Tag Archive: gesture dictionary

On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals

April 30, 2018 by - 3 Comments

On the Same Page: Helping Team Members Recognize and Respond to Unconventional Communication Signals

Joaquin grabs my wrists when he wants me to play. Ariella bangs her fists together when she wants more of something. Brayden paces anxiously when he needs to use the restroom. Do you work learners like these? Beginning communicators often use signals that are unconventional to express their emotional states, wants, needs, and ideas. That can work really well when the people in their lives recognize those signals and respond to the communicator’s intent. But when the signals are subtle or idiosyncratic, team members may miss them or misinterpret them. That’s unfortunate because when we accidentally ignore the beginning communicator’s signal or when we don’t respond in a way that reinforces their use, communication progress stalls out. One way to help get everyone on board in recognizing those unconventional or subtle forms of communication is to create learner-specific ‘dictionaries’ that help those who are not intimately familiar with the individual... [Read More...]

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Strategy of the Month: Back to School with AAC

August 3, 2013 by - 4 Comments

Back to School with AAC

Here in the US, August is Back-to-School month. Throughout this month, we’ll try to post ideas and resources to help make the transition back to school a smooth and successful one. One of the most important things for students who use AAC is having their SLPs, teachers, and families on the same page. They each have a different but very intense relationship with the student’s AAC system. Here are some prAACtical thoughts on getting everyone on the same page. 1.  Develop a communication profile of the student: In the initial weeks, try to get a baseline of how the student is communicating at the start of the year. For beginning communicators, we track things like their communicative intents (WHY they are communicating), modalities (HOW they are communicating), and the frequency of their communication. We’ve written about one of our favorite tools for this, the Communication Matrix. 2. Share what you know:... [Read More...]

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