Tag Archive: implementation ideas
July 13, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Teaching AAC learners to expand their vocabularies beyond a basic set of core words is an important goal to target in language development, and a topic that we’ve written a lot about in this space. For the student to be successful, SLPs need to think of vocabulary instruction as an ongoing process that has a clear 3-part structure. Introduction: Word is used in context, defined, and produced by the learner. Students assess their own knowledge of the word. Explicit Instruction: Activities are created to help the student really understand what the word means and how to use it. Students begin using it throughout the session. Continued Practice: We continue to use these words and help the student use the target words in the session. Engaging activities, often with technology, are used to help our learners deepen their understanding of the word. This will be accomplished over multiple sessions. In this... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: academic vocabulary, implementation ideas, intervention, semantic instruction, vocabulary teaching
July 2, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Hats off to Rachael Langley for taking time to develop and share another calendar with ideas for core word practice. As with previous calendars, she’s included lots of fun and easy ways to highlight and practice some of the July words from the first Year of Core Words list.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Calendar, core word, families, implementation ideas, Rachael Langley, Year of Core
June 10, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
How can adults and peers who serve as communication partners support AAC learners in their interactions? Dr. Rae Sonnenmier of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire has lots of implementation ideas.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: implementation ideas, Language facilitation strategies, partner strategies, Rae Sonnenmeier, University of New Hampshire
May 11, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
AAC clinicians are a creative bunch. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit some colleagues and was excited to see how they are repurposing free/low cost apps to build engagement and interaction in learners with significant communication challenges. Many of us work with learners who are highly motivated by mobile devices and apps that make music or sound, but still have a way to go to build their skills in using them. For some, we find that using apps that are relatively simple and easy (both motorically and cognitively), can spice up a session. Here are some sound/music cause and effect apps to explore. Of course, these apps are intended for a purpose completely different than how we are using them in therapy. Nonetheless, kids love them and that means that we SLPs can get a lot of mileage out of using apps like these in our therapy sessions. Burp... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, cause and effect, implementation ideas, music
May 5, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
We are fortunate to have a return visit from Tina Moreno, who brings her experiences both as an SLP and also as a mom of a teenager who has used AAC for most of his life. In this post, Tina shares some of the strategies that she has used to support AAC students in their classrooms. If you are a school-based SLP, don’t miss Tina’s classroom observation form for gathering data on how AAC is being used in various activities and lessons. GIVE THEM FIVE As an SLP in the school setting, helping teachers support students in the classroom can be a big challenge. While we can see students making progress in our therapy sessions, it can be difficult to get the same results in the classroom. An important role of the SLP is to collaborate with teachers to help students generalize these skills in conversation with their peers and other... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, classroom, forms, implementation ideas, intervention, resources, Tina Moreno
April 28, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Michigan-based SLP Rachael Langely is at it again! She developed a wonderful calendar of activities for those following along with our Year of Core Words. In addition, she provided some sample sentences that can be modeled, using Touch Chat as an example for the staff in classrooms that she supports. Enjoy! May Calendar (Click on the image to download) Examples of Things to Model (click to download or visit the AAC eToolbox, Downloads area) Note that these are just examples, and not a sequence of sentences to teach or practice as homework.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Calendar, implementation ideas, Rachael Langley, Year of Core
April 27, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Like many of you, I enjoy using fun websites in AAC therapy sessions. Word clouds are popular therapy tools, both because of their versatility and because they are fun and easy to make. Word clouds are images composed of words on a given topic, where the frequency of use of a word determines its size in the word cloud image. There are lots of websites and apps for this, and most are free. If you are looking for a way to build literacy into your language therapy activities, this may be an option worth exploring. Here are some ideas for prAACtical things to do. Build word knowledge: Use the word cloud to define new words, provide examples, and given synonyms. Once created, you can print these out for a word notebook or display on a vocabulary word wall. You can also keep a digital copy for a vocabulary notebook that... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation ideas, intervention, language therapy, word clouds
April 21, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
“But my kid wants to use the app on his own terms, not with ME!” Ever faced this conundrum? There are so many wonderful apps that are terrific for building interaction and language skills, but some of our prAACtical friends don’t want us to interact with them during iPad play**. Today, we’re thinking about strategies to use when kids would rather engage in solitary play as opposed to welcoming us as interaction partners in their iPad games. How can we help them increase their tolerance for interaction when playing on the iPad? Here are a few things to try. Make expectations clear with visual supports. It’s hard to cooperate when you don’t have an understanding of what’s supposed to happen. When kids are used to playing games, reading books, or watching videos on their own, they sometimes resist our participation out of the fear that they won’t get to do... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: iDevice, implementation ideas, interaction, visual supports
April 20, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
Working with core words? Whether or not you are following along with our Year of Core Words or using some other approach, Earth Day is the perfect time to practice those reusable, recyclable words. Last week, we talked about using our April core words (2013 List: big, busy, do, drink, feel, he, in, make, out, some, tell, who) in literacy activities. Today, we’ll talk about using them in arts and crafts activities. Let’s create with core words! Choose your craft project. A quick Pinterest search yields lots of possibilities. Consider which words to focus on. Some of the April words (do, make, out, some) work well with any craft project. Review the project through the lens of your goal: Modeling and eliciting core words. Decide how you will implement it so that the focus is the core words, not the art itself. Make an activity schedule showing the steps for... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: art, core vocabulary, crafts, implementation ideas, intervention, Year of Core
April 16, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
We are headed to Barbados with this post, to hear how SLP Shareka Bentham and her prAACtical friends are making popcorn and building language skills. You can see Shareka’s earlier posts here. I love the ease and versatility of this activity which could be a fun way for AAC learners to practice core vocabulary with a manual communication board/book, SGD, or PODD book. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I revisited this activity this week and thought that it would be a great one to share. It’s fun, functional and filling! What more do you need? Making popcorn together is not only one of the best group activities I’ve done, it’s also one of the most fun, and interactive AAC activities I’ve done. It’s a chance to learn and use new vocabulary, take turns using the AAC device and to do some requesting and describing. Initially, when I worked on this activity I only used a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: activities, implementation ideas, Shareka Bentham