699 Search Results for communication book
September 22, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We can’t complete our thoughts on engaging AAC learners without a bit of conversation around the topic of priorities. Here’s the main idea: Go into each activity having a clear priority for what you want to achieve. Everything else become negotiable. As SLPs, sometimes we want it all. We want therapy activities where the AAC learner initiates communications, uses new vocabulary, creates novel sentences, experiments with new grammatical forms, and kicks some morphological butt. We.want.it.all. After a few decades of being an AAC practitioner, I think I’m finally learning that trying to have it all isn’t always the best option. It isn’t about what I want, it’s about what my client needs. Sigh. In this approach, we look at the lesson or activity and create our “Must Have List.’ For Mayra, a kindergartner just learning to use symbols for the first time, our lessons ‘must’ be engaging, have high pay-off... [Read More...]
September 18, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
What’s more fun than using story books to teaching language to young children with AAC needs? Today, we hear from Kimberly Scanlon, an SLP practicing in New Jersey. Kimberley is is a devoted mom, wife and dog lover and blogs at Scanlon Speech and My Toddler Talks. She is the author of My Toddler Talks: Strategies and Activities to Promote Your Child’s Language Development and is finishing a unique picture and activity workbook, Learning to Read is a Ball. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Hold on to your undies, today we’re going to talk about poop, diapers, and the location of where various animals go potty. Sounds like a good time, right? Kidding aside, in this post I’m going to show you how to use this adorable picture book, Do You Wear Diapers? by Tanya Roitman to facilitate language and emergent literacy development in toddlers and preschoolers. What’s this book about? It’s a potty book! This adorable board book... [Read More...]
September 13, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Sunday: Video of the Week – AAC in the Group Home Monday: Strategy of the Month: Engaging the Learner Tuesday: Research Tuesday: Photos Versus PCS – Babies Weigh In Wednesday: Five Facebook Groups for Families of Beginning Communicators Thursday: 5 Things We’ve Learned from our AAC Families Friday: Fun Friday: Check Your Knowledge of AT History
September 5, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re excited about the passion and enthusiasm for AAC shown by many new SLPs and graduate student clinicians. One of the things they sometimes struggle with in reading and writing reports is the number of acronyms that we tend to use. This is always a problem in clinical and scholarly writing, but when the field is incredibly diverse and transdisciplinary, the challenges multiply. Here’s a starter list of acronyms* and their meanings. Many, MANY thanks to those who helped us create this list on the PrAACtical AAC Facebook page. AAC-RERC – AAC Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center ACOLUG – Augmentative Communication Online Users’ Group AiLS, ALgS, and ALs – Aided language stimulation ALI – Aided language input ALS – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis AOTA – American Occupational Therapy Association APTA – American Physical Therapy Association ASD – Autism spectrum disorder ASHA – American Speech Language Hearing Association AT – Assistive technology ATIA... [Read More...]
July 25, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
There are so many great apps to use for building communication and literacy skills: games, utilities, e-books, photos, storytelling, etc. There are too many gems to list! Did you ever start to plan a therapy session or some home practice activities using specific apps, only to realize that you don’t know if that client’s mobile device actually HAS the app you plan to use? As you can guess, this has happened to us a time or two. If you are using your own device, this isn’t problematic but often we are trying to build skills with an app that we want to client to use outside of the therapy session. Here’s a quick tip for avoiding that scenario: Take a photo showing the apps the client has on their device and send it to yourself or upload to a cloud (taking care to follow privacy policies if you do the latter).... [Read More...]
July 19, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
As many of you know, it was a very sad week for PrAACtical AAC and many of our friends. Thanks to all who reached out with comments, emails, Facebook messages, and texts. Sunday: Video of the Week – The Right to Be Heard Monday: A PrAACtical Resource – Communication Access Tuesday: AAC Knowledge and Skills for SLPs Wednesday: Watch It Wednesday – Selfie Bandit Thursday: PrAACtically Heartbroken Friday: On Autism and AAC
July 18, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Today we are revisiting some of Robin’s most popular posts. 30 Ways to Celebrate Autism Awareness Month AAC Must-Have’s for the Classroom and Therapy Room The First 12: Getting Started with Core Words Literacy For Everyone with Adapted Books Beyond Requesting: Using Scripts to Teach Conversation AAC Goals That Matter Creating Communication Boards: There are Lot of Apps for That! Join Together: Core and Fringe Vocabulary Beyond Requesting: Let’s Chat with Peers Begin AAC Now: 10 Things to Do
June 27, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re pleased to welcome a new guest blogger, Kate Munro, to our pages today. I first ‘met’ Kate on Twitter (@SpeechieKate) and was even more excited by her passion for AAC when I met her in person last month. Her passion for AAC began during a clinical placement while training at the University of Queensland. This snowballed when completing her honours with Dr. Bronwyn Hemsley on health professional’s views on communication in hospital for children with Cerebral Palsy and CCN. Now living in South Australia, she is a speech pathologist working at Two Way Street, a private practice which specialises in AAC. In addition to this, she tutors students at Flinders University’s Disabilitiy and Community Inclusion Unit and volunteers her time as the South Australian Representative for AGOSCI. Since her honours research was published as part of a larger study, she has developed a greater interest in research but isn’t ready... [Read More...]
June 6, 2014
by Robin Parker -
It’s prAACtically Father’s Day. There are many things to talk about, create, eat, and prepare for this special day. Check out these fun activities that can be done during communication therapy, at home, or at school. Some can be done with dad and others can be done for dad as gifts. Enjoy the communication process. Record “I Love You” on a one hit message device/card/picture. You can give a card or talking picture as a gift. You can use the one hit message device to tell dad “I love you” many times for father’s day and beyond. Use Talking to Dad Visual Supports/Worksheets by Joel Shaul at Autism Teaching Strategies to create meaningful conversations Play a memory game with dad that is supported with PCS (Thank you Mayer Johnson) Use a visual recipe to prepare a sweet treat for dad. Consider chocolate covered pretzels. Create a power point book about... [Read More...]
May 28, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Recently, I had the opportunity to share some thoughts on AAC at the Spectronics Inclusive Learning Technology (ILT) Conference, in Gold Coast, Australia. It’s hard to explain the level of enthusiasm and energy for all things AAC and AT to those who aren’t familiar with that passionate group of professionals and parents. As a newbie, I was especially impressed with the level of warmth and support provided to anyone there who reached out for information or encouragement, and the ways that the speakers helped participants come away totally re-energized. Since it may have been a bit too far away for many of our prAACtical friends, I thought I’d share some of the websites of other keynote speakers and featured presenters I met along the way. Jason Gibson and Jason Carroll (Systems of Support) – Who challenged us to set smart goals for ourselves, not just the learners we serve Kevin Honeycutt – Who... [Read More...]