Tag Archive: implementation
September 12, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we’ve been back in school for a while and that makes it a good time to reflect on ways to integrate AAC into the classroom. Today’s video by Megan Conover as part of Saltillo’s webinar series. In this session, she covers some basic strategies that adults can use to help beginning AAC learners be successful in the classroom. Many thanks to Saltillo and Ms. Conover for creating, hosting, and sharing this archived presentation. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bErjT5zi_9s
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: classroom, implementation, school
August 15, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to help your team strengthen their AAC practices? Lots of families and professionals are on a journey to provide better AAC support and today’s featured video has information and tips that may help. You can get the handouts for this presentation here. Many thanks to Stephanie Reed and Saltillo for making this available. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvX8Y-pi5Ws
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC implementation, implementation
September 28, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
One of the best parts of blogging is getting to connect with talented professionals who are committed to meeting the needs of people who use AAC. In today’s post, SLP Jennifer Ro shares some of the ‘lessons learned’ in implementing a core vocabulary approach to AAC throughout an entire school district. Jennifer is part of the Assistive Technology Team at Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. Focusing much of her 20+ year career in the field of AAC, Jennifer has provided AAC and speech-language services through the public schools, private clinics, early intervention programs, and community-based adult group homes and workshops. Jennifer helped develop Forsyth’s Core Word Board utilized district-wide. Her current interests include collaborative models of service delivery and staff development in the area of AAC. She has presented at the state and local level with a focus on communication related to AAC, core vocabulary, and language development, social-emotional engagement, visual... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: education, implementation, school
September 27, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we return to CoughDrop’s free online conference, AAC in the Cloud, to share one of the archived presentations. In this session, SLPs Vicki Haddix and JoClaire Merrill share their experiences and ideas on overcoming some of the barriers to effective implementation of AAC supports. Many thanks to the CoughDrop team for organizing the conference and archiving the presentations, and to Vicki and JoClaire for sharing their perspective. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIB6osi-K4w&index=22&list=PL8oiM_hsU8kYofdlpC4vcYX49yuBZvv9v —-
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: implementation, video
August 9, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Are you working with families who are looking to boost their AAC use at home? If so, you may want to share today’s featured video with them as it is rich in both prAACtical information and inspiration. Karen Owens of We Speak PODD is the presenter at this archived session which was part of CoughDrop’s AAC in the Cloud Conference. Enjoy!
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: family, home, implementation
January 25, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to help others use AAC more frequently throughout the day? Today, we return to The Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to view video on this topic. We love the clear explanations, solid rationales, and helpful tips in this video. For more information on the Universal Core Vocabulary they discuss, as well as downloadable communication materials, and professional development materials, explore the Project Core website. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJ1B8h8Hd0&feature=youtu.be
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: implementation
December 28, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or some combination of holidays, these events offer rich opportunities for building language in people who use AAC. There’s a good chance that someone took photos which can be a terrific source of motivating materials. In this post, we’ll look at a few ideas for using those to strengthen language and communication skills. Collect them into a photo album: Use PowerPoint, Keynote, or an app to pull the photos together into a collection that can serve as a highly motivating context for language learning activities. With these albums we can: Page through them together to practice making comments (e.g., cold; I see tree, That is pretty), Co-create a narrative about the picture, Work on morphological goals such as pluralization and verb tenses, and, Build longer sentences (e.g., ‘hot chocolate’ becomes ‘drink hot chocolate’ or ‘make more hot chocolate’). Create a photo collage: Work with the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation, language therapy, photo
September 22, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
We are so happy to welcome back SLP Karen Natoci who graciously agreed to continue writing about how she uses interactive book reading to build language skills with beginning communicators. You can see her earlier posts in the PrAACtically Reading series here. In this post, she shares activity ideas for two books on apples. You can learn more about Karen and download her materials toward the bottom of the post. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Books: Apples by Ken Robbins and Apples for Everyone by Jill Esbaum Adapted and simplified Powerpoint Book Apples by Karen Natoci Core Vocabulary focus: here, in, where Additional Vocabulary focus: Body parts; red, round, yellow, green, COMMUNICATION Matrix (Rowland, 2009) Level: I-VII (all levels!) ————————————————————————————————————————————- It is September and apple time! I chose to feature these books from which to adapt material suitable for students with complex communication needs. I have a simplified power point... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, implementation, literacy, reading
September 7, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
In an earlier post, I shared a graphic on the ways that AAC skills are ‘taught’ versus ‘caught.’ Teaching AAC skills involves the use of specific instructional strategies that give learners information and experiences which result in them being able to communicate more effectively. In many instances, we set out to do just that, but end up with an interaction that ‘catches’ what the student already knows how to do, rather than helping them gain additional skills. There are a few important concepts here. They both have an important role. ‘Catching’ skills isn’t bad. We can do this to figure out what the learner already knows/can do, and give him/her practice with the skill so that it becomes faster and easier to produce. When our interactions ‘catch’ a skill, we’ve created (or taken advantage of) an opportunity for communication. That’s important BUT, it isn’t teaching them anything new. Our learners do... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation, intervention, learning outcomes, teams, therapy strategies
July 13, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we head back to AbleNet University for the second part of AT specialist and consultant Kelly Fonner’s presentation on advancing the communication skills of students with the most significant disabilities. In this video, Kelly goes deeper into implementation issues and discusses strategies for meaningful data collection. Missed the first part? You can check that out here. Kudos to Kelly and AbleNet University for hosting this series and making these videos freely available. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BywUo_2es2E&ab_channel=ableUOn-demandProfessionalDevelopment
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: beginning communicator, classroom, implementation