592 Search Results for visual support
July 11, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We’re very excited to welcome back AAC SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber to these pages. You may remember Tabi from the wonderful AAC training materials she shared (11 full modules) or used her Classroom CORE book. Maybe you downloaded her All-In-One Visual Support Tool, used some of her great suggestions about AAC therapy with young children, or were lucky enough to attend one of her conference presentations. Her expertise, generosity, clear command of AAC practices, and commitment to ethical service provision have enriched the AAC lives many of our readers. Today, Tabi launches a new 6-part series on one of our favorite topics: Visual Supports. Let’s get started! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Visual and Environmental Supports…4 – 3 – 2 – 1! Visual and environmental supports are the bread-and-butter of many a classroom with students with complex communication (and learning) needs. They may be presented on paper-based or electronic platforms. Understanding the purpose and process... [Read More...]
May 10, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
SLPs Lori Sanzeri and Chelsea Collins, creators of Core City, are back to share ideas for implementing AAC in the classroom. Today, they share their experiences in using visual supports as a supplemental strategy for their students who are beginning to use AAC. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Using Visual Sidekicks to Support Language Intervention Have you ever tried to read a book to your students without providing any visual supports? Do you find yourself having difficulty thinking about what questions to ask? Do you ever feel like the story is too “wordy” or difficult for your students to understand? Have no fear, Visual Sidekicks are here! Visual Sidekicks provide a color-coded communication board of target core and fringe vocabulary along with sentences of 3-5 symbols that simplify the text throughout the story. Children with special needs often demonstrate difficulties during structured literacy activities in the following areas: attending to... [Read More...]
May 14, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
I am constantly in awe of the creativity and generosity of AAC practitioners, particularly those like Tabi Jones-Wohleber who make fabulous materials and share them with colleagues that they’ve never even met. Tabi is an SLP on the AT Team for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland. A graduate of Penn State University, her career has focused on AAC. Though she works with many schools and addresses a variety of AT needs, most of her time and creative energy is devoted to working with students with the most significant disabilities. In this post, she introduces us to the All-in-One-Visual-Support Tool. You wont want to miss Tabi’s treasure trove of prAACtical materials. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: It was a conversation I’d had many times before. A conversation that kept resurfacing in one form or another. It’s the conversation of how to manage all the stuff; all the visuals, all the reinforcers, all the communication tools. The benefit of visual supports to... [Read More...]
April 1, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
These videos from Autism House (in Indiana) have some great illustrations of using visual schedules and calendars at home. If you’re looking for different kinds of examples, these videos are for you. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2. —
April 18, 2024
by Carole Zangari -
If you’re in the role of supporting people with AAC needs who have vision difficulties, this edition of Throwback Thursday is for you. Check out these previously published articles and videos. Supporting Communication Development in Children with Vision and Hearing Impairments AAC & CVI: Can We Chat? Exploring the Complexity of CVI and CCN CVI – The Everyday Impact on People Who Use AAC Supporting the Communication Needs of Children with CVI The SLPs Role in Cortical Visual Impairment AAC for Students with Visual Challenges
April 19, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
How can we support students with AAC needs who also have visual impairments? Today, we feature a recorded session on this topic from the 2023 Wisconsin Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired (WCBVI) Preschool and Elementary Conference. In this presentation, AAC SLP Jennifer Schubring, of Building AAC, provides important information and many helpful resources. Many thanks to Jennifer and WCBVI for making this archived session available. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72EVkUvzdKg&ab_channel=WCBVIVIDEOS
May 5, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for suggestions on how to beef up supports for AAC and reading? Check out these past posts on the subject. Reading and Talking with AAC As They Grow: Books for Beginning Readers of Any Age Making Shared Book Reading Awesome for AAC Users Who Don’t Like Books Alphabet Books & AAC Implementation AAC, Literacy, & Squishy Books Asking Good Questions During Interactive Book Reading with AAC Learners AAC & Book Creator Loving Literacy-Let’s Read and Write Storybooks Growing AAC Professionals: AAC-friendly Books 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners Adapting Books with Visual Scenes AAC-friendly Accessible Books Make It PrAACtical: Display Stand for Visual Supports or Books 5 Books Featuring Children Who Use AAC Reading with AAC Across the Stages of Language Development Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask Reading with AAC at the Beenleigh School PrAACtically Reading: Books Featuring... [Read More...]
April 7, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
We’re ending the week with some wonderful resources shared by AAC expert, Lauren Enders. In her continuation of the Goal Writing series, she reviews some important tools that can help in determining which skills to target when writing goals for AAC learners. You can see other posts in this series using the links below. AAC Goal Writing with Lauren Enders 5 Common Challenges Laying a Solid Foundation :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: In the first post of this series, you learned that you are in good company if you find AAC goal writing to be intimidating. Thankfully, you were also assured that despite the learning curve, you CAN write meaningful goals for AAC learners given the right tips, tools, and guidance. In the second post, you learned how the Four Communicative Competencies (Linguistic, Operational, Social, and Strategic) (Light et al., 1989, Light & McNaughton, 2014)) plus Psychosocial or Emotional Competency (Light & McNaughton, 2014, Blackstone... [Read More...]
January 31, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Visual schedules are a go-to strategy for helping AAC learners understand the plan for therapy or instructional session or a whole day. They have great utility beyond that, though. If you’re looking for ways to increase your use of this evidence-based strategy, here are some ideas to consider. Create a Visual Representation of an Activity: A powerful way to build understanding of and cooperation with an activity is to show what will be happening. This is particularly helpful when doing an activity that has a logical sequence or set of steps to be followed, such as making a smoothie or building a Lego car. We can create and teach the use of mini schedules depicting each element of the process to help our AAC clients/students become more comfortable and independent with the process. Parts of a Problem-solving Process: When AAC learners confront challenging situations, particularly those with a social or... [Read More...]
March 8, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a great day to explore ways to support AAC use, and today AAC SLP Ashley Larisey joins us with some activity suggestions and lots of implementation tips. Ashley is an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University. This post, part of the AAC in Secondary School series, focuses on the use of language experience surveys with students who are learning to use AAC. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Surveys Surveys can be used within almost any classroom activity to provide students with opportunities to communicate with both familiar and non-familiar listeners. Questions that are used for the survey can be used to gather more information about a topic that guides decision-making. Surveys can be embedded into academic, social, vocational, and community-based instruction. Take a look at some examples of how to use surveys in your classroom... [Read More...]