Tag Archive: classroom
February 3, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Many special education programs have a daily routine of discussing the weather and reviewing the calendar. In today’s featured video, we take a look at how special educator Amy Campbell integrates no tech and high tech AAC into this activity. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsAQ4ol-ETU&ab_channel=AmyCampbell You can read a post by Amy on normalizing AAC here and see another of her videos, Cooking with AAC, here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, education, school
January 20, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Planning, designing, creating, teaching. Helping students become more proficient with their AAC systems often involves teaching core vocabulary and it can take considerable effort to integrate that into the daily routines of a busy classroom. In today’s featured video, we hear from Special Educator April Weitkamp who describes the process she used to support core vocabulary in an elementary school classroom. She shares her experiences and many lessons learned through the process of collaborating with the SLP and paraprofessionals to support core vocabulary learning in this multi-age group of students. Many thanks to April and the Special Education Technology Center (SETC) in Washington for this helpful presentation. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVbeHg2Vl2Y&ab_channel=SETCSpecialEducationTechnologyCenter You can see another video from April here.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, education
April 6, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
How do we help people with complex communication needs become fluent in using AAC throughout the day? There are lots of factors to consider in working toward that goal, and our guest author for today encourages us to think of one of them. Special educator Amy Campbell believes that one thing we can do to support AAC learners is to normalize the use of AAC tools and strategies. Amy is the 2020 Washington State Teacher of the Year and has been a Special Education teacher for 12 years. Over that time, she has focused on how to increase student independence and improve the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education settings and the greater community. Like many of you, she has now pivoted to supporting her students from a distance. Don’t miss the videos Amy creates for her students and their families so learning can continue from afar. ... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC implementation, classroom, learn-at-home, school
November 18, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It’s time for another installment of the TELL ME About It series which focuses on AAC, language, and literacy learning with preschool children. Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrim are back with more great ideas for AAC intervention, this time focusing on the Eric Carle book, From Head to Toe. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in central Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings. You can check out the earlier posts in this series below. I Went Walking Brown Bear, Brown Bear TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘From Head To Toe’! TELL ME About Reading: The third book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “From Head To Toe.” We love when books are interactive... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, preschool, TELL ME
November 10, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We’ve got some AAC reading for you to catch up on. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Mini Communication Boards Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Tips for Supporting Students Who Use AAC in School Thursday – Make It PrAACtical: DIY Adapted Toys :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: While you’re here, why not sample some of these past posts? Organizing Vocabulary for Communication Books: Getting Started More on Teaching Core Vocabulary Join Together Core and Fringe AAC In the Classroom: Considerations for Modeling Core Vocabulary If you’re looking for more in-depth information on teaching language to AAC users, join us in Orlando in January for a full-day workshop. Use the slider on the graphic below to learn more and find the registration link.
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, communication book
November 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
If you’re in the position of supporting students with AAC needs in school, you know that it takes a lot of planning and coordination to do this well. In today’s video, we learn from SLP Brie Norton who provides district-level support to students with AAC needs and their educational teams. Hosted by PRC Saltillo, this recorded webinar covers prAACtical tips for collaboration, therapy, generalization, and progress monitoring. Many thanks to Brie and to PRC Saltillo for this helpful webinar. You can obtain the handouts for this session here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0fRSI7gx6s
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC partner training, classroom, collaboration, school
September 5, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for examples of how AAC is successfully incorporated into inclusive education? Today, we head to upstate New York to learn from AAC SLP Sarah Gregory who shares her experiences in supporting students in general education settings. In this post, Sarah shares her ideas for using peer modeling to support AAC learning. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC in General Education: Incorporating Peer Modeling Authentic inclusion of students with Complex Communication Needs (CCN) or non-speaking students is essential and can also be difficult to achieve. One of the most effective strategies I have found is involving all students in AAC learning. Folks in my district started a peer modeling program a few years ago and we found this to be a powerful tool in achieving our goals for academic inclusion and social belonging. In this blog post, I will outline the why and the how of our current peer modeling program.... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, Inclusive Education, peer supports, Sarah Gregory, school
August 26, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
Amanda Samperi is back with the second post in her series about getting ready to return to school-based AAC services. Amanda is an AAC SLP who has worked in a variety of service delivery settings and runs the blog, AAC is Where It’s AT. Currently, she provides push-in language therapy to children with complex communication needs at a substantially-separate center school in Florida. She also conducts AAC/AT evaluations, provides year-round parent trainings, and assists the SLP team in instructing teachers/staff about communication supports and strategies In today’s post, she addresses a situation faced by many AAC teams: Serving children who use a variety of different AAC symbols and systems. If you missed Amanda’s initial post on back-to-school AAC, you can catch up on that here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets It’s the beginning of the year – desks are in their spots, students’ names are... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: back to school, classroom, implementation ideas, symbols
August 12, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
In the US and some other countries, we’re starting a new school year and SLP Amanda Samperi is here to get us off to a good start by sharing her experiences and suggestions for engaging AAC activities. After graduating from Penn State, Amanda worked for several years as an SLP in school, home, and medical settings. She has presented on AAC-related topics st ASHA, an IEE Electrical Safety Workshop, and at the AAC in the Cloud Conference. Amanda hopes to continue sharing her knowledge and experiences about AAC through her blog, AAC is where it’s AT. Today, she introduces us to a series of posts that focus on creating fun AACtivities for language learning. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Back-to-School with AAC: Putting the FUN back in FUNctional There is something special about this time of year – students are trying on their back-to-school outfits, school supplies are magically discounted beyond belief, and parents... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: back to school, classroom, How I Do It, school
June 6, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
It is wonderful to see the ways that SLPs and educators are collaborating to support AAC implementation in the classroom. Today, we hear from SLP Kristen Ponce who works at the Gerner Family Early Education Center in the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Missouri. Kristen has a particular interest in working with preschoolers with autism and AAC needs and is passionate about teaching her students to become competent and independent communicators. In this post, she shares her experiences in collaborating with classroom teachers to promote the use of AAC throughout the school day. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Incorporating Core Throughout the School Day The majority of my caseload is preschoolers who have autism spectrum disorder and who use AAC. We usually introduce communication and how to use an AAC device through learning to request. It is easy to teach that communication is fun when you have a very tangible and... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, school