73 Search Results for AAC in Secondary School

How We Do It: Navigating Successful Post-Secondary Transitions in a Virtual World

March 22, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

How We Do It: Navigating Successful Post-Secondary Transitions in a Virtual World

AAC professionals can provide a great deal of support to help students prepare for post-school life. Today, guest authors Meredith Gohsman, Jamie Lawson, Heather Patton, and Melanie Melton team up to share their thoughts on helping students who use AAC move successfully toward this transition. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Speech-language pathologists, educators, and other AAC stakeholders all share responsibility in preparing students for successful post-secondary transition. The need to explicitly address post-secondary transition is well-established. Despite benefits of employment for both the employer and employee (McNaughton et al., 2002; McNaughton et al., 2003), individuals using AAC are unemployed at a staggering rate. For individuals using AAC, communication remains a vital component in the workplace (Bryen et al., 2007). Communication interactions and skills are associated with income, as well as job options (Mank et al., 1997; McNaughton & Bryen, 2007; McNaughton & Richardson, 2013). This includes all 5 communicative competencies: Linguistic Competence: Mastery of... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #11: March 2021

March 14, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #11: March 2021

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have a handful of AAC posts for you. Monday – AAC in Secondary School: Using Surveys to Support Language Learning Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC Modeling at Home Thursday – Repetition & Perseveration on AAC Devices: 5 Things to Try ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Stick around for a bit more if you can. Here are some posts that may be of interest. Let’s Go Outside! 5 PrAACtical Ideas At the Very Beginning: Working with Pre-Intentional Communicators Sometimes I Feel Sunny AAC Access for Individuals with Significant Motor Limitations Through Partner Assisted Scanning Supporting AAC Learners in Emergent Writing: 5 Helpful Resources

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #7: February 2021

February 14, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #7: February 2021

Happy Valentine’s Day, AAC friends. We’re glad you are here. Monday – AAC in Secondary School: Defining Age Respectful Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Covid Lessons for the AAC Community Thursday – PrAACtically Valentine’s Day: AAC-friendly Activities and Resources :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, stay awhile and browse the selection of AAC stories below. An AAC Journey: From “No to AAC” to “AAC All Day, Every Day” with Desirae Pillay Faces of AAC – Zainab Omar The Faces of AAC: Dianna and Brian The Faces of AAC: Justyna and Wiktoria Faces of AAC: Making It Work in A Busy Family

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #2: January 2021

January 10, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #2: January 2021

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We have some posts that may be of interest. Monday – AAC in Secondary School: Research Project AACtivity Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: A District-wide Core Vocabulary Initiative Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Considerations in AAC Intervention Friday – PráctiCAAmente Conectados Con Links – Enero 2021 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ready for a few more posts to browse? Here’s a sampling that you might enjoy. Does AAC Really Work with Infants and Toddlers? Research Tuesday: Photos Versus PCS – Babies Weigh In AAC & AT Supports in Early Intervention AAC Mythology v2.0: A Few Misconceptions About AAC Intervention PrAACtical Intervention Ideas: AAC Learning with the Toys, Websites, and Apps You Love

How We Do It: AAC Strategies & Adaptations for Students in Support Walkers, Assessment & Funding

December 12, 2019 by - 1 Comment

When young children with significant motor challenges are unable to move freely around the environment, it impacts many things. Today, we introduce a limited series on why hands-free mobility is so crucial during the early years, and what we can do to promote independent mobility. We are extremely fortunate to have Christine Wright-Ott authoring this series. Christine is an Occupational Therapist and consultant at The Bridge School in Hillsborough California. She authored the chapter, Mobility, in several editions of the book, Occupational Therapy for Children. Christine lectures at universities and conferences including ATIA, Closing the Gap, ISAAC, ISS, and AAC by the Bay.

How can we reduce the negative impact of significant motor challenges on children who use AAC and are not independently mobile? Today, we conclude Christine Wright-Ott’s series on this topic. Christine is an Occupational Therapist and consultant at The Bridge School in Hillsborough California. She authored the chapter, Mobility, in several editions of the book, Occupational Therapy for Children. Christine lectures at universities and conferences including ATIA, Closing the Gap, ISAAC, ISS, and AAC by the Bay. If you missed the earlier posts in this series you can catch up via the links below. Part 1: From Wheelchair to Walker: The Cascading Benefit of Hands-Free Mobility Part 2: From Wheelchair to Hands-free Walker for Preschool Children with AAC Needs Part 3: How We Do It: A Support Walker Mobility Program for Elementary Students with AAC Needs ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC Strategies, Adaptations for Students in Support Walkers, Assessment & Funding AAC Strategies and... [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 Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 9 (Presume Potential)

October 18, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 9

We continue our AAC partner training series, authored by SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber, with a 60-minute session on presuming potential. In addition to her work with the AT Team for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland, Tabi serves young children and their families at West Virginia Birth to Three programs. You can see the first 8 modules here.     ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 9: Presume Potential Presuming potential is a belief system that influences our words and actions both consciously and unconsciously. As such it cannot be overstated that our words and actions shape the nature and trajectory of opportunities for learning, communicating and engaging for those with whom we interact who use AAC.  This module showcases a parent perspective, and utilizes many video examples to invite participants into an honest and reflective conversation on the need to shed assumptions about where an individual’s learning will “max out”. It... [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  

Video of the Week: Addressing the Social, Communication, and Behavioral Needs of  Secondary Students with ASD using Visual Supports

August 29, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Addressing the Social, Communication, and Behavioral Needs of  Secondary Students with ASD using Visual Supports

Looking for ways to better support older students with autism and related disabilities? Stay tuned because Kate Love, Autism Specialist with the Colorado Department of Education, has practical suggestions that may be of interest. The Technical Assistance System Network (TASN) of Kansas generously shares this along with a number of other wonderful resources. In this video, Ms. Love discusses several ways to implement research-supported strategies, including visual supports, with students in middle and high school. You can download the handout for this presentation using the link below or by clicking here. Direct Link to Video: https://www.ksdetasn.org/resources/793