174 Search Results for prompt
March 12, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Lauren Enders, an amazing AAC SLP from Pennsylvania, graciously shared this list of professional development opportunities that may be of interest. Lauren works as an Augmentative Communication/Assistive Technology Consultant for Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22. In the list below, she shares resources for AAC learning in both online and face-to-face formats. Enjoy! You can see more of Lauren’s guest posts here. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS FOR AAC IMPLEMENTATION ONLINE SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING OPTIONS: Power AAC modules: a FREE training series developed by The Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN)with Gail Van Tatenhove, CCC-SLP. This series of brief modules can be used for professional development by individuals or groups who are supporting students with complex communication needs and who need or use AAC. The POWER AAC modules are intended to build the capacity of school personnel to improve communication skills and provide flexible, generative vocabulary for students who need or use AAC. AAC Institute... [Read More...]
February 21, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to strengthen the implementation of AAC for the children and adults with whom you work? Today, we turn to the Center for Technology and Disability (CTD) for an archived webinar that covers the development of a plan that teams can implement. SLP Laura Kessel discusses AAC implementation plans that lay out the tools, strategies, prompting methods, activities, and communication targets along with the roles of various team members. Our appreciation to Laura for the information and to CTD for hosting this video and keeping it open for all to view. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AprSi-x1PAQ
December 14, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we hear more from Colorad0-based SLP Kimberly Walker who explains more about how they use the Treat Cart activity to support the communicative development of her students with AAC needs. You can see the first part of her post here. ——————————————————— The Treat Cart has made our co-treating planning so simple. The first Thursday of the month we take inventory to see what things we need to buy to restock our cart. We have done this by making a graph with paper and also doing an actual object graph with the products and sticky notes to simulate the products gone. We target the language of more and less and also work on making a list to take to the store. On the second Thursday of the month, we work on identifying environmental print of the products we are selling and practice selling to each other targeting the skills in... [Read More...]
September 18, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve had many nice comments about the resources shared by AAC SLP Alicia Garcia, clinical lead of the AAC Clinic at One Kids Place, a children’s treatment centre in northern Ontario. With over two decades of experience in pediatric rehabilitation practice in private and public settings, Alicia’s ideas for how to support AAC learners and their families are tried and true. In today’s post, Alicia shares thoughts and materials for situations in which the AAC is needed to repair communication breakdowns. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Children with unclear speech not only have different intelligibility levels but also different levels of awareness, focus, and interest on repairing their communication breakdowns. We use different approaches based on how they react and respond when they are not understood. As a general guideline when a communication breakdown occurs, regardless of the child’s profile, we first try determining the level of urgency or importance of the child’s intended... [Read More...]
July 30, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Therapy sessions, interviews, classes, make-and-take, hands-on strategy practice, report-writing….It’s been an action-packed week around here, full of AAC and literacy learning. If you also had a busy week, you probably missed a few of these posts. Monday: PrAACtically August – AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words Wednesday: When Helping Isn’t Helping-Prompt Awareness in AAC Instruction Thursday: Throwback Thursday – Support for Beginning AAC Communicators :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few other posts to browse through? Here are some on AAC assessment that might be of interest. AAC Skills Assessment for Direct Selectors Observational Assessment of Beginning Communicators AAC Assessment for Children Who Speak AAC assessment modules AAC Assessment Forms See you next time!
July 12, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Parents and professionals have so much to teach each other. In this video, we get to peek into a session where collaboration and sharing work to the benefit of the AAC learner. It takes time for skill-building and becoming consistent at using supportive strategies, like aided language input, expansions, and graduated prompting. Whether we are parents or professionals, the learning process takes time. We have to give ourselves permission to move from knowing about AAC facilitation strategies, through using them periodically, to using them consistently. It takes time and lots of practice. Clips from this session remind us that we don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be open to change, willing to try new ways of interacting, and ready to commit to growing our AAC support skills over time. When we do that, kids are the real winners. Thanks to the Louisiana AT Initiative for making this... [Read More...]
June 19, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Do any of these situations sound familiar? Janelle, an SLP in an urban elementary school, was flustered when the principal directed her to ensure that her students’ AAC devices didn’t go home on weekends or during school breaks. She hated to see the students lose access to communication during those times but, Janelle understood the principal’s logic. The device had been bought and paid for by the school, and they had to scrounge around to find the funding for it. If it were to get damaged or lost, the school would have to replace it, and there were no funds for that. It was unfortunate, Janelle felt, but, what could she do? Later in the year, when the results of a system-wide audit came out, Janelle’s students were some of the ones identified as having been denied their rights to a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Had she known the... [Read More...]
May 22, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
In a great many places, SLPs are in short supply. SLPs with specialized skills, such as those who can support students with AAC needs, are even harder to find. How can program administrators find, and, even more importantly, retain qualified SLPs? In this series, we share a few thoughts on the topic of space. One of the most meaningful things that an administrator is pretty simple: Ensure that the SLP has appropriate space in which to work. This basic requirement is frequently overlooked, particularly in educational settings. In schools, the SLP space is sometimes transient (e.g., M/W/F in the psychologist office, T/Th in the OT/PT area), inadequate (e.g., former book storage closet), or inappropriate (e.g., noisy environment, too small to hold groups). Sometimes, the space for SLP work is completely nonexistent. In the past few weeks, I’ve heard from SLPs who are expected to function without a dedicated workspace beyond... [Read More...]
May 15, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
It’s Better Hearing and Speech Month ( #BHSM) and we are highlighting the work of talented AAC SLPs. We’re so happy to have Georgia-based Vicki Clarke back, this time with Holly Schneider, to talk about a longstanding collaboration that more AAC teams need to know about. Vicki’s private practice, Dynamic Therapy Associates, centers on AAC assessment and intervention. She works both with individuals and school districts, and serves children and adults with a variety of challenges and etiologies (e.g., motor disorders, memory, attention and learning difficulties, sensory impairment, neurological differences, syndromes and seizure disorders, congenital and acquired difficulties).Holly is a full time employee of Tobii Dynavox on the Clinical Content and Training Team. She is responsible for developing AAC training materials; and educating teams, professionals and families on AAC applications and implementation. In this post, they tell us about the development of the second edition of the Dynamic AAC Goals Grid.... [Read More...]
March 16, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Have you ever thought of making short videos to illustrate the meaning of the core words you are teaching to your AAC learners? If so, this post is right up your alley. Teacher Angie Sheets and SLP Nicole Wingate have teamed up to bring the power of video to core vocabulary instruction and are here to share the fruits of their labor. For the past 17 years, Angie has been teaching Intense Interventions to students from kindergarten through grade 4 at Bluffton Harrison Elementary School. Her AAC experiences range from “DIY on the fly” (anything that can be made in a classroom at little to no cost and meets an immediate need) to high tech. (You can follow her on Twitter @asheetsroom14). Nicole also works for the Bluffton Harrison school system, servicing pre-k through 12th grade students. Her AAC experience includes no tech (e.g., picture boards, PECS), low tech (e.g.,... [Read More...]