaningful Communication Opportunities – The Fives 5 ‘Go-To’ Sites for AAC and Visual Support Downloads 5 Apps for Tempting Commenting and Other Language Functions 5 AAC-Related Facebook Pages/Groups We Love 5 Tools and Tips for Making Transitions Easier 5+ Sites for Free AAC-Friendly Literacy Resources 5 eGames for Switch Users 5 AAC/AT YouTube Channels We Love – PrAACtical Thinking 49 Free or Lite Versions of AAC Apps A Myth About Visual Schedules Lives On PrAACtical Resources: Making Decisions about Reading Accessibility Options PrAACtical Resources: Toolkit for ASD PrAACtical Questions: How Do I Find Good AAC Service... [Read More...]
April 29, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Yesterday, we posted about using special interests to create prAACtical communication opportunities, our AAC intervention strategy of the month. Today, we share this Video of Week on the same topic. The team at ConnectAbility presented this video workshop on Special Interest Areas and Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. –
April 23, 2012
by Robin Parker -
More About Communication Opportunities: It doesn’t matter your personality, but for students who do not naturally comment, you need to go ape! And then still, you need to teach with wait & signal cues, visual supports, aided language input, modeling, expansions, and positive feedback. We will never forget a semester with Mikey and our hair clips of butterflies, whales, dinosaurs, and even a spider. These hair clips allowed for the item to hang in our face…… until Mikey commented and we could ‘go ape’ with surprise. A great strategy to use with commenting communication temptations is Wait & Signal. Wait and Signal involves setting up the temptation and then pausing with raised eyebrows like you expect the learner to take a ‘turn/a conversational turn’. As always, make sure the learner has access to the appropriate communication device or communication boards. 10 additional commenting communication temptations and opportunities: Move a huge stuffed... [Read More...]
April 22, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Gesture Recognition in Aphasia Therapy (GeST) is a project that emphasizes the use of gestures to help individuals with aphasia communicate effectively. GeST is a computer-based program to teach simple gestures and provide home practice opportunities. Project leaders used a participatory design to gain the input from 5 people with aphasia in developing the program. They are currently evaluating its effectiveness in a pilot study. We are big fans of multimodal communication and love the prAACtical applications of this program. You can check it out for yourself at this video.
April 19, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We have many students who are getting older. It’s a time many of our families are looking at transition steps. Some families are interested in employment opportunities, others in having their now adult children live outside the home with a little or a lot of support, and others just wish there was a place for them to go after school ends. . It is difficult finding quality options. Even if there are options, it seems ‘they’ want the ‘easy’ people. (disclaimer: Now I move from the ‘we’ into the ‘me’ since Carole has been on vacation and I have been dealing with some ‘crap’ and don’t want to speak for Carole since I am hoping she is relaxed and positive). So here goes…. I could argue now that there are no ‘easy’ people. I could rant now because it has been one of those days where not a lot has... [Read More...]
April 12, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
The Chicago P.L.A.Y. Project is on a mission to empower parents to help their children build language through play. We love the joyful nature of their mission. – Of course, the clinical educators in us see huge potential for adding visual supports to enhance the language learning, but this is an amazing way to build good interaction and language opportunities. – Enjoy!
April 7, 2012
by Robin Parker -
Toca Boca App Developers make general education preschool apps. They are dedicated to providing interactive play opportunities using mobile technology. We have loved every one of their apps since we first saw them. There seems to be some philosophical similarities between the Toca Boca Apps and so we will begin with why we love ALL of them. We have found them to be engaging to all ages (including us). They also provide practice and interaction with life experiences in a fun and pretend tech way. We love the beautiful artwork. We love that they are reasonably priced, often participate in ‘give aways’ and they even do free GIFTS (think Toca Hair Salon Christmas Gift and now Toca Kitchen Monsters). We use these apps so often that we can say we have officially HijAACked them for PrAACtical AAC. We have HijAACked ALL of these apps to use with AAC... [Read More...]