843 Search Results for core vocabulary

Letters from Camp, Part 2 (Working with Words)

November 15, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Letters from Camp, Part 2 (Working with Words)

The weather is nippy here in Boston where 12,000+ professionals are gathered for the annual ASHA Convention, and the blustery wind makes us think back longingly to the warmer days of summer. Today. Ohio-based SLP Tina Moreno helps us do just that as she returns to share more information on the reading and writing activities that AAC learners in Camp ALEC experienced. In today’s post, she shares some of the details about Working with Words. If you missed it the first time, you can visit Tina’s earlier post here. Many thank to AAC mom and SLP Tina Moreno for giving us a peek into the wonderful instruction provided to these AAC learners! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Working with Words at Camp ALEC At Camp ALEC in August, our literacy counselors planned fun, motivating activities that helped our campers learn to read and write new words.  In another setting, we might refer to these... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 45: November 2018

November 11, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 45: November 2018

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here is a handful of AAC posts that you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: CandLE Literacy for All Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Faces of AAC – Zainab Omar Thursday – MASTER PAL AAC Training Series: Lessons Learned ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you’re still in the mood for browsing, check out the selections below. PrAACtical Thoughts on Mastery 5 Things to Do When AAC Learners are Inconsistent PrAACtical Teaching in the Autism Classroom: Instructional Activities for Core Vocabulary Core Values: Suggestions for Language Building with AAC Learners More Words, Please! Expanding Our Manual Communication Boards

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 44: November 2018

November 4, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 44: November 2018

Happy November, AAC friends! Here are some posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday –  PrAACtically November: AAC Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Talk AAC with Me Thursday – Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 11 (Let the Child Lead) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have room for a little more AAC in your day? Here’s a sampling to choose from. Beyond Behavior Problems: How Visual Supports Can Help Our AAC Teaching AAC Intervention: 5 Activities with PrAACtical Potential AACtual Therapy: Positive Behavior Management with Gail Bennell Daylight Savings Time and Behavior Extension Activities for AAC Practice And, finally, if working with young children who have complex communication needs is your thing, we invite you to join us for a full day of preschool AAC in January. (Use the sliding bar on the right to navigate... [Read More...]

How We Do It: AAC Training for Educational Assistants

October 22, 2018 by - 3 Comments

How We Do It: AAC Training for Educational Assistants

We’ve been focusing on training communication partners recently and today we’re focusing specifically on paraprofessionals/educational assistants. Our guest post is authored by SLPs Corinna Duffitt, M.Sc., RSLP  (practicing for 21 years, 14 years in AAC) and Jennifer Wiegert, M.A., CCC-RSLP (practicing for 21 years, focusing on AAC for the past 6  years).  They are colleagues on an AAC team with 4 other SLPs in a large school district in Surrey, BC, Canada.   Their school district consists of 101 elementary schools and 20 secondary schools.   Corinna and Jennifer are both passionate about giving children a voice and letting that voice uncovers their potential. They recently joined their private practice endeavours, outside of their public school positions, to form Chickadee AAC Communication Services. You can find them on Instagram (@chickadeeaacslps or #chickadeeaac), check in on their website, and/or follow them on Facebook. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC Training for Educational Assistants Some of the challenges we encountered... [Read More...]

Building AAC Awareness: Using AAC to Express a Range of Functions

October 12, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Building AAC Awareness: Using AAC to Express a Range of Functions

Most times, the goal of AAC intervention is to help those with complex communication needs be able to express whatever they want at any time. For some individuals, we over-emphasize the tools and strategies they will need to get the things they want, whether it is social engagement (attention), assistance (help), objects, events, or even being able to protest or reject unwanted situations. Michigan-based SLP Rachael Langley works tirelessly to support technologies and services that give access to the full range to communicative functions. When she offered to share her thoughts on this topic with us, we jumped on the chance. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Four Functions of Language There are many ways to emphasize AAC use and embed aided language into the day. Sometimes we use a core vocabulary approach to teach specific vocabulary. But we can also approach AAC learning by focusing on a specific function or pragmatic use of language.... [Read More...]

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 7

October 4, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 7

Welcome back to our AAC partner training series, Model as a MASTER PAL, created by SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber. Today, we continue with materials to help communication partners interact with AAC learners in a supportive fashion. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 7: Engage Naturally Facilitator Guidelines This module covers a lot of territory. From the behaviors of communication partners that support the process of language development to creating communication opportunities, to the language we use with a child to talk about their device, to fostering communicative competence, naturalistic engagement is shaped in many ways.  The importance of this conversation lies in the fact that genuine engagement and mutual respect are where learning happens. It is also how meaningful social relationships are built. This module invites participants to reflect on factors that shape the quality of interactions in order to maximize the potential for communicating, learning and creating meaningful social,... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 40: September 2018

September 30, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 40: September 2018

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Before we turn to a new page on the calendar, check out these posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – PrAACtically October: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AT and Virtual Reality Thursday –  Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 6 Friday – PrAACtical Alert: AAC App Discounts ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Still have time for some more AAC reading? Here are a few suggestions. PrAACtical Teaching in the ASD Classroom: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary AAC in the Classroom: Presentations You May Have Missed The Crust of AAC Every Second Counts with Lindy McDaniel Boosting AAC Implementation in the Classroom: 6 Things to Try

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 5

September 20, 2018 by - 1 Comment

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 5

Our AAC Training Series continues today and we are incredibly grateful to Tabi Jones-Wohleber for sharing these presentation materials with us. Today’s training materials center on a topic that is near and dear to my prAACtical heart: Using statements more often than questions. The instructional time for Module 5 is about 90-120 minutes which allows time for discussion and practice. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 5: Statements More Than Questions Facilitator Guidelines STATEMENTS MORE THAN QUESTIONS Questions are necessary to help us learn about the things, people, and activities in our environment and beyond. However, interactions heavily weighted with questions do not often yield the quality exchanges required to build relationships, gain understanding, foster autonomous communication or facilitate initiation.  This module explores the power of statements (aka nondirective language and descriptive teaching) in shaping meaningful engagement for learning and socially interacting.  It includes interactive activities, video links, lots... [Read More...]

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 4

September 13, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 4

Ready for more AAC training materials? In today’s post, Tabi Jones-Wohleber is sharing another module in the MASTER PAL series. This 30-minute session focuses on the role of multiple modalities in AAC. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 4: Accept Multiple Modalities Facilitator Guidelines We all use multiple modalities to communicate…speech, text, email, a gesture, facial expressions.  In much the same way we encourage young children to interact by assigning meaning to their gestures, expressions, and utterances, responding meaningfully to the communicative attempts of those who use AAC validates and encourages the effort.  Honor all modalities and respond by modeling AAC as much as possible(regardless of the modality used by the PWUAAC) teaches AAC.  Seize the opportunity to teach and expand language.  After all, multi-modal communication shapes the human experience. For this training you will need: The Presentation Slides The Presentation Handout The Facilitator’s Guide Warm-up Discussion: Thinking Prompt... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 36: September 2018

September 2, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 36: September 2018

We’re saying goodbye to summer, and, heading full steam ahead into fall. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – PrAACtically September: AAC Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Addressing the Social, Communication, and Behavioral Needs of  Secondary Students with ASD using Visual Supports Thursday – Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 2 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have time for a bit more browsing, here are some posts you can explore. AAC Printables The Crust of AAC Every Second Counts Goodbye, Summer! A Clinician Prepares for a New  School Year 3 Ways to Use AAC Goals to Strengthen Implementation