November 7, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Hearing the AAC stories of people with complex communication needs is always enlightening, but even more so when the narratives are told directly by those individuals. In today’s featured video, we hear from South African teenager Zainab Omar. Enjoy! Many thanks to Zainab for sharing her story and to ISAAC for making this available to all of us. Please consider supporting this wonderful international organization (here’s how). Communication is everyone’s birthright. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrAe7oc-Rjo
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Faces of AAC, Zainab Omar
October 31, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
As we bring AAC Awareness Month to close, we add add another Face of AAC. Dianna Finlay, an SLP from CLASS in Tacoma Washington and Clinic Director Paula Herrington, introduce us to Brian. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Brian Long. He’s a user. He’s been using all his life. He likes the high. I can’t say I blame him. One of Brian’s buddies was a user for a while. He stopped using and is still going though bad withdrawal. If I was dealt the same hand as Brian, I’d like to think I’d be a user too. Of course, we’re talking about a user of augmentative and alternative communication. Brian Long is a 43-‐year-‐old male diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He has no functional oral speech and depends on a speech-‐generating device to communicate. Brian has been receiving speech therapy through CLASS, Inc. for a few years now. He communicates via a Dynavox Vmax, however, the device sat in... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Brian Long, Faces of AAC, Paula Herrington
October 16, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
From Bielsko, Poland, to Denver, USA, we are continuing to share the Faces of AAC. Today, we meet SLP Gretchen Storm, who works in the public school system and has a private practice. Gretchen enjoys collaborating with parents, children, teachers, other healthcare providers, siblings and peers in strategies and facilitating communication through speech generating devices. In this post, Gretchen introduces us to Zach. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Zach is an 11 year old who uses a Tobii I-12 eye gaze communication device to communicate. He previously used a switch scanning method on a VMax from Dynavox. Zach recently switched to an eye gaze device. Though he loves to use his arms and hands whenever possible, his motor control of them is not ideal for the consistent switch access needed for switch scanning. He was switched to an eye gaze system which could also serve as a switch scanning device if in the future he demonstrates improved... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Awareness, eye gaze, Faces of AAC, Gretchen Storm
October 2, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
What better way to promote AAC awareness than to share the faces of people who use AAC and the SLPs who serve them? Today, we go to Poland to visit with Justyna Puchalka, who has a private practice in Bielsko, and her young client, Wiktoria. Justyna has been working as a speech therapist for almost 10 years, mostly with young children who have a range of conditions including Down Syndrome, Prader Willi, cerebral palsy, autism and multiple disabilities. Justyna shared that she is very passionate about her work. “Because ‘my children’ make my work a challenge and, thus, my work gives me much satisfaction, not to mention that I simply like to help these children and their parents.” Justyna made a video to share some thoughts about Wiktoria’s AAC journey. Many thanks to Justyna, Wiktoria, and her family for helping us celebrate AAC Awareness Month! Direct link tovideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eLE2nlA6R8
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Awareness Month, Faces of AAC, Justyna Puchalka, Poland