January 16, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on the third Monday of January. It presents, among other things, a wonderful opportunity to talk and teach about concepts like tolerance, fairness, dignity, respect, and peaceful protest. Many of our AAC learners have a deeper understanding of these concepts than we will ever realize but they lack the language skills to discuss them in the same ways as their speaking peers do. Today, we share some ideas for continuing the conversation about these issues to help our AAC learners continue to develop their language skills. You may already have books, videos, and other resources that are useful in teaching about the life of Dr. King and the values he fought for, but here are some previous posts with a few more suggestions. Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday: 5 Resources for AAC Learners AAC and Anti-bullying... [Read More...]
September 25, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Meetings, therapy, assessments, paperwork, teaching, and more. It’s been a busy week for many of us. Here are some AAC posts you may have missed. Monday – Site of the Month: Project Core Tuesday – Teach Me Tuesday: Snap Scene and Pathways Thursday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Apples
July 3, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Busy week? Here are some AAC posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Hello Baby Wednesday – Video of the Week: Activity Schedule Action Thursday – PrAACtically July: Resources for a Year of Core Vocabulary
May 15, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Better Hearing and Speech Month! Monday – AAC Core Vocabulary Instruction: Indirect Teaching Strategies Wednesday – Video of the Week: Assessing Communication Needs in AAC Learners Thursday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: The Five Senses
March 27, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, prAACtical friends. Hope you’re taking some time to recharge, Monday – PrAACtically Pinteresting with Lauren Enders: AAC Video Examples Wednesday – Video of the Week: Boosting Communication with Video Modeling Thursday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: April Fool’s Day Above everything else, AAC is a person’s communication tool. If it’s not always available, it’s not AAC.
February 21, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Hope you had a week of AAC fun and inspiration. Monday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: Are You My Mother? Tuesday – Efficiency or Precision: Striking a Balance for AAC Learners Thursday – Video of the Week: Aided Language Input with Gail Van Tatenhove
November 22, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday – Tracking Natural Speech Changes in AAC: PrAACtical Suggestions Tuesday – Presentation Handouts on AAC Implementation Wednesday – Video of the Week: Family Collaboration by Dr. Barry Prizant Thursday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: I Eat Thanksgiving Dinner
October 27, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
As far as I can tell, most AAC learners are taught by people who don’t specialize in AAC. Their school SLPs may have caseloads of 50, 60, 70, or more students with IEPs, 90% of whom have goals for articulation, language, and fluency. Their classroom teachers serve students whose disabilities range from none at all, to dyslexia to cerebral palsy, to significant intellectual disabilities, and everywhere in between. In all likelihood, neither group had much AAC training. What little AAC they know, they’ve picked up on their own from reading, going to workshops and conferences (usually self-funded), talking to colleagues, and exploring online resources. Many times, their first foray into AAC is with things like choice boards and visual supports, such as daily schedules and first/then boards. From there, they may begin labeling the environment with pictures symbols (e.g., ‘table’ on the table, ‘on/off’ near the light switch), using mini-schedules... [Read More...]
September 6, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday – PrAACtically September: AAC Core Vocabulary Resources Tuesday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: It’s Okay To Be Different Wednesday – Video of the Week: Martin Pistorius Thursday – Throwback Thursday: 10 Posts on AAC for the Beginning Communicator
August 16, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Monday – 3 Things to Consider in Implementing Core Vocabulary Tuesday – PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: I Like Myself Wednesday – Video of the Week: Every Second Counts with Lindy McDaniel Thursday – Site of the Month: TASN