1057 Search Results for Core
May 30, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It’s such a pleasure to have Angi Pearce back on these pages to share her experiences and passion for teaching students with AAC needs. Angi is a teacher at Kowhai Special School in Hastings, New Zealand, and serves as the team leader for the Junior School classes (ages 5-11). Her initial post (see that here) introduced us to the ways that she embraced AAC and integrated it into her classroom. In today’s post, she talks about how things have evolved. Enjoy the journey! How We Do It: AAC in the Special Education Classroom – Continuing the Journey This is my fifth year teaching in a school for children with special needs. Five years ago, AAC was a new term for me. Core vocabulary boards were the first tools which were introduced to me, which I did not understand the benefit and purpose of until I observed the way it enhanced... [Read More...]
May 26, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you had a wonderful week, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtically June: More AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Is AAC the Right Choice for Adults with Developmental Disabilities? Thursday – AACtual Therapy: AAC, Literacy and Squishy Books Before you go, we’ve got a few more topics that may be of interest. Building Sentence Length Through Conversational Routines and Games Be More with Core Helping Learners Build Self-regulation Skills Helping Students with Autism Prepare for Non-routine Events It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day! Join the fun! More info here.
May 23, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for a fun way to integrate more emergent literacy into your AAC work? You’re in the right place! Today, SLPs Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim share one of their many ideas for engaging therapy sessions. Maggie and Jeanna who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. You can see a previous guest post that Jeanna wrote here. Let’s hear how they make and use squishy books in their therapy sessions. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC, Literacy and Squishy Books If you’ve done any reading or research around the topic of AAC and literacy, you know that students with complex communication needs do not typically get the same kinds of experiences with literacy activities as do their peers (Light & Kent-Walsh, 2003). So we are always on the... [Read More...]
May 16, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
If you’ve been planning to begin using switch-accessible iPad games in your AAC work but haven’t quite gotten it all figured out, this post is for you. We’re delighted to introduce PrAACtical AAC readers to Daniel Rigney, an SLP who with students who have complex communication needs at the Rosedale School in Austin, Texas. Daniel’s professional interests include the AT/AAC Maker Movement (see this post for info on that topic), language development for students with moderate to severe disabilities, and disability rights. He also maintains a YouTube channel, Assistive Technology ATX, with helpful AT content and tips. In this post, Daniel shares the process he uses for integrating iPad games into AAC therapy for students who use switches rather than direct selection. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Let’s Play! Using Switch-accessible iPad Games for AAC Learning iPad games can be a great teaching tool for core vocabulary. From having your angry birds “go” to... [Read More...]
May 12, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends, and Happy Mother’s Day! If AAC is on your mind, we have some reading material for you. Monday – PrAACtically Reading: Over on the Farm with Karen Natoci & Karen Baca Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Classroom-based AAC Thursday – How We Do It: Increasing AAC Acceptance and Making Better Communication Partners In Our School Have time for a little more? Here are a couple of suggestions. AAC Funding Help Building Your AAC SLP Toolkit: Obtaining Free Apps for AAC Evaluations Check Your Knowledge of AT History AACtual Therapy: Making Core Words Fun for Students with Autism AAC Goes to Summer Camp
May 9, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
We are pleased to welcome Beth Waite-Lafever, an SLP with over 30 years of AAC experience, back to these pages. She has worked in outpatient rehab, private practice, and public school and has the RESNA ATP credential and LAMP certification from The Center for AAC and Autism. Beth has given many presentations at the state, national and international levels on AAC and related topics. In her private practice, she has provides evaluations, therapy, and training. Beth is the proud co-creator of The Indiana AAC Summit. Currently, she provides monthly online training for PRC as a contracted employee and is an SLP and AT Coach for MSD Martinsville, a public school system in Martinsville, Indiana. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How We Do It: Increasing AAC Acceptance and Making Better Communication Partners In Our School Each May when I see the Better Hearing and Speech campaign gear up, I wonder what more I can do... [Read More...]
May 8, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Given the limited time that SLPs and students who use AAC have together, it is no surprise that there has been considerable interest in classroom-based approaches to AAC support in recent years. Today, we learn about one such approach, Project Core, from Dr. Lori Geist. While you may be familiar with the Project Core website and its free resources, the implementation piece may be new to you. Many thanks to Dr. Geist, Dr. Kathy Howery, the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium, and the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia for this wonderful presentation. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bS4bu4rp24&index=40&list=PL6P1FySUgEPR1aG-ZRYi363jtaniNJFqC
May 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Are you ready for some reading, AAC style? In today’s edition of PrAACtically Reading, Karen Natoci and Karen Baca share a preschool book about farm animals. Karen Natoci is an AAC Supervisor who is well-known to the readers of this site (see her wonderful contributions here.). Her colleague Karen Baca is an AT and AAC Specialist with over 30 years in the field of AT, specializing in AAC, alternative access, and literacy for all students with disabilities. They both work for The Speech Pathology Group in the San Francisco Bay area. Book: Over on the Farm by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Cathy Morrison (Copyright © 2003, Little, Brown and Company; Hachette Book Group, www.lb-kids.com) Vocabulary focus: All core words Fringe Vocabulary focus: horse/foals/neigh, cat/kittens/meow, cow/calves/moo, goat/kids/maa, chicken/chick/cheep-cheep, owl/owlets/hoot-hoot, mouse/pups/squeek, turkey/poults/gobble-gobble, duck/ducklings/quack, pig/piglets/oink Actions: peck, nibble, swish, wash, gallop, hide, fly, strut, waddle roll Communication Matrix (Rowland, 2009) level: I-VIII... [Read More...]
May 5, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts that may be of interest. Monday – PrAACtically May: More AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Looking at AAC Modeling Thursday – How We Do It: Coaching AAC Use in the Natural Environment :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you go, check out these posts from the archives. It’s PrAACtically Mother’s Day- 5 Activities that Support Communicating with Mom Using Vest Displays with Preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum Aided Language Input During Play Five Resources for Making and Using Visual Scene Displays From Solitary Play to Interaction: 5 Things to Try With Kids Who Love Their iPad Games
April 21, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Easter and Passover, AAC friends. Enjoy your day and stop back to check out these posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – Autism Acceptance Resources for Children Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: How To Speak When You Don’t Have a Voice Thursday – How Much Do We Understand When Context Cues Are Removed? :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ready for some more reading? Here are a handful of suggestions. PrAACtical Passover and Easter Supports Let’s Read: Getting to the Core of Earth Day Let’s Create: Getting to the Core of Earth Day PrAACtically SLPs: Hungry for Bilingual AAC