781 Search Results for praactical teaching
February 17, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
When we’re teaching AAC, our preferred means of responding to learners is with natural consequences, expansions, extensions, and verbal encouragement. Here are some of our prAACtical thoughts. Natural Consequences Nothing says ‘power’ like having someone respond based on what you just said. SLPs are quite familiar with this concept and use this regularly to provide ‘more’ tickles, crackers, and music. When we work with beginning communicators, we’re all about providing quick access to whatever the AAC learner requests. But we tend to lose sight of the need for natural consequences when working with learners on higher level language skills. True, it is more difficult to think of the natural consequence when we’re working on morphology, syntax, and semantics, but the principle is the same: Learning is enhanced when our responses are driven by the message that our client just produced. We’re working with Antonio to reduce ambiguity in his messages.... [Read More...]
February 16, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Like many of you, we’re often working with clients to help them better understand and express their emotions. This set of videos by Joel Shaul, of Autism Teaching Strategies, has some very prAACtical value even for learners without ASD. Video 1: Fighting Upsetting Thoughts Video 2: Fighting Upsetting Thoughts, Continued Video 3: Many Types of Negative Thoughts Video 4: Black and White Thinking
February 12, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve had some interesting conversations recently with colleagues who firmly believe that AAC learners have to be consistent in the use of their new skills before it’s appropriate to move on. We disagree. There are times when consistency is essential. Crossing the street? Fine. No parent or professional is going to let a learner do that alone until they’re 150% consistent. But for most other things that we teach, it doesn’t make sense to focus on consistency. Here are some of our prAACtical ideas for what to do if you work with learners who are inconsistent in using their AAC skills. 1. Understand it. Inconsistency is a part of the learning process, and not a sign of failure, incompetence, or ‘stubbornness.’ (Ugh! I can’t even write that without that prickly feeling at the back of my neck.) Think about developmental norms for speech sound acquisition. Remember those charts of when... [Read More...]
February 11, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
If there is anything scarier than having a very sick child in the ICU, it has to be when that child has no means of communication. In this Research Tuesday post, we join the efforts spearheaded by Rachel Wynn of Gray Matter Therapy to share an article that discusses the issues and presents some solution strategies. When we think of research studies in SLP, we think of experimental designs and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In AAC, group research designs are uncommon because of the immense heterogeneity of this clinical population. Even limiting the study to one single disorder and age group, say teenagers with dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy, contains too much heterogeneity for most group research. Instead, we see more single subject design experimental studies (SSEDs) in AAC. When well-designed, SSEDs have strong experimental control and allow researchers to answer causal questions, such as “did the treatment (e.g., teaching... [Read More...]
January 27, 2014
by Robin Parker -
We can not write, speak or do enough Aided Language Input (ALI). If we expect learners to speak AAC, we must speak AAC to them. It is difficult enough to learn a language and imagine if no one spoke it to you in the language you were expected to speak…But there are so many more reasons to do ALI. Aided Language Input (ALI) belongs in the context of communication opportunities. It is modeling AAC style. Once we model a target language concept AAC style, then add the wait and signal strategy, the learner then knows it is their communicative turn. Especially if you wait with the raised eye brow signal. They often will take their turn expressively. But, if they do not take the communicative opportunity to take their turn, there are gestural, visual, verbal, and physical prompts that can be implemented. In other words, they can make use of... [Read More...]
January 16, 2014
by Robin Parker -
As times goes on in the academic year, we often think that everyone knows their schedules. But remember, knowing and seeing are two completely different things. For this Throwback Thursday, we wanted to go over visual schedules of all types to remind ourselves not to back off with schedules (all types) even if it seems everyone is transitioning well and knows their schedules. We wouldn’t want anyone to take away our day planner…. even when we knew our schedule. What’s the Connection- Core Words & Schedules Visual Schedules 411 Get Organized for the New Year: 5 Visual Schedule Apps Schedule Changes A Myth About Visual Schedules A PrAACtical Myth Lives On.. Again Visual Schedule Myths Live On and On… Power of the Visual Planner Schedules and Choices Riddle Me This AAC at Home: Visual Schedules and Supports Building Complex Schedules Ideas for Teaching the Use of Schedules PrAACtical Mini-Schedules Video... [Read More...]
January 14, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We are occasionally asked how old children have to be before you can begin teaching AAC. Our answer: There is no set minimum age. Nor is there any research evidence that one has to use an oral-language only approach for a set period of time before beginning AAC. Today, we’re delighted to be able to share an article on this topic with you. This article describes a research review in which Branson and Demchak identified a dozen research studies looking specifically at the use of various AAC tools and strategies with infants and toddlers. Data from 190 children up to 36 months of age were examined. Of the 12 studies reviewed, 7 met criteria for having conclusive findings. In 97% of all cases, the children’s communication skills improved. Looking only at the 7 most rigorous studies is even more encouraging: All 135 babies/toddlers demonstrated improved communication skills following AAC intervention.... [Read More...]
January 10, 2014
by Robin Parker -
STRATEGY OF THE MONTH Supporting Pre-Intentional Communicators Breaking Through with Pre-Intentional & Beginning Communicators of ALL Ages Helping Pre-Intentional Communicators to Cross the Intentionality Bridge More Ideas for Supporting Pre-Intentional Communicators PRAACTICAL THINKING PrAActical Nominations: The 2013 Edublog Awards I was Thinking About Buying an AAC App- Now What? 5 Ways to Encourage AAC Learners 30 P0sts You May Have Missed in November How Much Time Do SLP’s In Healthcare Settings Spend on AAC Services to Children AAC Goes to the Eddies Does AAC Benefit Children with Profound and Multiple Disabilities Throwback Thursday: Talk About Me 2 3 Responses to Programs that Make Kids ‘Prove Worthiness’ Prior ro Providing Access to AAC AAC Vocabulary Lists Throwback Thursday- Past Posts About Pre-Intentional and Beginning Communicators Power Words from PrAACtical Friends A PrAACtical Christmas Carol 8 Ways to Have an AAC Holiday Season A PrAACtical Christmas AACtual Therapy with Shareka Bentham- Started from... [Read More...]
January 2, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
It hardly seems possible that a year has gone by since we posted a Year of Core Words 2013. We’ve been so gratified by the feedback from professionals and parents who’ve put it to good use and followed month-by-month to focus on a dozen core words and get suggestions for additional practice. We were thrilled when others added symbols, created teaching materials, and adapted it for their own use. Today we’re back with the 2nd Year of Core Words, this time with 16 words/month. If you follow along, you’ll have covered 192 new core words by the end. Once again, we created 12 grids of core vocabulary words – one for each month of the year. Each grid has 16 cells labeled with core words. Plug in the AAC symbols that your client uses (e.g., PCS, SmartySymbols, Unity, Pixons, etc.), print, laminate, and keep them handy. Feel free to adapt... [Read More...]
December 27, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
It’s been a wonderfully prAACtical year. Here’s a look back at our top 10 most popular posts. Anyone see any patterns? 🙂 How I Do It: Writing IEP Goals for Students Who Use AAC by Lauren Enders Teaching Core Vocabulary 5 Great Resources for Pre-Made Communication Boards Core Samples A Year Of Core Vocabulary Words AAC ‘Must Haves’ the the Classroom and Therapy Room Pivotal Skills for AAC Intervention: Aided Language Input How I Do It: AAC in the IEP by Lauren Enders Getting Started with Core Vocabulary More on Teaching Core Vocabulary