Happy Valentine’s Day, prAACtical friends! Hope there’s a lot of AAC love in your week. Monday: Make it PrAACtical: Switch Mounts Wednesday: Video of the Week: Designing & Using Visual Supports for Older Students Thursday: PrAACtically Valentine’s Day: Core Vocabulary Activities
Happy February, all! Anyone interested in some online AAC conversation? I’m looking forward to connecting with AAC stakeholders from around the world this Thursday on Twitter, as I host the #USSAACchat (Feb 9, 7:00 pm ET). Our topic is ‘Beyond Awareness: Building a Culture of AAC Support.’ All are welcome! If you are new to Twitter or Twitter Chats or just don’t ‘get’ how it can support professional growth, you can learn more about that here. Even if you are an infrequent Twitter user, or if you are more of a lurker than a participant, we welcome you to join us. Lots of AAC in your busy week? Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday: PrAACtically February: Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Wednesday: Video of the Week: Mobilizing the Power Of Special Interests Thursday: Privacy and AAC: A Few Reflections
“He knows what to do. He just doesn’t do it.” “He’s prompt-dependent. How can I get him to use AAC on his own?” “I love his strong-willed nature, but it works against him sometimes. He doesn’t initiate.” If any of these remarks sound familiar, it may be time to think about alternative approaches to build independent communication. Here are a few things to try with AAC users who’ve learned to wait for support before communicating. Exaggerate the pause time: Many of our AAC learners need at least 5 seconds of pause time after a communication opportunity presents itself. This helps them process the experience, organize their thoughts, decide on a response, and then begin to execute that response. Sometimes, though, we work with people who’ve learned that if they just wait, the communication partner will start to help (whether or not they need it). We can sometimes nudge the learner... [Read More...]
It was an action-packed week at the ATIA Conference, filled with AAC learning, new products, and connecting with colleagues. Here are a handful of posts that you may have missed in your busy week. Monday: Core Values: Suggestions for Language Building with AAC Learners Wednesday: Video of the Week: Supporting Preschoolers with AAC Needs-A Case Study Thursday: PrAACtical Resources: Developing Touchscreen, Switch and Eye Gaze Skills
And the new year is off and running! Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy, AAC-filled week. Monday: PrAACtically January: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words Wednesday: Video of the Week: Communication Strategies for Adolescents as They Transition through Adulthood Thursday: AAC and Emergent Literacy: 5 Posts with Implementation Ideas
At the ASHA Convention last month, I chatted with an SLP about her secret longing: To take a sabbatical and travel the world to see AAC in action. Wouldn’t that be exciting?! In the meantime, we’ll have to live vicariously and peek into AAC practices through the words and pictures of dedicated professionals. Angi Pearce, a teacher at Kowhai Special School in Hastings, New Zealand, was kind enough to help us out and share her experiences in increasing AAC use in her classroom. Angi is the team leader for the Junior School classes (ages 5-11) and graciously prepared this post with support from SLP Michelle Roberts. As you’ll see, Angi is a highly experienced educator but new to the world of AAC and not afraid to take risks and embrace change. Let’s take a look at how a veteran teacher stretched herself to incorporate more AAC into her classroom. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC IN THE CLASSROOM My... [Read More...]
Hope you are coping well with the busy holiday season! Here a couple of posts from our prAACtical week. Monday: PrAACtically December: Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Wednesday: Video of the Week: Teaching Self Regulation Skills
We are pleased to have a return visit from special educators Lauren Pawlowski and Amy Devin with ideas for supporting AAC learners in the classroom. Amy and Lauren, who work in the public school system in Michigan, taught in resource rooms for years and have been teaching in self‐contained ASD elementary classrooms since 2009. At that time, there were few classrooms who were integrating core language instruction, but they didn’t let that stop them. Currently, they use manual communication boards, large instructional core boards, and individual AAC devices with their students. They are passionate literacy teachers and, in today’s post, tell us about their approach to shared reading lessons. Their video is chock full of tips to help you make these lessons successful. Enjoy! Shared Reading: It’s Not What They Know, It’s What They THINK! Happy Fall AAC users and facilitators! This month we would like to share some of our tips for... [Read More...]
AAC Awareness Month is in full swing! How have you been celebrating? Monday – Site of the Month: Core Word Classroom Wednesday – Video of the Week: Alternate Pencils Friday – “But he doesn’t like anything!” 5 Tools for Identifying Motivators and Reinforcement
We’re back with another post featuring learning resources about AAC apps, software, and SGDs. This week, we’ll look at CoughDrop, an open source AAC program, and hear from a young clinician who uses it in her work. If you are new to CoughDrop, consider taking a little time to get to know it using the links below. Ready to explore? Here are some resources to get you started. Video overview Links to various versions: iOS app; Android app; Windows 64-bit; Windows 32-bit; Kindle app Video Tutorials Where to go for help: Support Requests; Contact page; Frequently Asked Questions My Experience with CoughDrop by Samantha Cutler Primarily, I’d like to issue a disclaimer that I am in no way affiliated with CoughDrop nor do I receive any financial gain from them. It is merely a program that I enjoy using and I wanted to share my experience with the AAC community. In the... [Read More...]