176 Search Results for prompt
October 3, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We are so very pleased to welcome Vicki Clarke back to these pages for another installment in our AAC Assessment Corner. Vicki is the CEO of Dynamic Therapy Associates and Director of DTA Schools, is back with another wonderful edition of AAC Assessment Corner. In addition to their clinic, Vicki and her team support school districts in AAC evaluation, equipment procurement, and implementation for individual students in the academic environment. DTA Schools also supports district-wide AAC implementation through the Classroom Communication Goals Project, training, and supporting all team members in classroom AAC implementation. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Evaluating Skills For the Use of Comprehensive AAC Systems: CORE WORD USE ACTION/OBJECT REQUESTS-RECURRENCE, CESSATION, ACTION More, Stop, Go and Want Once we have assessed our student’s ability to understand and use photos and symbols for concrete, motivating items, it’s time to take a look at their ability to understand and use more abstract, generalizable core vocabulary. ... [Read More...]
September 9, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Today we have a visit from California-based SLP Kristen Powell who is stopping by to share some of the ways she builds collaboration and sets up AAC implementation plans. Kristen works both in the public school system and runs her own private practice, Creative Communication. She specializes in assessment, device trials, and implementation training of AT and AAC. Kristen is passionate about providing individuals with the most appropriate AT and supports to improve their communication with their family and peers. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In 2016, I got a job as a speech-language pathologist at a local school district. One of my students had multiple service providers both school and medical based. In addition, my student used both high and low tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). I was faced with the challenge of helping the entire team know how to use the AAC system with the student, know what successful communication looks... [Read More...]
September 2, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
AAC SLP Amanda Samperi is back with another post in her series about the prAACtical aspects of AAC therapy. In this post, Amanda shares her views and experiences on helping students with AAC needs build their language skills. You can see her previous posts in this series here. Putting the FUN Back in FUNctional Working with Multiple Symbol Sets ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: AAC Therapy is Language Therapy I’ve traveled between several states and many different schools over the past few years. Because of this, I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing SLPs! They’re talented, strong, creative, and love their kiddos more than anything. And just like any other team, each of us has different strengths and weaknesses. When I’m joining a Speech team, there’s usually at least one other SLP with specialties that are outside of my wheelhouse. However, she isn’t very comfortable with AAC. It... [Read More...]
August 12, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
In the US and some other countries, we’re starting a new school year and SLP Amanda Samperi is here to get us off to a good start by sharing her experiences and suggestions for engaging AAC activities. After graduating from Penn State, Amanda worked for several years as an SLP in school, home, and medical settings. She has presented on AAC-related topics st ASHA, an IEE Electrical Safety Workshop, and at the AAC in the Cloud Conference. Amanda hopes to continue sharing her knowledge and experiences about AAC through her blog, AAC is where it’s AT. Today, she introduces us to a series of posts that focus on creating fun AACtivities for language learning. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Back-to-School with AAC: Putting the FUN back in FUNctional There is something special about this time of year – students are trying on their back-to-school outfits, school supplies are magically discounted beyond belief, and parents... [Read More...]
July 18, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We’re glad you’ve returned for Part 2 of Tabi Jones-Wohleber’s series on Visual Supports. As an AAC specialist, Tabi uses these with children who have complex communication needs and teaches others to incorporate them as well. Let’s learn some of the ways in which visual supports can be used to help with organization, transitions, and independence. You can click on the images in the Downloadable Templates section to obtain the visual support files. If you’re interested in seeing more of Tabi’s work, you can check out Part 1 of the series here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Visual and Environmental Supports to Organize Time and Tasks “But he knows his schedule” isn’t the whole picture. We all use schedules to help us manage our time and keep us on track when non-routine activities occur. For instance, you may know your schedule for any given Tuesday, but what about that Tuesday when you have... [Read More...]
May 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Are you ready for some reading, AAC style? In today’s edition of PrAACtically Reading, Karen Natoci and Karen Baca share a preschool book about farm animals. Karen Natoci is an AAC Supervisor who is well-known to the readers of this site (see her wonderful contributions here.). Her colleague Karen Baca is an AT and AAC Specialist with over 30 years in the field of AT, specializing in AAC, alternative access, and literacy for all students with disabilities. They both work for The Speech Pathology Group in the San Francisco Bay area. Book: Over on the Farm by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Cathy Morrison (Copyright © 2003, Little, Brown and Company; Hachette Book Group, www.lb-kids.com) Vocabulary focus: All core words Fringe Vocabulary focus: horse/foals/neigh, cat/kittens/meow, cow/calves/moo, goat/kids/maa, chicken/chick/cheep-cheep, owl/owlets/hoot-hoot, mouse/pups/squeek, turkey/poults/gobble-gobble, duck/ducklings/quack, pig/piglets/oink Actions: peck, nibble, swish, wash, gallop, hide, fly, strut, waddle roll Communication Matrix (Rowland, 2009) level: I-VIII... [Read More...]
April 14, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Good morning, AAC friends. Here are the posts we published this week. Monday – AACtivity of the Month: Concept Sorts Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Strategies for Supporting AAC Team Buy-In & Implementation Thursday – How I do it: Using Videos & Instructional Feedback to Support Communication Partners ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have time for a little more browsing? Check out these past posts. When Helping Isn’t Helping-Prompt Awareness in AAC Instruction Administratively Speaking: 5 Considerations for Recruiting and Retaining AAC SLPs AAC In the Classroom: Considerations for Modeling Core Vocabulary How I Do It: A Year of Core Word in Action AAC in the High School Classroom: Where Core Vocabulary Meets Life Skills
April 11, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
As AAC interventionists well know, we can improve learning outcomes by getting key communication partners to use specific strategies to support AAC learning. How can we do that effectively and efficiently? Today, we hear from Laura Hayes, an AAC Facilitator for Special School District of St. Louis County, Missouri. Using her 10+ years of AAC experience, Laura provides support to staff and students across 4 school districts. She has presented locally and at state, national, and international conferences, and has been involved in both inpatient pediatric and educational AAC research. Laura loves providing staff training, implementation resources and guided direction to help students using AAC succeed. In today’s guest post, she shares her experiences and tips for supporting communication partners. (Don’t forget to download the resources she is sharing before you go.) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I do it: Using Videos and Instructional Feedback to Support Communication Partners Prior to the Training... [Read More...]
March 21, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
In her role as the team’s SLP, Christy frequently collaborates with classroom teachers to identify areas of language development where students learning AAC need specific goals and instruction. Goals for her students address a range of areas. Given frequent aided language input, Evan will use 2-symbol sentences to make relevant comments at least twice per activity. When presented with preferred and non-preferred options, Sasha will independently request desired activities/objects with 70% accuracy. In the context of peer interactions, Tegan will ask a ‘What’ question in 3 out of 5 opportunities. Given gestural cues, Matthew will converse on a partner-selected topic for at least 4 conversational turns. With visual supports, Gabby will use subject + verb sentences to describe pictures, materials or events in 4 out of 6 trials. To help the students acquire these skills, Christy carefully plans the instructional sequence and selects contexts appropriate for the intervention targets. She... [Read More...]
March 4, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for a way to help caregivers understand some of the basic ways to support AAC? Take a look at the AAC for Caregivers Manual produced by the Specialised Assistive Technology Centre (ATC) SPD in Singapore. It includes some of the key concepts in using these AAC and related topics: Following the child’s lead Keeping the AAC nearby Teaching core vocabulary Aided language input Use of pause time Prompt hierarchies Routines and schedules Customizing an AAC system Enjoy!