March 29, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
In the past few months, we’ve shared some articles on AAC in general education. We’ve looked at the development of an AAC intervention plan that relates to curriculum standards and using math and science standards as a context for building AAC skills. In this post, I’d like to share my own contribution to that issue of ASHA’s Special Interest Group (SIG) quarterly publication, Perspectives on AAC. Although the final versions are available only to SIG members, clearance has been given to post the original articles. As we all know, AAC skills are best learned when the entire team is headed in the same direction, using robust instructional methods, and communicating well with one another. In this article, I discuss some of the ways that we can clarify the expectations of each team member so that all the bases are covered and our individual efforts complement one another. Thoughts on managing assessment... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, cocoa, general education, goals, inclusion, observation, team
March 21, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
As much as we love fresh new voices in the AAC community, there is simply nothing like the voice of experience. When a program has had more than 40 years of experience providing AAC services, we listen! Today, we are honored to have Marlene Cummings, an AAC SLP from Michigan, share the collective wisdom of her team. I have found that one of the joys in my professional life is asking hard questions about my present work and then figuring out ways to address those questions. Much of my 30 + years have been spent designing and implementing programs, systems and materials to support young children with complex communication needs in the role of the teacher in these classrooms. I explored ways to design environments and develop curricular frameworks and instructional materials, which would provide students with the instruction and opportunities to become competent communicators, all from the view of... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, How I Do It, Marlene Cummings, schools, teams
December 30, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Over the past few months, we’ve been advocating for a multi-stage process for vocabulary teaching that begins with focused (aided) language stimulation and explicit instruction. The approach we described then moves into engaging practice activities while we continue to provide exposure and opportunities for retrieval, with periodic comprehension checks. This cycle allows SLPs to make use of research-based strategies in their semantic intervention and get the best outcomes for their AAC learners. So, when we came across this video about how to use ‘Sharing Time’ to build vocabulary, we knew we wanted to share it. It describes a classroom activity that could also be adapted for therapy groups in which students take turns bringing in an time from home to share with the class. We love the visual support that helps the students know what to talk about. It is a great reminder that visual supports are part of good... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, semantics, vocabulary