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May 15, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so pleased to welcome back PrAACtical AAC friend Vicki Clarke to these pages for another article in the AAC Implementation Framework series. Vicki heads up an AAC-focused private practice, Dynamic Therapy Associates, and is also the Director of DTA Schools. Today’s post includes ‘next step’ information to guide others in implementing AAC along with some helpful AAC posters for you to download, and a video with implementation tips. If you are new to this series you can find the earlier posts through the links below. Steps to Learning Step 1, Determining the Target Step 2: TRAIN Step 3: Take In AAC 101: Steps To Learning Step 4: Try It! As we know, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is an essential tool for individuals with speech and language disabilities to communicate effectively and engage in social interactions. Our 4th Step: Try It is about supporting our students as... [Read More...]
May 8, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day soon. If you’re looking for resources that you can incorporate into your AAC work, we have some ideas for you. These are great for highlighting core vocabulary, such as these: Pronouns: I, you, she, we, her, our Verbs: can, do, give, help, like, love, make, read, see, write Adjectives: good, nice, pretty, smart, strong Conjunctions: and, because, but, with Time Words: later, now, today, tomorrow Questions: what, who, where ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS Read about Mothers and Mother’s Day with some of these books. Mother’s Day Book for Early Communicators by AAC with Annie Mother’s Day book highlighting core words ‘like’ and ‘give’ from Speech by Carrie. You can also check out this one which focuses on the words ‘help’ and ‘make’ and offers practice with several pronouns. From Boardmaker From Tarheel Reader (SDJ) From Tarheel Reader (Nicolaus) Cards and letters... [Read More...]
April 3, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
April is HIE Awareness Month, which offers a great opportunity to share information and resources for those who want to learn more. It doesn’t get as much attention as other disabilities in the AAC community, but some people with complex communication needs can trace the cause of their disability to Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). Let’s start by breaking down the term HIE. Hypoxic = lack of oxygen Ischemic = restricted blood flow Encephalopathy = affecting the brain Whether diagnosed as newborns or later in development, this form of brain injury is frequently associated with other conditions, such as cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, limited hearing and vision, feeding difficulties, and developmental challenges. There are many causes of HIE, including uterine ruptures and placental issues, near drowning, cardiac arrest, and other things that interrupt oxygen flow to the brain. By some estimates, 75-80% survive HIE, 50-70% experience seizures, and 40-50% develop a... [Read More...]
March 19, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you might enjoy. Monday – AAC Implementation Framework: Step 2, TRAIN Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: The Right to A Voice Thursday – Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for some AAC materials? We pulled out a few from the AAC Toolbox just for you. Spelling Boards & FlipBook– Letter boards (alpha & QWERTY) used at Camp Alec; Created by Tina Moreno Communicare Language Board Templates – Communication board templates for the post “How We Do It: Using Language Boards to Support AAC Use” Colorful Connections – Templates for teaching modified Fitzgerald Key and Goossens’, Crain, & Elder color-coding schemas And here’s a post from the past that you might like. Readiness: 7 Days of AACtion
March 16, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
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...]
March 13, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
We continue to dive into our AAC Implementation Framework, guest authored by AAC SLP Vicki Clarke. In this post, Vicki discusses the way that she approaches AAC training when working with school teams. She shares lots of prAACtical ideas and resources to use in this process. You can see the earlier posts in the AAC Implementation Framework series using the links below. Steps to Learning Step 1, Determining the Target ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC 101 Steps of Learning: TRAIN In Step Two, we begin the process of training HOW we say the word or message we are targeting. We are learning where the symbol lives on our AAC system, what it looks or sounds like, the motor sequence to navigate through pages on our AAC applications, and of course, signing or saying the word, if that’s appropriate. The most significant thing to remember at this step is that we are not specifically... [Read More...]
March 12, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Enjoy some AAC content from our prAACtical week. Monday – PrAACtical Heroes: Judith Heumann Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Helping Parents Model AAC at Home Thursday – Throwback Thursday: Visual Supports ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 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
March 6, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Judith Heumann (1947-2023) It is hard to overstate the loss that the disability community feels with the recent death of Judith Heumann. Pioneer, activist, author, change agent. Judy worked tirelessly for so many laws, policies, and programs that we now take for granted. Everyone has a Judy Heumann story. Mine goes back to 1981 when I was a young support worker caring for Marcia, one of the first people with significant physical limitations near me to live in her own apartment. I would visit Marcia each morning to help her get out of bed and ready for the day, do some laundry and cooking, and head out to my college classes. I’d return in the evening to tidy up and help Marcia through her evening routine. Once she was settled into bed, I checked to be sure the stove was off about a million times, turned off the lights, and... [Read More...]
March 4, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Each month we feature a Spanish version of our AAC Link Up, CAA con Links. If you have AAC-related announcements, materials, or videos in Spanish that you would like others to know about, we’d love to have you add that information below. Also, please share this with anyone who might be interested in contributing to or using the materials that get added to these posts. You’ll find the place to add that information at the very bottom of this post. Organized by Claudia Marimón, these monthly posts also feature AAC work being done in Spanish-speaking countries and offer translations of material that can help families and service providers. We are so delighted that today’s post focuses on literacy learning for children who use AAC as this is such an important topic for families and professionals to focus on. Meet Carolina and her charming son, Samuel, as they share ways they’ve... [Read More...]
February 13, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we continue our series sharing an AAC Implementation Framework for classrooms, featuring guest author, Vicki Clarke. In her initial post, Vicki shared the contours of the framework. In this post, she digs into the specifics, with prAACtical strategies and downloadable forms that you may find helpful. Don’t miss the video at the end. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC 101 Steps of Learning: Step One- Target In Step One, we will be determining which words and messages we need to specifically target for instruction. We often complete the step, not only for targeting specific words and messages, but also when we are first designing the AAC system that our students will be using. We will use three techniques to choose our target words and messages: Consider which words and messages are important to the individual student, their family, friends, and teacher. We will be asking all of these partners for their input as we... [Read More...]