Throughout the world, teachers, therapists, and parents are busy doing the real work of AAC. Making sure AAC materials are available all day long. Modeling language with SGDs, apps, and communication boards. Let’s take a peek into their classrooms, therapy rooms, and homes. Macomb Intermediate Schools Shared Reading Shared Reading with the Comment-Ask-Respond Strategy Sentences After School Pop-up Pirate
Filed under: Video of the Week
How do we make it feasible to implement AAC throughout the school day? Arizona-based SLP Anne Page, of Beautiful Speech Life, has some ideas for us. This presentation is packed full of prAACtical tips and was made possible by CoughDrop’s AAC in the Cloud Conference. Many thanks to Anne and to CoughDrop for sharing this positive approach to AAC in the classroom! Enjoy! Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohvOfkyejso&list=PL8oiM_hsU8kYofdlpC4vcYX49yuBZvv9v&index=10
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom
We’re back for another engaging session from CoughDrop’s AAC in the Cloud conference. In today’s video, SLP Rachel Jones shares her tips for supporting core vocabulary learning in classroom settings. Enjoy! Many thanks to CoughDrop for hosting the conference and making these videos available.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, school
Some of the best resources are the ones that we can modify to use in ways that fit our own specific needs. In this post, SLP Kim Hurley, a graduate of Indiana University, shares her experiences in experimenting with the Year of Core Vocabulary approach. Kim has spent the past 15 years as a specialist for students with moderate and severe disabilities or complex communication needs in educational settings. Currently, she is employed by Forest Hills Special Education Cooperative, serving students in rural Monroe and Owen Counties in south central Indiana. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For the past 15 years, I have been working as an SLP serving public school students who have moderate to severe disabilities or complex communication needs. Several students benefit from various forms of augmentative communication, and in my years of work I have come to appreciate the flexibility that a robust, core word based system provides. However, when... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, Year of Core Words
How can we help our AAC learners become cognitively engaged and participate fully in instructional activities? What can we do to support social connectedness and help them make contributions to classroom learning experiences? In this week’s featured video, which is embedded in a fuller AT Internet Module, Erin Sheldon helps us answer those kinds of questions and shares a framework to help us plan for full participation in learning experiences. We’re grateful to Erin, OCALI, and AT Internet Modules for creating and sharing these wonderful resources.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, Inclusive Education, school
Here in the US, many schools just let out for summer vacation but some special education teachers and SLPs are already thinking about things they want to prepare over the school break so they’ll be ready for fall. Some are contemplating changes to the ways they support AAC in the classroom. We’ve heard from several who are planning to prioritize modeling of core vocabulary using aided language input. Before we start making large core boards and other support materials, though, it’s helpful to stop and think through some important issues. A little planning now will save time and effort in the long run. If you’re planning to do this kind of prep work over the summer, here are some questions for your team to consider. Does each student with complex communication needs have access to an AAC system that includes core vocabulary? If not, why not? In some cases, the students... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, classroom, core vocabulary
Today, guest blogger Sarah Mueller, a special education teacher in Rochester Michigan, shares her thoughts on supporting core vocabulary learning while working on functional life skills. Sarah teaches high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and strives to embed language and communication throughout her students’ entire school experience. Sarah helps her students become strong self-advocates as they prepare for adult life. Marlene Cummings, Sarah’s colleague and mentor, introduces the post. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I (Marlene Cummings) had the pleasure of meeting Sarah 2 years ago as a new teacher in one of my districts. She immediately engaged in our county level professional learning opportunities in AAC and Literacy. The AAC focus presented strategies to support AAC and language learning including: core vocabulary, aided language input, vocabulary instruction and opportunities. The literacy focus was designed to create and implement a comprehensive literacy program taught by Drs. Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver. The outcome:... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, core vocabulary, education, high school, teacher
“But I don’t have just one student who needs AAC in my class – I have a bunch! How can I work AAC teaching into an already hectic day?” Teachers Amy Devin and Lauren Pawlowski are back with real-world suggestions for situations like these. Last year, they introduced us to Big Core, gave us tips for implementing it in the classroom, and explained how they integrate it into shared reading lessons and predictable chart writing activities. Today, they’re back with prAACtical information on how they provide explicit instruction on core vocabulary words. Amy and Lauren are public school teachers in Michigan who began teaching in resource rooms and moved to self‐contained ASD elementary classrooms in 2009. There was not much talk about core language when they started teaching and even less about incorporating into classroom lessons. AAC devices have changed a bit over the years, too. Initially, they worked with a 32-location core board on... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, classroom, core word, implementation ideas
Back in the late 1980’s when I was doing my doctoral work at Purdue University, there was exciting research going on in classroom-based AAC intervention. Environmental Communication Teaching (ECT) has been through some changes in the past 25+ years, but it is still a powerful approach to helping teams support learners with complex communication needs. In today’s video, we feature Kelly Fonner discussing ECT as part of a webinar made possible by the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia. You can download the accompanying handout here. Enjoy! Many thanks to the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia for making this available.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, ECT, Kelly Fonner
We are closing out the year with a bang by combining two of our favorite things: working on AAC and literacy. In this post, Michigan-based teachers Amy Devin and Lauren Pawlowski return to discuss their strategies for building communication skills in the context of writing activities. Enjoy their detailed descriptions of how they implement a 5-day writing sequence in their classrooms! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary If writing with your students is something you are apprehensive about, then Predictable Chart writing is a good place to start. You get a lot of bang for your buck, as you can work on many different concepts as you are instructing through the week. Some areas you will be able to work on is location and meaning of core, concepts about print, print awareness and fine motor skills. Prior to starting your Predictable Chart Writing, you have to have a plan on which... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking