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Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 8

October 11, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 8

Our AAC Training Series continues today and we remain extremely appreciative that West Virginia based SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber allows us to share these presentation materials. Today’s training materials center on a topic that will help AAC interventionists strengthen their relationships with AAC learners and provide important language learning opportunities at the same time. This module, Response NOT Required, is all about interactions that engage our learners and invite them into the conversation. The instructional time for Module 8 is about 20 minutes so this can feasibly be shared in a formal or informal sharing session before or after the school day.   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 8: Response NOT Required Facilitator Guidelines When I talk about modeling without expectation of a response, I often get quizzical sideways glances.  It is not an intuitive way of interacting, especially in an educational environment where responding is inherent in classroom... [Read More...]

PrAACtical Alert: AAC App Discounts

September 28, 2018 by - 2 Comments

PrAACtical Alert: AAC App Discounts

AAC Awareness Month is just around the corner! October is a great month for picking up AAC apps since many app developers offer deep discounts. Here are some of them. AssistiveWare   CommBoards   Cough Drop   LAMP Words for Life   Saltillo     Speak for Yourself   We’ll update this with new information on AAC Awareness discounts over the next few weeks. Do you have suggestions for others to add to our list? We’d love to have your suggestions. Edited: Thanks to the amazing Lauren Enders for this wonderful graphic with even more AAC discounts!  

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 5

September 20, 2018 by - 1 Comment

Building AAC Facilitation Skills with Tabi Jones-Wohleber: MASTER PAL Training, Module 5

Our AAC Training Series continues today and we are incredibly grateful to Tabi Jones-Wohleber for sharing these presentation materials with us. Today’s training materials center on a topic that is near and dear to my prAACtical heart: Using statements more often than questions. The instructional time for Module 5 is about 90-120 minutes which allows time for discussion and practice. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Model as a MASTER PAL Module 5: Statements More Than Questions Facilitator Guidelines STATEMENTS MORE THAN QUESTIONS Questions are necessary to help us learn about the things, people, and activities in our environment and beyond. However, interactions heavily weighted with questions do not often yield the quality exchanges required to build relationships, gain understanding, foster autonomous communication or facilitate initiation.  This module explores the power of statements (aka nondirective language and descriptive teaching) in shaping meaningful engagement for learning and socially interacting.  It includes interactive activities, video links, lots... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #25: June 2018

June 17, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #25: June 2018

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We’re celebrating Father’s Day here in the US but if you have time to catch up on a little AAC, you might be interested in a few of our posts from last week. Monday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Evaluating Skills For Use of Comprehensive AAC Systems, Part 2: Language Representation Elements – Noun Symbol Use for Functional Communication Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC in Emergency Situations – Tales from the Trenches Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: Core Vocabulary Flipbook for June Words :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We spent part of the week with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite who shared some wonderful ideas for teaching emergent to early conventional literacy skills. Her terrific workshop got us in the mood for a little more on AAC, reading, and writing. Using an Alphabet Flipbook for Writing Writing Instruction for Students with Angelman Syndrome Robust Literacy Instruction for... [Read More...]

PrAACtical Resources: Lockdown, Code Red, & Other School Safety Drills

May 14, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Resources: Lockdown, Code Red, & Other Safety Drills

Recent events, such as the horrific mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, have led us all to re-examine policies and procedures that impact school safety.  Throughout the country, school communities are re-evaluating and fine-tuning their processes for keeping students and staff safe in the unlikely event of violent acts, such as bomb threats and active shooters. It seems surreal that we have to think about and plan for this, but that is our reality. We look at school safety drills for Code Red and lockdowns with a greater degree of importance and a heightened level of urgency. Our students with AAC needs are among the most vulnerable in any emergency situation and this is no different. Our students may have difficulty understanding what is happening in a drill or its implications. They may have difficulty moving quickly to get to a safe space or staying quiet once they get there.... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #19: May 2018

May 6, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #19: May 2018

Hello, May – you sure are keeping us busy! I hope your week was a little saner than mine. In case you missed them, here are some of last week’s posts. Monday – On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: iPad Apps for Learners with Complex Needs Thursday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Evaluating Skills for Use of Comprehensive AAC Dynamic Display SGDs ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And if you have a bit more time, take a look at some of our previous posts. Saying ‘I love you’ on Mother’s Day AAC Immersion – Happy Mother’s Day! PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Are You My Mother? From ‘No AAC’ to ‘AAC All Day, Every Day!’ Autism and AAC: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Check out these resources for Better Hearing and Speech Month.... [Read More...]

5 Ways to Promote Generalization of AAC Use

April 5, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

5 Ways to Promote Generalization of AAC Use

Do you work with AAC learners who demonstrate their communication skills in therapy or instructional lessons, but not elsewhere? In this post, we review some things we can do to make it easier for AAC learners to generalize their newly-developed skills and use them in a variety of places with a range of communication partners. Part of the solution to this problem lies in collaborating with the communication partners in other settings. In doing that, we want to be sure that the partners use good communication facilitation strategies, such as these. Partner skills are something we’ve covered here on several occasions. Today, we’ll focus on changes we can make within our direct intervention or instructional lessons with AAC learners. Initially, we may control some of the instructional variables, such as materials and cues, rather tightly. Keeping things consistent is great for the initial teaching of new skills because it allows... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #11: March 2018

March 11, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #11: March 2018

It’s a wonderful week to support people with AAC needs. Here are a few posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – Expanding AAC Learners’ Single Word Utterances Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Building a Love of the Social World in a UDL Classroom Thursday – PrAACtical Research: Aided Language Input for People with Developmental Disabilities :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And if you have an appetite for a few more spoonfuls of AAC, here are a few past posts to sample. Supporting Communication Development in Children with Vision and Hearing Impairments Video of the Week: CVI – The Everyday Impact on People Who Use AAC PrAACtical Resources: High Contrast Core Vocabulary Board 5 Great Resources for Helping Individuals with Vision and Hearing Loss AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: The Eyes Have It-Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access Hope you make a little AAC magic happen... [Read More...]

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #8: February, 2018

February 18, 2018 by - 1 Comment

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #8: February, 2018

It was a week that started out like any other, but ended in heartache and tragedy for our South Florida community. Thanks to all who reached out with words of kindness and support. Monday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Yo! Yes? Wednesday – Video of the Week: Using Apps to Engage Young AAC Learners From the Archives: No Words – “We’re Hurting, Too” ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Reading is a welcome distraction from pain and sorrow. If you have an appetite for a little more AAC, check out these past posts on assessment. Parent’s Guide to AAC Assessment AAC Assessment by Pat Ourand PrAACtical Resources: AAC Assessment Modules AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Standardized Tests For AAC Users AAC Assessment Forms ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #6: February, 2018

February 4, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #6: February, 2018

Busy week? Same here! We’ll fill you in on the AAC goodness from the ATIA 2018 Conference later in the week. In the meantime, here are a handful of posts you might have missed. Monday: PrAACtically February – AAC Resources for a Year of Core Words Wednesday: Video of the Week – Reading with AAC Across the Stages of Language Development ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: And if you’d like to keep browsing, check out these past posts on access issues in AAC. AAC Access for Individuals with Significant Motor Limitations Through Partner Assisted Scanning Make It PrAACtical: DIY Switch-accessible Scanner Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners More on Assessing Barriers to Access for AAC Learners Seating and Positioning for AT Access AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: The Eyes Have It-Assessment Considerations for High Tech Eye Gaze Access