Tag Archive: implementation ideas

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #29: July 2020

July 19, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #29: July 2020

Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts that might interest you. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Max’s Breakfast’ Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: “I Have an AAC Device. Now What?” Thursday – AAC Implementation from a ‘Communication World’ Perspective :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We’ve had AAC and book reading on our minds this week. It seemed like a good time to share some book-related posts from the archives. 5 Ways to Use Books to Build Interaction with AAC Learners Alphabet Books and AAC Implementation Adapting Books with Visual Scenes Make It PrAACtical: Display Stand for Visual Supports or Books Using Adapted Books with AAC Learners: 3 Important Questions to Ask

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Video of the Week: Using the AAC Participation Model to Guide Implementation Planning

November 13, 2019 by - 3 Comments

Video of the Week: Using the AAC Participation Model to Guide Implementation Planning

The AAC Participation Model, originally developed by Drs. David Beukelman and Pat Mirenda, has been a guiding force in AAC practices for many years. In today’s featured video, we turn to Kelly Fonner, a former teacher and highly experienced AT and education consultant, to share some thoughts about how we can use this to strengthen our plans for AAC implementation.  This recorded session was part of the 2019 AAC in the Cloud Conference, which is hosted each spring by CoughDrop.  We are grateful to Kelly and to CoughDrop for their generosity in making this session available. You can access Kelly’s handout for this session here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO2fXruxk1w

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How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets

August 26, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

Title image reading How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets

Amanda Samperi is back with the second post in her series about getting ready to return to school-based AAC services. Amanda is an AAC SLP who has worked in a variety of service delivery settings and runs the blog, AAC is Where It’s AT. Currently, she provides push-in language therapy to children with complex communication needs at a substantially-separate center school in Florida. She also conducts AAC/AT evaluations, provides year-round parent trainings, and assists the SLP team in instructing teachers/staff about communication supports and strategies In today’s post, she addresses a situation faced by many AAC teams: Serving children who use a variety of different AAC symbols and systems. If you missed Amanda’s initial post on back-to-school AAC, you can catch up on that here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How I Do It: Working with Multiple Symbol Sets It’s the beginning of the year – desks are in their spots, students’ names are... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically Visual: Supports to Organize Time and Tasks

July 18, 2019 by - 2 Comments

PrAACtically Visual: Supports to Organize Time and Tasks

We’re glad you’ve returned for Part 2 of Tabi Jones-Wohleber’s series on Visual Supports. As an AAC specialist, Tabi uses these with children who have complex communication needs and teaches others to incorporate them as well. Let’s learn some of the ways in which visual supports can be used to help with organization, transitions, and independence. You can click on the images in the Downloadable Templates section to obtain the visual support files. If you’re interested in seeing more of Tabi’s work, you can check out Part 1 of the series here.   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Visual and Environmental Supports to Organize Time and Tasks     “But he knows his schedule” isn’t the whole picture.  We all use schedules to help us manage our time and keep us on track when non-routine activities occur.  For instance, you may know your schedule for any given Tuesday, but what about that Tuesday when you have... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #13: March 2019

March 31, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #13: March 2019

Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Can you believe March is almost over?! We’ll have lots to share for Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – PrAACtically April: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Moving Beyond Single Words with AAC Thursday – When Materials Aren’t Effective in AAC Teaching: 5 Things to Try :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Have a little more time? Here are a couple of additional posts that you might find interesting. Let’s Read! Getting to the Core of Earth Day Let’s Create! Getting to the Core of Earth Day Let’s Go Outside: 5 PrAACtical Ideas Implementing Object-based Schedules in the Classroom Activity Schedule AACtion

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When Materials Aren’t Effective in AAC Teaching: 5 Things to Try

March 28, 2019 by - 1 Comment

When Materials Aren’t Effective in AAC Teaching: 5 Things to Try

Eva doesn’t seem to be interested in any of the books or playthings her SLP typically uses, and reinforcer preference testing was inconclusive. Zach tends to grab the teacher’s materials and put them in his mouth, or sometimes bang them on a hard surface. Bryce often engages with them for a few seconds then drops or throws them. Do you work with students like these? They have lots of AAC learning ahead of them, but creating therapy sessions or instructional lessons is a challenge because of the ways in which they interact with the materials. For some students, keeping the number of materials to a minimum can be helpful. Here are a few things to try.   Create activities where the focus is on movement rather than on materials. Create a simple movement game or make up your own version of a childhood classic (e.g., Red Light, Green Light) that... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 46: November 2018

November 18, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week # 46: November 2018

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. It’s been a busy week of AAC here at the ASHA Convention. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – AAC at the Table: 5 Tips for Building Social Communication at Mealtimes Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – AAC Video of the Week: The Folly of Fortune Telling Thursday – Letters from Camp, Part 2 (Working with Words) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you’re interested in a bit more AAC reading, check out some of these past posts. Breaking Down Barriers to AAC Implementation AAC and Emergent Literacy: 5 Posts with Implementation Ideas AAC Intervention That Teaches More and Tests Less: Thoughts on Implementation AAC in the Classroom for Students with Significant Disabilities – Implementation & Data Collection Three Ways to Use AAC Goals to Strengthen Implementation

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AAC at the Table: 5 Tips for Building Social Communication at Mealtimes

November 12, 2018 by - 2 Comments

AAC at the Table: 5 Tips for Building Social Communication at Mealtimes

Think back on some of the meals that you’ve shared with others recently. What did people talk about? In most cases, there’s a lot more that ‘Pass the peas,’ ‘What’s for dessert?’, and ‘Can I go now?’ Mealtimes are social experiences in many cultures and it can take some work to ensure that our AAC learners can take part. Here are some ideas for supporting the development of social communication during shared meals. Build a routine that includes social communication: AAC learning takes time and lots of prAACtice. We can support the march to AAC proficiency by incorporating specific kinds of social exchanges into our mealtimes so that AAC learners know what the expect and have practice opportunities for this skill set at mealtime. Some examples: Sharing Time (i.e.., everyone shares something that happened to them that was funny/interesting/memorable), Question of the Day (e.g., “What’s your favorite __?” “Where’s the... [Read More...]

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Using Visual Sidekicks to Support Language Intervention

May 10, 2018 by - 4 Comments

Using Visual Sidekicks to Support Language Intervention

SLPs Lori Sanzeri and Chelsea Collins, creators of Core City,  are back to share ideas for implementing AAC in the classroom. Today, they share their experiences in using visual supports as a supplemental strategy for their students who are beginning to use AAC. Enjoy!   :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::   Using Visual Sidekicks to Support Language Intervention   Have you ever tried to read a book to your students without providing any visual supports? Do you find yourself having difficulty thinking about what questions to ask? Do you ever feel like the story is too “wordy” or difficult for your students to understand? Have no fear, Visual Sidekicks are here! Visual Sidekicks provide a color-coded communication board of target core and fringe vocabulary along with sentences of 3-5 symbols that simplify the text throughout the story. Children with special needs often demonstrate difficulties during structured literacy activities in the following areas: attending to... [Read More...]

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PrAACtically May: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

April 26, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtically May: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Words

It is just about time to flip the calendar to a new page, and that means it’s time for a new set of core words to model, elicit, and practice. In this post, we have a number of resources for those who are ready to try their hand at implementation. Thanks to all who’ve reached out with questions, comments, and words of appreciation for the Year of Core Vocabulary series. Here are some helpful resources for those who are using the words in Set 1 ( Year of Core Words) or Set 2 (Another Year of Core Words). If you are contemplating this approach, feel free to jump in at any time. The best time to start (or re-start) is right now. Don’t worry about retracing steps, or not ‘doing it right.’ The best way to get better at core vocabulary instruction is just to keep at it. It takes... [Read More...]

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