347 Search Results for aided language input

Throwback Thursday: Playing with AAC

June 22, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts

Throwback Thursday: Playing with AAC

June is the perfect month to focus on having a little fun! Check out these past posts on AAC, play, and gaming. AAC in Secondary School: Using Games to Support AAC Learning for Older Students From Solitary Play to Interaction: 5 Things to Try With Kids Who Love Their iPad Games Let’s Play! Using Switch-accessible iPad Games for AAC Learning PrAACtical Resources: Structured Play Groups Building Sentence Length through Conversational Routines & Games 5 Quick and Easy Games That Build AAC Skills 5 Adapted Play Resources for Children with Motor Impairment Make It PrAACtical: DIY Adapted Toys Make It PrAACtical: Modify a Battery-Operated Toy to Make It Accessible by Switches PrAACtical Play: Creating Communication Opportunities with Favorite Toys Balance Pans: A Learning Toy that Helps Build Conversation Skills Video of the Week: Aided Language Input During Play Video of the Week: AAC & Board Games

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 20: May 2023

May 14, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 20: May 2023

Happy Sunday, AAC friends, and a very happy Mother’s Day to those who are celebrating today. If you are up for some AAC content, check out these posts. Monday – Mother’s Day, AAC Style Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC Skills for Success in the Real World Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Materials for Teaching & Using AAC :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have time for a little more reading? Maybe one of these suggestions will interest you. Let’s Go Outside! 5 PrAACtical Ideas Structured Play Groups Using Visual Scene Displays to Build Language and Literacy Aided Language Input During Play From Solitary Play to Interaction: 5 Things to Try With Kids Who Love Their iPad Games

Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration

March 16, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts

Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration

We are pleased to publish the second post in a series on multilingual AAC support guest authored by BilingüeAAC. BilingüeAAC is a group of SLPs with a shared belief in providing evidence-based intervention strategies and resources to bilingual Spanish AAC clients, families, caregivers, and professionals. In today’s post, they introduce us to their framework for AAC intervention that is culturally and linguistically affirming. BilingueAAC Framework to Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention Bilingualism in AAC is the best practice and essential to equitable communication access for people with complex communication needs (McNamara, 2018). However, resources are limited to implementing “best practices” and the “how to” incorporate bilingualism and AAC. When we look at the research, we find a variety of cultural considerations (ASHA) but no definite guideline or framework on how to approach assessment and implementation for AAC users with linguistically diverse backgrounds. Providing bilingual AAC intervention is an inclusive and equitable practice. Bilingual... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 5: January 2023

January 29, 2023 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 5: January 2023

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Partner Instructions Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Baking with AAC Thursday – PrAACtically February: AAC Resources for a Year of Core Words USSAAC Research Study: Do you recommend, distribute, or provide AAC systems in the schools (any discipline)? USSAAC requests your assistance with a research project conducted through San Jose State University, “AAC Assessment Practices in the Schools” (this study has been approved by the IRB at SJSU).  Please consider taking this 15-minute survey https://bit.ly/3Saqr52 .   All eligible individuals will be entered into a drawing for one of two $25 Amazon gift cards! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Stick around for some more AAC reading if you can. Here are some suggestions with info and resources from conferences in previous years. Enjoy! PrAACtical Resources: Partner Strategies Handout PrAACtical Fun A PrAACtical Idea for Aided Language... [Read More...]

Strengthening AAC Outcomes with Instructional Sequences

November 7, 2022 by - Leave your thoughts

Strengthening AAC Outcomes with Instructional Sequences

Access to robust AAC tools? Check! Consistent use of aided language input? Check! High-interest activities or materials? Check! Supportive interaction style? Check! Kudos to those professionals whose AAC practices include these important elements. In today’s post, we offer a suggestion for those who seek to strengthen their support and boost AAC learning even further: To maximize gains, be thoughtful in selecting or creating instructional activities and pay special attention as to how those activities are sequenced. Create and use well-planned instructional sequences to help AAC learners gain linguistic competence. Language learning is complex. We don’t go from 1-word utterances to complex sentences in a single step. Our language doesn’t progress from basic to advanced in one swift leap. It happens over time and with the right opportunities for learning and practice. Instructional sequences are a powerful means of providing those opportunities. These are specific processes that professionals use to teach... [Read More...]

Throwback Thursday: AAC & Play

July 14, 2022 by - Leave your thoughts

Throwback Thursday: AAC & Play

It’s time for a little fun! Check out these past posts on AAC, play, and gaming. AAC in Secondary School: Using Games to Support AAC Learning for Older Students From Solitary Play to Interaction: 5 Things to Try With Kids Who Love Their iPad Games Let’s Play! Using Switch-accessible iPad Games for AAC Learning PrAACtical Resources: Structured Play Groups Building Sentence Length through Conversational Routines & Games 5 Quick and Easy Games That Build AAC Skills 5 Adapted Play Resources for Children with Motor Impairment PrAACtical Play: Creating Communication Opportunities with Favorite Toys Video of the Week: Aided Language Input During Play Video of the Week: AAC & Board Games

When Does an AAC Learner Need More Than Modeling?

July 11, 2022 by - 3 Comments

When Does an AAC Learner Need More Than Modeling?

As the philosophy of AAC immersion and the strategy of aided language input have gained acceptance, there is an emerging school of thought that these two things are sufficient for people with complex communication needs to learn to express themselves with AAC. While it is true that some individuals become proficient in their AAC and language use without explicit instruction, there is a large population of AAC learners who need additional support to achieve their potential and/or reach their goals. In this post, we share some guiding questions to help these individuals and their teams determine whether formal instruction with well-chosen language goals and implementation of specific intervention strategies is needed. Is the AAC user and/or other stakeholders comfortable with their rate of AAC and language learning? Has the individual plateaued in their language growth? Is there a gap between what they understand and what they can express? How do... [Read More...]

How I Do It: AAC Practitioners, Part 2

March 24, 2022 by - Leave your thoughts

How I Do It: AAC Practitioners, Part 2

If you like learning from AAC professionals who support individuals with complex communication needs in schools, clinics, online, and elsewhere, read on! We’re reaching back in the archives again on this Throwback Thursday to hear about their experiences, perspectives, suggestions, and materials. You can see the previous post on this topic here. How I Do It Angela Adams Starting AAC with Teens & Young Adults Conversation Practice with Teens and Young Adults Katie Bernadkin Building Friendship Skills with Peer-A-Mids Rebecca Bright Helping Clients Who Use AAC Connect with their Grandchildren Karen Natoci Florka Connecting with Colleagues in a Shared Community of Practice Carole Zangari Preparing AAC Learners for Their First SGD Rachael Langley PODD in the Classroom: Portable, Wearable, & Comfortable PODD in the Classroom – Quick Tips for Teams Georgia Karavias Using an App to Create AAC Materials & Visual Supports Laura Tarver Using PODD books and Aided Language... [Read More...]

How I Do It: AAC Practitioners, Part 1

March 17, 2022 by - Leave your thoughts

How I Do It: AAC Practitioners, Part 1

In today’s Throwback Thursday, we learn from AAC professionals who’ve shared their experiences, perspectives, suggestions, and materials. We’ve had a lot of these posts over the years, so we’ll do this in two parts, both with lots of great content. Take a look. How I Do It Tabi Jones-Wohleber Classroom CORE Book AAC Inservices The All-in-One-Visual-Support Tool Deanna Wagner Supporting Spanish-speaking AAC Learners Lindsay Oesch Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips Kim Ho Video Read-Alouds with Aided Language Input Krista Hadeed Building & Using Language Kits Jesse Kleinman Functional Ideas for AAC Use at Home Kathrine Dally Pocket Flipbooks for Teens Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens Pocket Flipbooks for Adults & Teens, Part 2 Amanda Samperi Teaching the AAC Helpers Planning AAC Therapy Activities Across Grade Levels Putting the FUN Back in FUNctional Working with Multiple Symbol Sets Tina Moreno Classroom Support for Students with AAC Needs Laura Hayes Using Videos... [Read More...]

AAC Devices & Apps Without an Evaluation: A Few Questions to Ask

December 20, 2021 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Devices & Apps Without an Evaluation: A Few Questions to Ask

In a perfect world, everyone who needs AAC would participate in a comprehensive assessment to guide the selection of what SGD and/or AAC app will best meet their needs. That evaluation would include a records review, interviews with key stakeholders, observation, direct assessment, and a period of trial use with the communication aids that seem to be the best fit. It’s a complex and time-consuming endeavor, but the feature match process has been the gold standard for AAC device/app selection for several decades. At times, this process is skipped in favor of a quicker approach.  Bhodie’s school team already supports several other students with AAC needs and most of them use a popular AAC app on an iPad. Since they are already familiar with that tool and it seems to be working well for other students, they tried it with Bhodie, too. He was successful in using it to request... [Read More...]