583 Search Results for tell me about it
February 14, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
On Valentine’s Day, our thoughts turn to love. Whether you’ve been doing this work for 3 months, 3 years, or 3 decades, there are some special moments in supporting people who use AAC that never lose their shine. Here are some of our favorites. Finding out that your client, student, or loved one is approved to get their first AAC device Overhearing someone you’ve trained tell another team member something positive about AAC Learning that your client or student who uses AAC advocated for themselves or got into ‘good trouble’ Being invited into a situation where the AAC user, family, school team, and private therapy providers are all pointed in the same direction Sharing happy tears with a family whose child just used their AAC system to say ‘I love you’ for the first time Joy, relief, a sense of accomplishment, gratitude, pride, excitement, self-efficacy…Today is a great day to... [Read More...]
January 6, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Social narratives are an empirically supported intervention that can be helpful in supporting people with AAC needs. They are commonly used to help individuals with autism understand and deal with challenging situations such as fire drills, birthday parties, and trips to the dentist. All types of social narratives can be written in text alone or include pictures and illustrations. Social Stories are a particular kind of social narrative that have a specific set of guidelines for their development and use. The originator of Social Stories, Carol Gray, defines Social Stories this way: “A Social Story accurately describes a context, skill, achievement, or concept according to 10 defining criteria. These criteria guide Story research, development, and implementation to ensure an overall patient and supportive quality, and a format, ‘voice’, content, and learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful, respectful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the Story audience (a child, adolescent,... [Read More...]
November 18, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
We’re continuing to discuss strategies for helping teams devise ways to test students who use AAC in ways that allow them to show what they actually know in test-taking situations. For the most part, this involves team discussions and collaborative problem-solving to develop a plan based on each AAC user’s individual needs, abilities, and priorities. Today’s post addresses two important topics: How individuals will communicate during testing and how teams document the ways that assessments are administered to a particular individual. TOPIC 12 Communicating During Testing – How will students express themselves during testing? People who use AAC should always have easy access to the tools they use for communication. In testing, professionals may be tempted to remove or restrict the AAC device during testing, but there are several reasons why this is not a good idea. For starters, we’re violating basic human rights in making communication aids less accessible.... [Read More...]
October 1, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
October is AAC Awareness Month, and sharing resources for AAC learning in Spanish is a wonderful way to kick things off. On the first Friday of every month, we feature a Spanish version of our AAC Link Up, CAA con Links. If you have AAC-related announcements, materials, or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. Organized by Claudia Marimón, these posts also feature AAC work being done in Spanish-speaking countries. Today, Claudia shares a bit about the group that she runs called ‘International Friends.’ The post appears in both English and Spanish so that everyone can hear about the work they do. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Comienza octubre el mes de visibilidad y concienciación de la CAA.... [Read More...]
September 13, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for activities that will help in teaching older students to be effective communicators with AAC? AAC SLP Ashley Larisey is back with us to share another post in the AAC in Secondary School series. Ashley is an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University. In today’s post, she shares ideas and resources for using games to support AAC learning by high school students. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Using Games to Support AAC Learning for Older Students It’s no secret that using games is a great way to increase student engagement. Games provide opportunities for language and literacy learning, personal enjoyment, social connectedness, and laughter. Games can be used to target communicative functions like requesting (I want the green piece), commenting (No way!, Me too, Get out of here!), rejecting/refusing (Not that one, Don’t like, Don’t... [Read More...]
June 7, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s graduation season here in the U.S. and there’s no better time to celebrate the graduates and those future professionals who have developed a passion for AAC. In today’s post, Krista Davidson introduces us to her student, Madie Kroehler, who generously shares the work she did for an independent study on AAC and emergent literacy. Enjoy! Growing AAC Professionals: AACessible Literacy: Emergent Literacy Resources for the AAC SLP This month I am excited to bring you a post from one of our first-year graduate students, Madie Kroehler! Madie participated in an Independent Study with me this Spring. After discussing numerous possibilities for topics, we settled on AAC and literacy. We met every other week to consult on her readings and research. What evolved from those initial discussions culminated in something quite impressive. And with that, I’ll let Madie tell you in more detail how the project developed… The final project... [Read More...]
June 4, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
AAC friends, we are back with the June edition of our AAC Link Up in Spanish. If you have materials or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. In today’s post, we hear from Gabriela Berlanga, AAC specialist and ISAAC Conference Vice-President. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ya estás listo para compartir tus links en español, este primer viernes de Junio. Queremos compartir con ustedes una gran iniciativa que tiene entre uno de sus propósitos principales unir esfuerzos y crear comunidad para las personas vinculadas con CAA de habla hispana. ISAAC ESPAÑOL – UNIENDO ESFUERZOS Y CREANDO COMUNIDAD Por: Gabriela Berlanga, especialista en CAA, vicepresidenta de congresos ISAAC ISAAC, es la Sociedad Internacional de Comunicación Aumentativa y Alternativa... [Read More...]
May 7, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
AAC friends, we are back with our 8th AAC Link Up in Spanish. If you have materials or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. In today’s post, we travel to Colombia to hear from Jhonatan Muñoz, father of Juan Nicolás, who uses AAC. Their story first appears in Spanish and then in English, and is followed by a video. Thank you, Jhonatan and Juan Nicolás! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Es el primer Viernes de Mayo!! Recuerda compartir tus links en español y acompáñanos a seguir viajando y recorriendo países donde se habla español, encontrando nuevas historias y experiencias de CAA, que nos alegran, nos motivan y dan cuenta de lo importante que es para los niños... [Read More...]
April 2, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
AAC friends, it’s time for another AAC Link Up in Spanish. If you have materials or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. But before we get to that, we want to continue sharing AAC experiences with families in different Spanish-speaking countries, to help us create ties and form AAC communities in Spanish, to learn from each other. In addition, this post features the words of Robinson Díaz, a Communications and Web Assistant from Chile who uses AAC. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: No dejes pasar la oportunidad de compartir tus links en español, para apoyar a la comunidad hispano hablante, que crece cada día en el campo de la CAA. Continuamos con nuestra serie de experiencias de... [Read More...]
March 10, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
If you’re looking for ideas for how to support AAC learning at home, today’s post will be a real treat. AAC SLP, Jeanna Antrim, co-author of our TELL ME About It series, created a set of short instructional videos with prAACtical ideas for modeling AAC at home. Kitchen Pantry Garage Bathroom Bedroom & Closet Backyard Backyard Bubbles Backyard Garden In the Sandbox Board Games: Sequence for Kids Board Games: Pop the Pig If you like these wonderful suggestions, check out more from Jeanna: Teachers Pay Teachers Instagram Facebook Twitter