842 Search Results for core vocabulary
October 9, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Established in 2007 by ISAAC’s LEAD Committee, AAC Awareness month invites us to spread the word about all things AAC, and it’s pretty exciting to think back on all we’ve done and also to plan for the current year. Each week during AAC Awareness Month we’ll share suggestions for things to do to help others learn about a field that emerged to support children and adults with complex communication needs. This week, we’ll focus on hands-on activities. A popular approach to AAC Awareness Month is to invite a group of colleagues or families to come together and communicate only through AAC for the event. Some years, we’ve held ‘Silent Snack’ events before class where we put out a variety of board games and invited some of our AAC clients to come in and play along. They enjoyed serving as our AAC Ambassadors, meeting new people, and ‘wow-ing’ the crowd with... [Read More...]
September 16, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
About This Week Welcome to Week 3 of your Stepping into AAC journey! This week will get us thinking about how words are symbolized, what kinds of words should be on AAC systems, and other foundational information. We will explore the following concepts this week: Why Use Symbols for AAC? Gain an understanding of symbolic communication and issues related to using picture symbols in AAC systems. Balancing Core and Fringe Vocabulary: Learn about different types of words that AAC learners need access to and the role of each. Navigating AAC: Build your knowledge of the logic in the design of communication boards, AAC apps, and speech-generating devices. AACtion Steps Week 3 AACtion Steps Signposts Link to References Gayl Porter & Linda Burkhart, 2010 – Limitations of Using a Representational Hierarchy Get the Handout Balancing Core & Fringe Get the Handout Navigating AAC- 3 Things to Know Travelog Week 3 Travelog... [Read More...]
September 7, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
We are excited to continue our series on multilingual AAC support, guest-authored by BilingüeAAC. In today’s post, one member of the team, Melissa Tapia, addresses ways to use specific instructional materials with bilingual individuals. 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. Inclusive Practices Using Tell Me Program & Other Materials How can we effectively conduct inclusive practices in our work settings? What are some approaches or materials that we can use to integrate the culture of the home and community? Why are inclusive practices essential for the success of our students/clients? These are fundamental reflective questions I have found to guide me in collaborative therapy and lead to better participation with and from my clients and their caregivers. We are Bilingue AAC, and we are here to provide helpful tools to... [Read More...]
July 20, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
Our series on multilingual AAC support guest authored by BilingüeAAC continues. In today’s post, Sarah Lee addresses issues specific to features of AAC apps and SGDs. 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. If you are new to this series, you can check out the previous articles using the links below. Bilingual AAC Support from Monolingual Professionals: An Introduction Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration Gathering Information from Families with Questionnaires and Surveys Most of us WANT to provide culturally-linguistic responsive bilingual Spanish AAC intervention, but we don’t feel confident without knowing/speaking the language. In an effort to foster Spanish heritage language development and empower the monolingual SLPs*, we have created context-specific templates using the sociocultural approach (Soto & Yu, 2014) for the monolingual English-speaking SLP*. We will be referencing... [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...]
February 2, 2023
by Carole Zangari -
It’s prAACtically Valentine’s Day so we’re reprising this past post with AAC-friendly resources for one of our favorite holidays. Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love and romance, is just around the corner. We’re keeping up the tradition of sharing ideas for an AAC-friendly holiday so that you can focus your attention on the supportive strategies that facilitate AAC learning. Take a look. Have fun with this animated PowerPoint poem, 5 Little Valentines, from Bloom. Print and send these Valentine’s Day cards from CoughDrop Valentine’s Day Is Here: Enjoy a video sing along with the Swingset Mamas Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR2S1AanFmFOY-W42JGdsuloRizrpmEE9e-YcrqU_Aqmo4McFJpqRfDnokY&v=Rbtgl9n3mJg&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=Swingsetmamas Supporting someone in a virtual platform? Check out these Boom cards From Beautiful Speech Life: I LIKE Activity From Welcome to Words: Cupid, Cupid, What Do You See? Make a bracelet with Valentine’s Day vocabulary and print out fun gift tags with this packet from... [Read More...]
December 23, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town Not a creature was stirring, they were all safe and sound. The stockings were hung by their chimneys with care, In hopes that AAC Elves would soon visit there. The teachers were nestled all snug in their beds, With visions of lesson plans banished from their heads. The therapists with data sheets and the strategies they love best, Had just settled in for a good winter-break rest. When outside the schoolyard, there arose such a clatter I rushed toward the window to see what was the matter. Stepping on Legos (does that pain ever fade?) I ran to the window and lifted the shade. With her silvery face, the moon shone from the night sky, Illuminating the landscape from her perch way up high. And what to my sleep-deprived eyes should appear But an accessible sleigh, and 8 AT reindeer.... [Read More...]
December 2, 2022
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. Today’s post focuses on supporting literacy and AAC featuring a fun Christmas book. Take a look and don’t forget to scroll to the bottom to add your link and see what others are sharing. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Comenzando Diciembre queremos invitar a nuestra comunidad... [Read More...]
November 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
We’re sharing some ideas for AAC learning based on a previous post by the late Dr. Robin Parker. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Language learning involves talking about events in the past, present, and future. Since Halloween is over, it is a perfect opportunity to help AAC users talk about past events. Here are 5 tips for getting started. Use a weekly or monthly (calendar) schedule to ‘remember’ Halloween, or if you are sticking to core words to remember the “great day” or “bad day” depending upon the experience. Use photos of the Halloween festivities to discuss what happened and what everyone did. You can use these to discuss costumes, decorations, the best/worst part of the day, etc. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Halloween experiences. This can be done by comparing two people, places, or anything else. For some learners, you can use images to put Halloween things that everyone saw... [Read More...]
October 3, 2022
by Carole Zangari -
Established in 2007 by ISAAC’s LEAD Committee, AAC Awareness month invites us to spread the word about all things AAC, and it’s pretty exciting to think back on all we’ve done and also to plan for the current year. Each week during AAC Awareness Month we’ll share suggestions for things to do to help others learn about a field that emerged to support children and adults with complex communication needs. This week, we’ll focus on hands-on activities. A popular approach to AAC Awareness Month is to invite a group of colleagues or families to come together and communicate only through AAC for the event. Some years, we’ve held ‘Silent Snack’ events before class where we put out a variety of board games and invited some of our AAC clients to come in and play along. They enjoyed serving as our AAC Ambassadors, meeting new people, and ‘wow-ing’ the crowd with... [Read More...]