October 2, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
As many of you know, October is AAC Awareness Month, a time when the AAC community comes together to build understanding of complex communication needs in their communities, schools, and workplaces. It’s exciting to see how this movement is growing in every part of the world. If you share news of your events on social media, please tag us (@PrAACticalAAC on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) so that we can help you spread the word of your AAC awareness activities. Also, feel free to use the buttons and banners in this post in your own social media profiles or posts. In the meantime, here are links to a few posts you may have missed. Monday: Five Places for Shared AAC Materials Wednesday: Video of the Week: Shared Writing and AAC Thursday: PrAACtically October: A Year of Core Vocabulary Resources Social Media Images (PC users: right click to save image to your computer; Mac users: control... [Read More...]
July 18, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
It’s another Make It Monday, our series on preparing core vocabulary materials for use with AAC learners. When we left off last week, we selected or created manual communication boards (MCBs) with a starter set of core words. Today, we pick up that thread by adding more words. If you are working with teams that are new to AAC implementation, have a difficult time with change, or are showing resistance to this “whole AAC thing,” you might want to start off slowly and use just the main communication board for a few weeks to build everyone’s confidence. You can add more words once they are implementing it fairly well. The way I see it: Strong implementation of a basic core board is better than weak implementation of a more robust board. It doesn’t take very long, though, to realize that as versatile as our core word MCB is, there simply... [Read More...]
July 17, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Monday – Make It Monday: Manual Communication Boards with Core Vocabulary Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC in the Classroom for Students with Significant Disabilities – Implementation & Data Collection Thursday – PrAACtical Supports for Young AAC Learners: Recipes for Success, Part 2
July 10, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Busy week? Here are some AAC posts you may have missed. Tuesday – Getting Ready for a Core Vocabulary Journey Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC in the Classroom for Students with Significant Disabilities Thursday – PrAACtical Supports for Young AAC Learners: Recipes for Success, Part 1
July 3, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Busy week? Here are some AAC posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Hello Baby Wednesday – Video of the Week: Activity Schedule Action Thursday – PrAACtically July: Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary
June 28, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Karen Natoci is back with some wonderful suggestions for reading and building AAC skills with young children. Although her focus is on little ones with visual impairment, these books and the implementation suggestions, would be useful for a wide range babies, toddlers, and preschoolers who are developing their language skills. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Books Hello Baby Words (high contrast board books) by Roger Priddy, illustrated by Holly Jackman (Published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, NY 10010) Hello Baby Words: On The Go Hello Baby Words: Faces Hello Baby: Animals Hello Baby: Faces Core Vocabulary Focus: GO, GET, WHO, THAT, SEE, IT Fringe Vocabulary Transportation: digger, balloon, train, roller skates, helicopter, truck, car, submarine, rocket, dump truck, fire truck, boat, race car, tractor, car carrier, plane Animals: cat, turtle, fish, pig, butterfly, cow, mouse, bird, bear, zebra, rabbit, panda, penguin, dog, sheep, snake Faces: boy, girl, woman, man, grandfather, grandmother... [Read More...]
June 1, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome back Vicki Clarke with more helpful information on conducting AAC assessments. If you work with individual who are at the early stages of communicative development, this post is for you! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Some of my most favorite students are those who, at first, may not seem to notice me at all. Sometimes these students seem to exist in their own worlds. They don’t seem to respond in ways we would expect: looking, attending, listening, or gesturing. They may have a diagnosis of Autism, significant developmental delay, epilepsy, or any number of syndromes. I love these kids, and unfortunately, these are often the students who don’t get referred to me. Sometimes it takes years of working in a district before I get to see students with significant developmental delays. These children are typically served in classrooms for students considered to be severe/profound or multi-handicapped. Honestly, I usually get the... [Read More...]
May 29, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Hope this has been a productive Better Hearing and Speech Month! Monday – PrAACtically Pinteresting with Lauren Enders: Why Use AAC? Wednesday – Video of the Week: More on Assessing Barriers to Access for Learners Thursday – PrAACtically June: Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary Words
May 15, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Better Hearing and Speech Month! Monday – AAC Core Vocabulary Instruction: Indirect Teaching Strategies Wednesday – Video of the Week: Assessing Communication Needs in AAC Learners Thursday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: The Five Senses
May 8, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, a perfect time to build awareness among colleagues and in the community. Monday – PrAACtically May: Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary Words Wednesday – Video of the Week: Increasing Core Vocabulary Use at Home, Therapy, and in School Thursday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: The Eyes Have It – Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze