486 Search Results for opportunities
August 16, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for guidance or support regarding middle and high school students who use AAC? Today, we are pleased to welcome back AAC SLP Ashley Larisey for another post in the AAC in Secondary School series. Ashley is an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University. In today’s post, she shares thoughts on progress monitoring for high school students who are learning to use AAC. You can view Ashley’s previous posts in this series here. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 5 Progress Monitoring Tips for Secondary Students Looking for guidance on meaningful progress monitoring for your high school/post-secondary students? Hopefully, these tips and accompanying resources will help guide you towards ensuring that your instruction is supporting your learner in reaching their communicative potential – beyond the formal educational years! Writing Meaningful Goals Ensuring that your progress monitoring... [Read More...]
August 6, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
On the first Friday of every month, we feature an AAC Link Up in Spanish. 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. Today, we also learn about the online activities of a growing group of International Friends. Many thanks to Claudia Marimón for putting this together! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Comenzando Agosto invitamos a seguir compartiendo links en español que nos permitan ir aumentando y actualizando cada vez nuestros conocimientos y experiencias sobre CAA en español, en esta comunidad que crece cada día y se conecta a la distancia, creando redes, vínculos y lazos de amistad a través de la Comunicación Aumentativa y Alternativa. En el Marco de la CAA... [Read More...]
July 26, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Social media is highly motivating for teens and young adults, but how can we incorporate it into our AAC teaching? Today AAC SLP Ashley Larisey is back with some activity suggestions and ideas for implementation as part of the AAC in Secondary School series. Ashley is an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SOCIAL MEDIA As learners get older, the use of digital communication tools (internet, social media, e-mail) often increases. Digital communication plays a huge role not only in communicating with someone who is not in your immediate environment but in making connections with others who have similar interests or lived experiences. Recent research suggests that social media can be an invaluable tool to support AAC users in many areas, including connecting with other individuals, making communication easier, gaining independence,... [Read More...]
June 28, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Do you know anyone who has access to AAC tools but doesn’t yet use them throughout the day? Keiran has a new AAC app that is well-populated with core vocabulary. Gabbie has had an SGD for a while but doesn’t use it as frequently as her team had hoped. Hudson is transitioning from PECS to an AAC device with more robust language. While different in many ways, each of these learners has a common need: frequent opportunities to learn about and use core vocabulary. To accomplish this, their SLPs, teachers, and families select a dozen or so core words and pay special attention to those each month. That allows them to highlight this small group of words using focused language stimulation, aided language input, and specific activities designed to teach or practice them. In previous years, we shared lists of some core words to help you do just that. ... [Read More...]
June 21, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Many students who use AAC spend some time in community-based instruction during their teenage years. In today’s post, AAC SLP Ashley Larisey discusses this topic in a continuation of the AAC in Secondary School series. Ashley is an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University. Additionally, Ashley presents on AAC topics at professional conferences. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AACcessibility During Community Based Instruction Community-Based Instruction (CBI) is a meaningful, engaging, and highly motivating experience for many students with disabilities, particularly those students who are high-school-aged and beyond. For AAC users, CBI provides opportunities to communicate with unfamiliar communication partners for many different purposes. However, when students are out and about, it can be easy to overlook the ease of access that can exist within the educational environment. However, it is just as important for AAC... [Read More...]
June 19, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Whether you are relatively new to an understanding of Juneteenth or have been celebrating it for decades, we hope today’s post has some ideas for integrating it into the AAC work you do. It became a federal holiday this week and we thought you might enjoy this reprise. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: PrAACtically Juneteenth In the US, June 19th is a day that commemorates the ending of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863, it took an additional two and half years for it to take root in all of the states. It wasn’t until June 19th, 1865 that Texas became the final state to uphold the proclamation. There are other days that memorialize the freedom of enslaved people, but Juneteenth is the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration. Traditionally marked primarily by African Americans, there is a growing awareness of Juneteenth across a broad spectrum of people. In modern times, it... [Read More...]
June 14, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Ready for another post with book-related ideas for supporting core vocabulary learning in preschool classrooms? Today, we end another wonderful year of Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson’s TELL ME About It series with a terrific post featuring the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. If you’re in search of ways to support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students, this post will give you lots of tried-and-true ideas. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: TELL ME About The Book The last book in this series is “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Joffe Numeroff. Such a fun book that introduces a simple plot line to our... [Read More...]
June 3, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
We’re jumping into June and wrapping up the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words Series by guest authors Michaela Sullivan, Alisa Lego, and Beth Lytle. This series focuses on a selected set of words to highlight for the month along with a suggested order in which to teach them. Therapists and teachers will appreciate the Activity Packets, containing suggestions for highlighting these words in a variety of activities. Their Data Collection Forms and tips on using shared reading in our AAC teaching are appropriate for AAC learners of various ages. If you are new to this series, you may want to review the introduction that our series and check out the first 10 months of the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words using the links below. You can find posts for previous months in the School Year of Core Vocabulary Words below. Introduction to the School Year of Core Vocabulary... [Read More...]
May 24, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
It’s just about time to flip the calendar to a new page. That means it’s time to prepare to highlight a new set of core words to keep our AAC learners moving forward and expanding their use of AAC throughout the day. We have some learn-at-home ideas that can help you incorporate our June core words into some easy activities and resources to help you have some prAACtical fun with the AAC learners in your life. If you’re helping an AAC learner become more capable in using high-frequency words to express themselves, we hope you join us in highlighting the June words and creating opportunities for our AAC learners to use them throughout the day. Whether you are following along with the 2013 Year of Core (Set 1-12 words/month) or the 2014 A(nother) Year of Core: (Set 2-16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), or just getting started,... [Read More...]
May 17, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome back AAC SLP Ashley Larisey to these pages for another post in the AAC in Secondary School series. Ashley is an SLP at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor and Instructor at Saint Xavier University. Additionally, Ashley presents on AAC topics at professional conferences. In today’s post, she shares thoughts on using party planning as an activity for teaching language and AAC skills. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Party Planning If you work in the schools, the end of the school year is right around the corner! The month of May is generally full of celebrations to culminate a year’s worth of hard work for staff and students alike. For high school students, this can also include celebrations surrounding graduation. Parties are often planned by educational staff, but why not bring students into the process? Party planning is full of... [Read More...]