How does AAC intersect with issues related to mental health? In today’s featured video, hosted by SmartBox, a group of AAC stakeholders discuss this important topic. Many thanks to Chris Gibbons, Melanie Gylling, Alicia Alverson, and Ashley Mohesky for a helpful presentation on a topic of great significance. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acq4D9LOPL0&ab_channel=SmartboxAssistiveTechnology
We are pleased to publish the third post in a series on multilingual AAC support guest authored by BilingüeAAC. 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. In today’s post, guest author Alma Partida discusses the relevance of getting family input and share a helpful resource that can be used by clinicians, teachers, and others working with bilingual and multilingual clients. If you are new to this series, you can check out the first two articles using the links below. Bilingual AAC Support from Monolingual Professionals: An Introduction, here. Cultural-Linguistic AAC Intervention: A Framework for Consideration Family Questionnaire and Culture Survey We are continuing our Bilingüe AAC posts (check out post #1 and post #2) with a topic that is important to consider when working with multilingual AAC families. Conducting a family... [Read More...]
Calling all animal lovers! Whether caring for pets, visiting a farm or zoo, or just watching funny critter videos together, the animal kingdom offers many ways to gain language and AAC skills. In today’s featured video, Courtney Maholtz and Heather Prenovost from PRC Saltillo share thoughts on how to capitalize on experiences with animals in building communication skills. Here are the links to the handouts they discuss in this presentation. Stepping Stones to AAC Organization Tool Stepping Stones to AAC Reference Tool WordPower 96 location Board Unity 84 Sequenced Board LAMP Words for Life Board Many thanks to Courtney and Heather for these great ideas and for the support of PRC Saltillo in hosting this fun session. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FRpra4jyVc&ab_channel=Saltillo
We’re so pleased to welcome back PrAACtical AAC friend Vicki Clarke to these pages for another article in the AAC Implementation Framework series. Vicki heads up an AAC-focused private practice, Dynamic Therapy Associates, and is also the Director of DTA Schools. Today’s post includes ‘next step’ information to guide others in implementing AAC along with some helpful AAC posters for you to download, and a video with implementation tips. If you are new to this series you can find the earlier posts through the links below. Steps to Learning Step 1, Determining the Target Step 2: TRAIN Step 3: Take In AAC 101: Steps To Learning Step 4: Try It! As we know, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is an essential tool for individuals with speech and language disabilities to communicate effectively and engage in social interactions. Our 4th Step: Try It is about supporting our students as... [Read More...]
How can we support AAC users as they transition to adult life? In today’s featured video, we get some good information and practical tips on this topic from Deanna Morrow, Micaela Smith, and Heather Prenovost. You can download the suggested messages for medical interviews here. You can also obtain the presentation handout. This presentation was hosted by PRC Saltillo. We are grateful to them and to the presenters, Deanna, Micaela, and Heather for this prAACtical session. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqJKxvZ5nBY&ab_channel=Saltillo
Here in the US, we’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day soon. If you’re looking for resources that you can incorporate into your AAC work, we have some ideas for you. These are great for highlighting core vocabulary, such as these: Pronouns: I, you, she, we, her, our Verbs: can, do, give, help, like, love, make, read, see, write Adjectives: good, nice, pretty, smart, strong Conjunctions: and, because, but, with Time Words: later, now, today, tomorrow Questions: what, who, where ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS Read about Mothers and Mother’s Day with some of these books. Mother’s Day Book for Early Communicators by AAC with Annie Mother’s Day book highlighting core words ‘like’ and ‘give’ from Speech by Carrie. You can also check out this one which focuses on the words ‘help’ and ‘make’ and offers practice with several pronouns. From Boardmaker From Tarheel Reader (SDJ) From Tarheel Reader (Nicolaus) Cards and letters... [Read More...]
One of the most exciting trends in higher education is a movement to support the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities on college campuses. In today’s post, we’re sharing a resource that is not specific to AAC but may be of interest to many readers. Think College is a program of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. They are a national technical assistance, research, and evaluation center dedicated to developing, expanding, and improving higher education options for students with intellectual disabilities. Think College addresses four main areas: raising awareness, increasing post-secondary options, conducting research on best practices, and providing training. Here are some of the ways they can be helpful. You can search a database of more than 300 post-secondary programs. They have a helpful guide to selecting programs that might be a good fit for an individual student. There’s also a Self-Advocates Guide... [Read More...]
How can we support students with AAC needs who also have visual impairments? Today, we feature a recorded session on this topic from the 2023 Wisconsin Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired (WCBVI) Preschool and Elementary Conference. In this presentation, AAC SLP Jennifer Schubring, of Building AAC, provides important information and many helpful resources. Many thanks to Jennifer and WCBVI for making this archived session available. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72EVkUvzdKg&ab_channel=WCBVIVIDEOS
For more than 50 years, people in the US have marked April 22 as a day to honor our planet and demonstrate support for environmental protection. Here are some AAC-friendly ideas and materials to celebrate Earth Day. Learn about the importance of Earth Day with this book from Boardmaker. Getting to the Core of Earth Day Let’s Read Let’s Create Write an acrostic poem like this one by Donna O’Reilly. Make infused water for a planet-friendly drink using these resources from the AAC Language Lab. Play Earth Day BINGO with these LessonPix materials by Liz Sturgill. Let’s Go Outside! Do some easy Earth Day crafts with these links curated by Special Learning House. Make some Earth Day waffles with this recipe from Shevi Greebel. Create a language experience survey. Here are some possible questions for your survey What are your favorite outdoor activities? Tell me about a time when you had... [Read More...]
How can we support the youngest communicators with AAC? In today’s featured video, SLP Marci Revelli shares some thoughts. This is an archived webinar hosted by the Northwest Augmentative Communication Society (NWACS). You can download the slide handout here. Many thanks to Marci and NWACS for this helpful presentation. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M57HihVBdvY&ab_channel=NorthwestAugmentativeCommunicationSociety