597 Search Results for visual support
April 4, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we’re pleased to introduce SLP Jackie Kearns, coordinator of the Technology Resource Center at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation. Prior to that, she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio University. She completed both an undergraduate and graduate level thesis and has published in Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Jackie has over 5 years’ experience working with medically complex children in both inpatient and outpatient hospital settings. She has provided numerous AAC evaluations and treatment for children ranging from 1-21 years of age. In addition, she has done numerous presentations and in-services for staff at the Cleveland Clinic. We’re grateful to Jackie’s AAC professor and mentor, Dr. John McCarthy for recommending her to us. Therapy Activity: Fun with Puzzles Intended audience: Early intervention, preschool aged children, and/or emergent AAC communicators Type(s) of AAC: Eye gaze, reaching Picture communication symbols Single message voice output communication... [Read More...]
March 28, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Tanna Neufeld hits another homerun with this post about co-treating children with multiple disabilities. Collaborating with our colleagues is both fun and challenging. Let’s take a look at the prAACtical ways that Tanna and her colleagues support kids with motor and visual impairments who are learning to use AAC. Fridays are my favorite. And not just for the obvious reasons (TGIF), but also because Fridays are one of the most challenging and exciting days of my work week. Every Friday, I am lucky enough to team with my favorite PTs for joint treatment sessions to support several children with multiple motor and communication challenges. Around our center, we lovingly refer to these kids as our “motor kids”. All of these little ones are nonverbal, and all have very complex motor challenges that significantly limit their ability to interact with traditional play and learning environments. Many of these kids also... [Read More...]
March 21, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
As much as we love fresh new voices in the AAC community, there is simply nothing like the voice of experience. When a program has had more than 40 years of experience providing AAC services, we listen! Today, we are honored to have Marlene Cummings, an AAC SLP from Michigan, share the collective wisdom of her team. I have found that one of the joys in my professional life is asking hard questions about my present work and then figuring out ways to address those questions. Much of my 30 + years have been spent designing and implementing programs, systems and materials to support young children with complex communication needs in the role of the teacher in these classrooms. I explored ways to design environments and develop curricular frameworks and instructional materials, which would provide students with the instruction and opportunities to become competent communicators, all from the view of... [Read More...]
March 13, 2013
by Robin Parker -
Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up. We love focusing on holidays in our sessions because it is a chance to teach new vocabulary and as importantly (if not more for some learners) it is a chance to teach social conversation about what many people in the community are talking about. Holiday’s also give us fun ways to focus on many other goals as well. The theme (in this case – a holiday) can serve as the platform for any goal that is appropriate. We just always ask ourselves (and our graduate students)- ‘What is the point’ or ‘What is the Goal’ when we have a great new themed activity. This is a time to work on core and fringe vocabulary, social conversation and interaction, play skills, and more. These are some fun activities matched to goals that we use to get ready for Saint Patrick’s Day. Surveys & or Questions–... [Read More...]
March 8, 2013
by Robin Parker -
We have been out and about in our community these past couple of weeks. We have worked with speech-language pathologists, teachers, resource specialists, paraprofessionals, and families. We love doing AAC facilitator training because the impact is so important for not only our current AAC learners but for future AAC learners as well. There are really great professionals who want to provide the best AAC support possible. They want and need AAC information that will help them integrate AAC facilitation strategies into their already very busy days. Here are 5 AAC facilitation strategies that have made the most impact: Using Aided Language Input (ALI)– Talk AAC to the learner. This strategy is not only a very powerful teaching tool, but when discussed with new AAC facilitators, seems to make perfect sense (many have never heard of it). One key for learning ALI is to practice it in a variety of activities... [Read More...]
February 13, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We love the versatility of flip books and charts. They are a great format option for communication books, particularly the flip books that have a static ‘base’ and a set of strips/mini pages that you can flip through for additional vocabulary. Once you have a template, it’s not too difficult to make a number of them that fit different purposes. Here are some resources to explore. SET-BC has wonderful material on communication supports including a brief video about flip books here. They also have some terrific downloads, including this one by Kathy Ryan. Flip ‘n Talk has been around for a long time, but it continues to be a really useful tool. We typically have the core language as the static portion, but here’s an example of doing it the other way around. There are so many ways to use flip books for language learning. We love this one for... [Read More...]
February 7, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are so happy to have Deanna Wagner back with more AACtual Therapy. In her previous post, Deanna talked about her work with AAC groups for adults. Today, she shares a lesson plan and some implementation ideas. As a veteran AAC interventionist, Deanna’s therapy plan has many wonderful features that undoubtedly contribute to the success her students experience. Lesson/therapy Session: Using Social Phrases/Comments Intended audience & type of AAC: All devices/AAC users should have access to social commenting. Our Class: Middle school, self-contained classroom. Group of 3 students, SLP leading activity, paraprofessional, and Teacher of Visually Impaired supporting Goal for Overall Lesson: Use word/icon combinations to express opinions or make social comments Specific Student Goals: Student #1 will combine 2 icons for social interjections – please, thank you, cool, awesome, yum, yuk, ok (ECO2 from PRC) Student #2 will functionally use new phrases to chat or indicate an opinion (Dynavox... [Read More...]
February 5, 2013
by Robin Parker -
All we can say is Wow! ATIA 2013 Orlando was awesome! Since it is February, we will focus on things we LOVE as it relates to our ATIA experience. Here are just a few thoughts and pictures from our time in the Exhibit Hall. (Please note, this is just a small sample of the many, many things seen and learned. Our list is based on the pictures we took and the time we had in the Exhibit Hall (both limited). A comprehensive list of Exhibitors can be found at the ATIA 2013 Orlando Site under the Exhibit List. So much to see and learn! FRS Custom Solutions.- We loved meeting the FRS Team (especially since they are based in Fort Lauderdale) and learning about the CommLink ProSlate Series. Fat Cat Chat– Love the Fat Cat Chat apps for ‘small talk’ (Thanks Jane Farrall for blogging about Fat Cat Chat apps). Immediately... [Read More...]
January 30, 2013
by Robin Parker -
January is (was) a fairly crazy and busy month for us. After a late back to school week, the CARD Conference, the Dan Marino Foundation WalkAbout Autism, and ATIA Conference (hope to see you there), we got a bit of a late start on a few things. To stay ahead of ourselves, we want to end January by being ready for February…… For February, we have a calendar for incorporating AAC into everyday activities (it goes with yesterday’s post 28 things to do). Feel free to print out and share and use anyway you want to promote PrAACtical AAC. A PDF version (free) can be found at our Teachers Pay Teachers site. Our new Strategy of the Month (on Saturday) will focus on Communication & Language Beyond Requesting. There are no pre-requisites to learning and being immersed in ALL of the reasons to communicate (communication functions). For some learners, it... [Read More...]
January 11, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
PrAACtically Thinking Happy New Year Let’s Cook: It’s PrAACtically the New Year! 10 Resources for Planning and Designing Communication Books Why We Love AAC Language Experience Activities AAC Vocabulary Instruction Round-Up Beyond Good Intentions: Thoughts on PrAACtical Supports for AAC Families No Words: “We’re Hurting, Too” Quick Start Communication Book Pages Talk About Me, Too: AAC and Visual Strategies for Significant Challenges The PrAACtical Side of Giving: Random AACts of Kindness Hello, Holiday! 10 Great Apps to Gift Do It My Way: Personalizing Communication Books 31 AAC Posts You May Have Missed, November 2012 Why We Love Sequential Message Devices/Apps Strategy of the Month The PrAACtical Power of Communication Books Organizing Vocabulary for Communication Books: Getting Started Communication Books: Making Decisions About Format The Communication Book is Ready: Now What? PrAACtically Personal: Individualizing Communication Books Video of the Week Making Libraries Inclusive Inclusive Libraries, Part 2 Why Use AAC? Why... [Read More...]