February 7, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for some well-grounded, yet concrete ideas for assessment of early communicators? Communication Matrix is one of my ‘Go To’ places for just that sort of thing. The site is home to a tool that allows you to develop a clear communication profile for someone at the earliest stages of communicative learning. It is not a direct assessment instrument, but rather a systematic way of capturing knowledge gained through observation, interaction with the communicator, and interviewing families and other professionals. The tool itself has been around for over 20 years (I have the paper version on my shelf). Its primary author, Dr. Charity Rowland of the Oregon Health and Science University, has been refining it over the years and developed the online site with the support of the US Department of Education. The profile covers 7 levels of communication, 4 communicative intents, and 9 communication modalities. I’ve been using the online... [Read More...]
February 4, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Imagine having one key communication strategy and no one knew that it existed. This horrifying experience was documented in the book ‘I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes,’ the autobiography of Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer. For years, she effectively used eye gaze with her family to answer yes/no questions, but when Ruth was placed at a residential facility, things eventually changed. Staff turnover, something we’re all familiar with, was the culprit. With time, new staff came in and didn’t realize that Ruth communicated with her eyes. Ruth was silenced for years until someone noticed that her ‘eyes up’ movement wasn’t reflexive or random. She was talking, but no one was listening. — While this was an extreme example, most AAC practitioners can recount their own stories of people whose AAC messages weren’t effectively translated once they moved to new settings. The transition to a new environment, where untrained partners may fail to recognize... [Read More...]
February 4, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
inspiration /inspəˈrāSHən/ Noun; The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do somethingcreative. The quality of having been so stimulated, esp. when evident in something We’re inspired by: Master clinicians, like Gail Van Tatenhove, John Costello, and Joan Bruno Clinically relevant research, like this work from the AAC Group at Penn State Far-reaching projects, like the work done by Sarah Blackstone and others at the Patient Provider Communication group Supportive publishers, like Paul H. Brookes who keep cranking out top-notch AAC books like this one by Pat Mirenda and Teresa Iacono Groups that make cool things for kids and share them for free, llike Priory Woods
January 18, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
It’s great to have some places to turn to when we need answers to AAC questions, resources to share, and the like. Here are some of the AAC groups that we’ve been able to count on for support. 1. ACOLUG: An oldie but a goodie. Run by Diane Bryen and Tracy Rackenberger, this email list is primarily a venue for people who use AAC to connect with one another but, in the spirit of inclusion, keeps the list open to professionals and students as well. 2. ASHA SIG 12: We can always count on their quarterly publication, Perspectives on AAC, and the online AAC community for support and pertinent information. We miss their annual conference, though! 3. Communication Matters AAC Forum : The ISAAC UK Chapter runs this and it is chock full of helpful information. We love the search feature and the digest options. 4. PACT: Promoting Augmentative Communication... [Read More...]
January 6, 2012
by Robin Parker -
We usually have a somewhat lighter schedule on Friday so these are the fun AAC and Tech things we try and do: 1. Check with Moms with Apps for Fridays free and discounted apps. We also check with http://techinspecialed.com 2. Create or find a good visual support to USE over the weekend or the next week. We are trying out a new beta site called Symbly that allows you to create communication boards and other visual supports as well as copy or modify the Symbly community ‘public’ supports. You do need an invitation to join the site, but when we requested one we got it very quickly. For now this is a free site, but beta testing is scheduled to end January 28th and that may change. 3. Add a book to your AAC library for yourself. Consider Practically Speaking: Language: Literacy, and Academic Development for Students with AAC Needs,... [Read More...]