Tag Archive: community
December 10, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so glad to share the work of Sarah Mueller, a special education teacher in Rochester, Michigan, who returns to talk about AAC with older students. Sarah teaches high school and works with many students who have developmental disabilities. She strives to embed language and communication throughout her students’ entire school experience and help them become strong self-advocates as they prepare for adult life. In this post, Sarah talks about supporting AAC learners who are working with AAC systems rich in core vocabulary as they prepare for their weekly trips into the community. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Core in the Community Core vocabulary is often embedded in the typical instructional tasks of the school day: communication exchanges, calendar time, literacy, etc. Like most high school teachers for students with intellectual disabilities, community-based instruction (CBI) is a component of my classroom program. My classroom becomes the community every single week! It is yet another setting where I... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: community, core vocabulary, high school
August 8, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
What better way to help local businesses become more AAC-friendly than to have people who use AAC every day teach them to use supportive strategies? Today’s video features the Thumbs Up Communication in Action group supported by Dr. Shannon Hennig’s Inclusive Communication in Wellington, New Zealand. Follow along in their journey as they advocate for more inclusive interactions in a community business and take a peek at this experience of effective self-advocacy. Many thanks to the group members, Dr. Hennig, and to ISAAC for making this video available. You can see more of Dr. Hennig’s work here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pkDvybXq1c
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: community, self-advocacy
August 1, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
From the heights of a Ferris Wheel to fun places to shop, the Variety Western Australia Teen Motor Mouth Campers show us their stuff in this wonderful video which was presented recently at the 2018 ISAAC Conference. “AAC goes everywhere.” Indeed. Enjoy the laughter, smiles, and successes of Let’s Hit the Town. Many thanks to Variety WA Teen Motor Mouth Camp and ISAAC for this gem of a video! Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNAzF6tKOb
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: camp, community, teens
April 19, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so pleased to discover a new resource created by Talking Mats through a partnership with Scotland’s National Health Service Education. This guide, Promoting Inclusion and Participation A holistic approach to working with children and young people who use AAC, has lots of useful information, embedded video clips, discussion questions, and more. You can download the book here. (Note: It is a large file that takes awhile to download.) Kudos to the wonderful team at Talking Mats for their fine work on this project, and to NHS Education Scotland for making it available on their website!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: community, inclusion, schools
September 8, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
It isn’t every day that we get to hear from AAC interventionists who’ve been doing this work for decades. Today, we are thrilled to welcome back SLP Marlene Cummings from Oakland Schools in Michigan. Marlene has written several very popular posts on AAC in educational settings. (Click here to peruse them.) In this post, Marlene gets us thinking about ways to deal with change in a positive and sustainable fashion. Her passion for supporting both kids and colleagues is infectious. Enjoy! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I have the privilege, as part of a 5 member AAC Team, of supporting 28 school districts with more than 100 teams serving students with complex communication needs using AAC. The staff members and teams we support come with varied levels of knowledge, diverse experiences, and degrees of confidence. For us the new school year is just around the corner. We are already receiving calls and emails reporting... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: collaboration, community, Marlene Cummings, schools, Team work
September 7, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Today we head to Australia to see some great examples of communication support in the daily lives of women in a group home. Enjoy this video by Inner South Communication Service. Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PljrI54od6A&app=desktop
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: community, group home
August 13, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Where we live, the DIY movement has impacted everything from home repairs, to decorating, to assistive technology. We love the idea of empowering clients, families, and professionals to take things into their own hands to make, adapt, use, and share. Take a look at Meryl Alper’s Ignite session on the topic of building an inclusive maker culture.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assistive technology, community, DIY, inclusion, Meryl Alper
January 28, 2013
by Robin Parker -
We are extremely proud to be part of the Dan Marino Foundation WalkAbout Autism, which is a large South Florida event. It is a true collaboration between the community, volunteers, sponsors, donors, walk partners, and the Miami Dolphins. The Walkabout helps raise money for organizations that provide programs and services for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. It also promotes a sense of community collaboration and awareness about autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities. We are writing about the WalkAbout, not as a plea for money (although read about the WalkAbout and donate if you are so inclined), but instead to tell you how we continue to try to integrate AAC & visual strategies into community events. We are so grateful to Dan & Claire Marino and their family and Jeff & Rachel Ireland and their family for continuing to dedicate their time and effort for this amazing event. This past weekend was the 3rd WalkAbout Autism. It was a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: community, schedules, social stories
November 9, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
No matter where they work, SLPs supporting people who use AAC generally do what they can to improve communication across environments. In an earlier Simple Start post, we talked about using photos of places within a school to support language comprehension. By showing a picture of the cafeteria or gym as we say those words, we can help both students with language processing difficulties and those with behavior regulation issues. — In this post, we extend the same concept to travels in and around the community. Here are directions for making visual supports that can be used with students who have community-based instruction or by families as they go about their weekly errands and routines. Simple Start: Visual Support for Places in the Community Take photo of locations in the community that the AAC user is likely to visit. Insert them into a document and add labels for each one... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: community, families, free download, home, photograph, picture ring, resources, visual supports
March 8, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
The Ohio Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center worked together to develop Sponsored Silence, a program in which AAC is featured at the half time of basketball games. We love this video from the original event in 2008, but the more recent ones, like this video from 2011, are wonderful, too.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: community, sports