Tag Archive: ASD
November 3, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome Dr. Kimberly Ho, SLP and Director of Speech, Language and AAC Services at Confidence Connection in Needham, Massachusetts. In this post, she discusses how professionals in her organization are supporting AAC learners with autism on the journey toward flexible, generative language. I am the Director of Speech, Language and AAC Services at an ABA clinic, so naturally we serve many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) of all ages. A vast number of learners with ASD can speak, but their speech is not functional to meet their communication needs. We have begun to provide word-based AAC systems for these students to move beyond scripting. Many individuals with ASD “script.” That is, they may not produce novel utterances, but rather chunks of phrases and sometimes entire sentences they have memorized. Sometimes this scripting is based on a character from a TV show or movie. Other times the script has been memorized in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, scripting
October 31, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
We are pleased to have a return visit from special educators Lauren Pawlowski and Amy Devin with ideas for supporting AAC learners in the classroom. Amy and Lauren, who work in the public school system in Michigan, taught in resource rooms for years and have been teaching in self‐contained ASD elementary classrooms since 2009. At that time, there were few classrooms who were integrating core language instruction, but they didn’t let that stop them. Currently, they use manual communication boards, large instructional core boards, and individual AAC devices with their students. They are passionate literacy teachers and, in today’s post, tell us about their approach to shared reading lessons. Their video is chock full of tips to help you make these lessons successful. Enjoy! Shared Reading: It’s Not What They Know, It’s What They THINK! Happy Fall AAC users and facilitators! This month we would like to share some of our tips for... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, education, implementation ideas, shared reading
April 13, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
April is a great month to expand our understanding of how to support individuals with autism. In this week’s featured video, we learn about the Visual Immersion Program from Dr. Howard Shane, James Sorce, and Meghan O’Brien. Many thanks to the AAC-RERC for making this available.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD
February 2, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
I had a wonderful time this past weekend connecting with colleagues and learning from ASD experts at the 2016 Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) Conference in Orlando. One of the keynotes, “From Building Social Relationships to Improved Quality of Life Outcomes for Youth on the Autism Spectrum: We Finally Know What We Already Knew,” was given by Dr. Scott Bellini. I also attended his talk on the Building Social Relationships program. Here are some of the take-aways from those two sessions. Evidence Base The evidence base for social skills training is variable. While his meta-analysis on school-based social skills training found that social skills interventions were minimally effective, there are several effective strategies that can be used in that and other settings. When evidence-based strategies, including video modeling and video self-modeling and social narratives, are used within the context of social skills training, the overall efficacy is much greater. The evidence... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, handouts
November 18, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Several of you have reached out to express appreciation for the videos by Dr. Barry Prizant that were shared in recent months. In this one, he discusses effective strategies for building strong collaborative relationships with families. Thanks to Presence Learning for making this available.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD, collaboration, Dr. Barry Prizant, families
November 6, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Pinterest has just exploded as a curation venue for content related to AAC and autism. Here are some boards to check out and consider following. Considerate Classroom by Lindy McDaniel Autism Teaching Tools Visual Supports by Christine Reeve Visual Supports and Social Stories by the Michigan Association of School Social Workers Visual Schedules by Brandi Shinn Behavior Management Strategies by The Autism Helper Do you have favorite Pinterest boards that we should know about?
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, Pinterest
October 21, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we return to the Presence Learning site for more videos by Dr. Barry Prizant. In this 2-part sequence, he discusses strategies for preventing problem behaviors in schools. You can view the Q & A section (Part 2) here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD, Dr. Barry Prizant
October 12, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
October’s featured site is full of resources on empirically-supported instructional practices for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The National Professional Development Center (NPDC) on ASD website was a collaborative effort by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and the MIND Institute, University of California-Davis which was funded by the US Department of Education. You may already be familiar with their work through their collaboration with the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) in creating the Autism Internet Modules. While there are various things to explore on the NDPC site, there are a few main resources that you won’t want to miss. Practice Briefs If you are looking for at-a-glance information on intervention practices and their research supports, this is a page you will want to bookmark. There are over two dozen practice briefs that summarize the literature in instructional... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, Autism Internet Modules, NDPC ASD, Site of the Month
August 19, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
In this week’s featured video, we hear from noted ASD researcher and clinician, Dr. Barry Prizant, who discusses some of the challenges faced by individuals with autism and alternative ways to understand and address these challenges. He places a high priority on understanding the perspective of individuals with autism and their families, something that can be a powerful force for change in our service delivery. “There’s no such thing as autistic behavior; It’s all human behavior.” There are lots of prAACtical implications of this perspective and the focus on reflective practices. Enjoy, “Uniquely Human: A Different Way to See Autism and Create Pathways to Success.” Thanks to Presence Learning for producing and hosting this video.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD, Barry Prizant
August 5, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
No matter what we are teaching, we won’t get very far unless we can help the learner engage. TASN addresses that very topic in today’s video. You can get the handout for this presentation here. Direct Link to Video: http://connect.enetcolorado.org/p8c8ijffpdl/
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: ASD, engagement, TASN