597 Search Results for visual support

AAC Implementation from a ‘Communication World’ Perspective

July 16, 2020 by - 1 Comment

AAC Implementation from a 'Communication World' Perspective

AAC SLPs are a creative bunch and would do anything to help teams get on board with appropriate supports and services. In today’s post, we hear from Elena Feder, who introduces us to the ‘Communication World’ approach. Elena is an AAC SLP at the New England Assistive Technology (NEAT) Center in Connecticut and has a lot to share about AAC implementation. Don’t miss the wonderful planning tool that she shares at the end. Before we get to that, though, take a look at the AAC Summer Bash that she runs with her colleague and fellow SLP Sarah Brink. In normal times, this is a face-to-face experience but due to the novel coronavirus, it has migrated to an online event. There are a few other things that you might like to know about the AAC Summer Bash. It’s free! You’re invited! You must register by July 17th. The AAC Summer Bash... [Read More...]

How I Do It: Pivoting to Teletherapy for AAC Learners

July 9, 2020 by - 2 Comments

How I Do It: Pivoting to Teletherapy for AAC Learners

Over the past few months, I’ve been very impressed with the ways that educators and clinicians made a quick pivot from in-person teaching/therapy to providing support remotely. Some have taken what they’ve learned in this process and generously shared it with colleagues in their schools, clinics, and the broader AAC community. Today’s guest author, AAC SLP Sarah Gregory, is one such professional. Over the past few weeks, she’s not only served her own students but made the time to share what she has learned so that other professionals can benefit. In this post, Sarah discusses some of the YouTube videos that she created to help others become more comfortable with online therapy/teaching. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The end of the school year has given me time to reflect and organize some of the teletherapy tips, tricks and tools that I put into my YouTube videos this spring. I have really enjoyed giving and... [Read More...]

PrAACtical Perspectives: Normalizing AAC

April 6, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Perspectives: Normalizing AAC

How do we help people with complex communication needs become fluent in using AAC throughout the day? There are lots of factors to consider in working toward that goal, and our guest author for today encourages us to think of one of them. Special educator Amy Campbell believes that one thing we can do to support AAC learners is to normalize the use of AAC tools and strategies. Amy is the 2020 Washington State Teacher of the Year and has been a Special Education teacher for 12 years. Over that time, she has focused on how to increase student independence and improve the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education settings and the greater community. Like many of you, she has now pivoted to supporting her students from a distance. Don’t miss the videos Amy creates for her students and their families so learning can continue from afar.  ... [Read More...]

PrAACtically April – AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words: The Learn-at-Home Edition

March 30, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically April: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words – Learn-at-Home Edition

We’re entering a new era in AAC learning, one that’s centered around learning at home. Whether you are a parent trying to keep your child’s AAC skills up in the absence of their regular therapy and schooling, or a professional who is providing AAC support from afar, we hope that our monthly Year of Core Vocabulary Learn-at-Home Edition posts help you stay focused and keep your learners using their AAC skills. In today’s post, we share some ideas for boosting core word learning throughout the week with a focus on a small set of words. Whether you are following along with the Set 1 (12 words/month) or the Set 2 words (16 words/month; Different than the previous core words), or are just getting started, this post has some helpful resources. Our words for this month are as follows. Set 1 List: big, busy, do, drink, feel, he, in, make, out, some, tell, who... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #13: March 2020

March 29, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #13: March 2020

Hello, AAC friends! Like many of you, we’ve been settling into new routines and sheltering in place. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – Free Communication Tools for Patients with COVID-19 Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Telepractice for Children Who Use AAC Thursday – How I Do It: Digital Connections With Families to Support AAC Users ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have the time, check out these posts from the archives. Faces of AAC: Making It Work in a Busy Family PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: The Family Book Family Collaboration by Dr. Barry Prizant Using Visual Sidekicks to Support Language Intervention From Presence to Contribution: A Family’s Journey Toward and Inclusive Life

PrAACtical Resources: Dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic

March 16, 2020 by - 9 Comments

PrAACtical Resources: Dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic

No matter where you live, chances are good that the coronavirus has been on your mind. In today’s post, we share an interactive graphic with many free downloadable resources that can be used to support the AAC learners in your life. You can access visual schedules for handwashing, social narratives, videos, educational materials, and more by clicking the links embedded in the graphic below. Use the slider on the right to navigate up and down, or click the image to go to the full-sized version. This is an evolving resource that will continue to be updated. If you know of things that we should add, please tell us in the comments below. Stay safe and healthy, AAC friends.

TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Go Away, Big Green Monster!’

February 10, 2020 by - 1 Comment

TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Go Away, Big Green Monster!’

How can we infuse core vocabulary teaching throughout the preschool routine? Today, we welcome back Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson for another guest post in the TELL ME About It series. Maggie and Jeanna are SLPs who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. In this series, they discuss how they support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students. Today’s post covers ways to promote AAC use while focusing on the book ‘Go Away, Big Green Monster!’ Enjoy their prAACtical suggestions and don’t miss their Lesson Plan, video demonstrations, and other resources at the end of the post.   TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Go Away, Big Green Monster!’ TELL ME About Reading: The sixth book in... [Read More...]

Video of the Week: Exploring the Complexity of CVI and CCN

January 15, 2020 by - 2 Comments

Video of the Week: Exploring the Complexity of CVI and CCN

If you work with children with developmental disabilities, you almost certainly have worked with children who have some level of cortical visual impairment (CVI). In today’s featured video, Maren Barros and Kathy Howery team up to help us unpack the complex relationship between cortical visual impairment and complex communication needs.  Kudos to Maren and Kathy for this wonderful information. Many thanks to the team at the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium for creating this video and making it available to us all. We are grateful for their support of the AAC community through this archived webinar.  Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOPqfOYp35Y

Top AAC Videos of the Year

January 2, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

Top AAC Videos of the Year

Before we get too far into the new year, we thought you might like one last look at some of the most popular AAC videos of 2019. Looking at AAC Modeling Growing Language with AAC Modeling The Critical Nature of Literacy in AAC Apps and Resources for Core Vocabulary Teaching AACtually Doing It: Core in the Classroom A Look at PODD Books Parent-implemented AAC Intervention for Young Children Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader TELL ME: AAC in the Preschool Classroom PrAACtically Visual: Supporting Communication Across Activities & Environments Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list? We’d love to hear about it.

TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Here Are My Hands’

December 16, 2019 by - 1 Comment

TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Here Are My Hands’!

Welcome to a new edition of TELL ME About It, with AAC Specialists Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrip. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings. They’ve collaborated on a series to share their experiences in supporting preschool classrooms that implement the TELL ME program that Lori Wise and I created. If you missed the earlier posts in this series, you can get caught up using the links below. From Head to Toe I Went Walking Brown Bear, Brown Bear TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Here Are My Hands’! TELL ME About Reading: The fourth book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “Here Are My Hands.” A... [Read More...]