674 Search Results for communication book

7 Writing Apps & Activities for ALL Levels of Writers

August 16, 2013 by - 3 Comments

7 Writing Apps & Activities for ALL Writers

These are some ‘non-traditional’ but really fun apps and activities that can be used to help improve writing, choice making, & AAC skills for all levels of writers.  These apps allow you to create meaningful language experiences through the process of creating the written documents, by talking about &  printing out the finished product, as well as by using writing specific reinforcement so that the learner knows they are really a writer (“wow, you are an author”, “great writing”, “awesome using many different words”, “excellent poetry”, etc.).  Have fun and write. Type Drawing– TypeDrawing allows you to enter text or choose from a text word bank to draw lines or pictures. The text is repeated each time you begin drawing or touch and drag on the screen with your finger.  We used this to make text pictures and then sent the pictures as notes to friends,  birthday cards to a... [Read More...]

Magic Moments with Tellagami

August 12, 2013 by - 3 Comments

Magic Moments with Tellagami

Looking for ways to engage older learners with age appropriate materials? Searching for fresh ideas for AAC and language practice? Tellagami (“tell-uh-gah-mee”) is a free iOS app that allows you to create short animations, save them to your device, post to Facebook, and share them by email, SMS text, or Twitter. Best part about it, in this busy SLP’s opinion? Super easy to learn and use! The animations are called ‘Gami’s’ and are short and fun to make. The app has a good amount of flexibility and you are only limited by your imagination. Here are some ideas for putting it to use in your AAC work. 1. Choice making: The AAC learner can work collaboratively with a peer to create a Gami. In doing so, he/she can make selections of things like the gender of the character, hair, clothes, and the background. 2. Peer interactions: Many of our AAC... [Read More...]

31 AAC Posts You May Have Missed in July

August 5, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

31 Posts You May Have Missed In July

PrAACtical Thinking Free Text-based AAC Apps for the iPad PrAACtical Questions: Can Students Take Their AAC Device Home? PrAACtical AAC Learning & July 4th: Get Ready Get Set Go 4 Free July 4th Apps to SPARK Commenting 30 Posts You May Have Missed in June 4+AAC Tips for Talking About July 4th AFTER the Festivities PrAACtically Ready to Read Did You Know: AADMD Offers Specialty Webinars Visual Schedule Myths Live On..& On Getting to Yes Working with Worksheets Apps to Prepare, Learn, & Talk About Summer Vacations Modify a Battery-Operated Toy To Make It Accessible By Switches 5 Great Ways To Help People with AAC Needs Develop Inner Speech What’s the Connection: Core Vocabulary and Visual Schedules Random App of Kindness Giveaway: Talk About Food Create Your Own Style PECS Book 5 Things to Consider About Assigning ‘Homework’ to Your AAC Clients 8Friday Fun: 8 AAC Activities that are Fast... [Read More...]

Strategy of the Month: Back to School with AAC

August 3, 2013 by - 4 Comments

Back to School with AAC

Here in the US, August is Back-to-School month. Throughout this month, we’ll try to post ideas and resources to help make the transition back to school a smooth and successful one. One of the most important things for students who use AAC is having their SLPs, teachers, and families on the same page. They each have a different but very intense relationship with the student’s AAC system. Here are some prAACtical thoughts on getting everyone on the same page. 1.  Develop a communication profile of the student: In the initial weeks, try to get a baseline of how the student is communicating at the start of the year. For beginning communicators, we track things like their communicative intents (WHY they are communicating), modalities (HOW they are communicating), and the frequency of their communication. We’ve written about one of our favorite tools for this, the Communication Matrix. 2. Share what you know:... [Read More...]

Fun Friday- Commenting to the Max

August 2, 2013 by - 3 Comments

Title: Fun Friday: Commenting to the Max

Commenting is for everyone, even if they are beginning communicators and even if they need to learn.  If you are teaching commenting to a learner who does not yet have this communication function, there has to be ‘buy in’ or interest through another communication function that is already known.  So, for a learner who can ask for things they want or say ‘no’ to things they ‘don’t want’, you may need to form routines where they ask for something, comment, then can ask (and receive) again. Once the routine is established, you can add some more teaching and language facilitation strategies. We have written about commenting before but when we saw this cool photo on Facebook, we just had to mention commenting again. Commenting to the Max  Go Ape! 10 Commenting Communication Temptations More Ways to Teach Commenting Make it Meaningful to the Learner –  Just talking about things may... [Read More...]

5 Things to Remember About AAC Technology

August 1, 2013 by - 2 Comments

5 Things to Remember About AAC Technology

AAC technology is awesome. It really is. But it isn’t always ‘the answer.’ Here are a few things we try to keep in mind. 1. It’s not always the most efficient way for someone to communicate. Vocalizations, word approximations, gestures, and manual signs may be quicker and easier. 2. You always need a back-up. Another device, an app, a communication board, a PODD book, a print-out of the main SGD screens. Something. 3. It may not be the preferred means of communication with family and close friends. It’s not up to us to make that call. 4. The ‘latest thing’ isn’t always the best. Some of our prAACtical friends still lament the loss of the built-in printer on the Liberator. For them, the smaller, sleeker design of replacement devices weren’t worth the trade-off. 5. We generally don’t maximize the devices/apps we have. In some situations, there are useful features that... [Read More...]

Working with Older Learners: Supporting Carryover of AAC Skills

July 27, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

Supporting Carryover of AAC Skills

One of the biggest challenges that SLPs face is how to help the communicator use new skills outside the therapy room. Whether the client is someone who stutters, has voice problems, or any other speech-language difficulty, the question is the same: How can we get the client to use skills that were learned and practiced in a therapeutic situation to use those same skills at home, in school, and in the community? It’s an issue with all learners, but for adolescents and adults, we seem to be playing ‘catch up’ all the time. Plus, they are encountering greater numbers of less familiar communication partners and have to fend for themselves more often, making skill generalization even more of a critical topic. Much has been written about problems of generalization by using loose training, and varying the instructional setting, partners, instructions, prompts, and materials. In our way of thinking, it starts... [Read More...]

Friday Fun: 8 AAC Learning Activities that are Fast & Free

July 26, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

Friday Fun: 8 AAC Learning Activities that are fast and free

Get ready to increase your AAC knowledge in a fun and fast way. Read, watch, share, & learn: Learn about Ablenet’s updated AAC app:  Sounding Board- Bigger and Better. Read  past AAC Newsletters:  Augmentative Communication, Augmentative Communication News (ACN). Check out Talk About Food app and enter to win it. Learn about Literacy and AAC by checking out Jane Farrall’s blog or 101 Ideas for Literacy & AAC. Watch a recorded Ablenet webinar on a variety of PrAACtical AAC topics presented by AAC leaders. Read Think Inclusive’s–  7 Ways to Use a Sequential Message AAC Device in the Inclusive (or any ) Classroom Join an active AAC friendly facebook group such as Speak For Yourself, Raising and Teaching Individuals with Severe Disabilities, Proloquo2go Professionals, or any other you know of. Learn about AAC (and other) strategies to help prevent wandering:  Big Red Safety Tool Kit, Social Stories  

5 Great Ways to Help People with AAC Needs Develop Inner Speech

July 19, 2013 by - 3 Comments

5 Ways to Help Those with AAC Needs to Develop Inner Speech

Inner speech is important. Recent research has strengthened our belief that developing inner speech is an important strategy for many people who use AAC and are working to build their literacy, sensory, and language skills.  But how do we teach someone to develop that inner voice? Here are some ideas. 1. Begin by using a ‘think aloud’ strategy to make your internal thought processes obvious to the person who uses AAC. Articulating your thoughts as you work through different communication and literacy learning processes gives the learner insight into what you are thinking. Once they are used to that, it is easier to introduce the concept of private/inner speech. – 2. Use explicit instruction. “Say it to yourself.” “Say it in your head.” Using natural gestures, like tapping your temple, can be helpful as well. We’ve found that this allows us to reduce the prompting over time. Fade the verbal prompt and... [Read More...]

PrAACtically Ready to Read

July 9, 2013 by - 2 Comments

PrAActically Ready to Read

It’s summer and hot where we live (really hot!), humid (really humid)!. This weather makes it a good time for quiet, peaceful activities. Reading is high on our list. No pressure, enjoyable reading. We want ALL learners to enjoy reading. From simple single message voice output devices/apps to high-tech core language based SGDs and everywhere in between, there are lots of prAACtical opportunities for communication building, literacy learning, and just plain fun through reading. Interactive reading, reading aloud to someone, or reading to yourself can all be done in air-conditioned homes or libraries or by the pool or beach where you can cool down with a quick swim. Here are some great resources for adapted books, communication boards to go with books, and visual supports to help with reading.  Find a good book, stay cool, and enjoy: New York City Department of Education: Adapted Books  Baltimore City Schools- Book Specific Communication... [Read More...]