A song brought to you by some great advocacy people AND definitely guaranteed to make you smile. This is not new but the ideas are relevant now just as before. ISAAC International AAC Awareness Campaign TASH Communication Committee Everyone Communicates Judy Bailey Snoopi Botten
Filed under: Video of the Week
For the August Strategy of the Month, we have been thinking, writing, & talking about AAC in School. School is where AAC learners spend a large portion of their days. There needs to be multiple opportunities for students to USE and LEARN AAC each day. More than that though, we strive for full participation and interaction for students who use AAC. Students should not have to prove that they can do these things before they have ACCESS to AAC strategies and intervention. Here are some things that can be done to help build AAC participation for both students and educators. Provide ACCESS to AAC devices and visual supports throughout ALL activities in ALL places in school and on school sponsored trips/community based instruction. Provide Aided Language Input when teaching AAC to students. Use a Core Word approach when teaching AAC to students but don’t forget about Fringe Vocabulary. Learn and use partner assisted communication... [Read More...]
Filed under: Strategy of the Month
Tagged With: communication, inclusion, language, resources, strategies
For school-aged children, few things are more painful that being excluded from a group. Today we’re excited to share a series of videos from SET-BC on the topic of social inclusion. Laurie Smith and Lorraine Kamp produced two substantial videos entitled Speaking Out and Joining In. They also have links with shorter videos on some of the strategies. Quick Soapbox: Fellow SLPs, this is important stuff. All the AAC in the world won’t matter if people are isolated or lonely. The communication and social skills it takes to develop and maintain meaningful relationships outside of the family is something that we can address in the goals we write and the therapy we provide. We can do something about this.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: education, friendship, inclusion, social skills
We’re off to a great start for Better Hearing and Speech Month! Today’s Fresh Look post comes from one of the most experienced AAC SLPs in the United States. Joan Bruno, Ph.D., CCC-SLP has over 30 years experience working in the field of AAC. She is currently maintains a private practice consulting to schools and private agencies and is the Augmentative Communication Specialist at the TECHConnection in Shrewsbury, NJ. Joan has published and presented nationally and internationally on a variety of topics related to AAC assessment and intervention. Joan is the 2011-2013 President of the New Jersey Speech and Hearing Association, and a Past-President of the United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Since 1992, she has directed Camp Chatterbox, a therapy camp for children using AAC devices. Joan is the author of the Gateway to Language and Learning© page set and the Test of Aided-Communication Symbol Performance© (TASP). In... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: core vocabulary, curriculum, Fresh Look, general education, inclusion, Joan Bruno, Language Arts, schools, word prediction
In the past few months, we’ve shared some articles on AAC in general education. We’ve looked at the development of an AAC intervention plan that relates to curriculum standards and using math and science standards as a context for building AAC skills. In this post, I’d like to share my own contribution to that issue of ASHA’s Special Interest Group (SIG) quarterly publication, Perspectives on AAC. Although the final versions are available only to SIG members, clearance has been given to post the original articles. As we all know, AAC skills are best learned when the entire team is headed in the same direction, using robust instructional methods, and communicating well with one another. In this article, I discuss some of the ways that we can clarify the expectations of each team member so that all the bases are covered and our individual efforts complement one another. Thoughts on managing assessment... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: classroom, cocoa, general education, goals, inclusion, observation, team
Happy Passover & Easter to those who celebrate! There are some great free visual supports to help ALL children participate in the holiday routines. We are thankful to Gateways Access to Jewish Educationand Positively Autism– Daily Autism Freebie for making these readily available. Whether you use them for your students, clients, family, or guests, we hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and everyone is included. Passover The Seder Order, The Ten Plagues, Passover Social Stories, Passover Prayers, Passover Songs, Passover File Folder Activities Easter Going to Church on Easter Travis the Train Goes on an Easter Egg Hunt Decorating Easter Eggs Going on an Easter Egg Hunt Easter Vocabulary Easter Songs (scroll to the bottom of the page for the videos)
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: easter, inclusion, Passover, visual supports
February 2013 is the 5th annual Jewish Disability Awareness Month. In honor of inclusion into a Jewish education and life we wanted to share some resources that will help support full participation for everyone. Keep in mind though, the idea of inclusion transcends a specific religion and all of the resources here can customized and used to welcome ALL families. A Virtual Book Club Webinar: Now I See The Moon- A Mother, A Son, A Miracle **Definitely Worth Watching (great story and learn how inclusive programming was created where there was none)** Jewish Disability Awareness Facebook Page Gateway Access to Jewish Education Visual Supports for Passover, Shabbat, High Holidays, Chanukah, & Purim. Jewish Disability Awareness Month Guide Children’s Book’s About Disability
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Books, Disability Awareness, inclusion, visual supports
PART 2 Inclusive Libraries
Filed under: Video of the Week
Making libraries inclusive for EVERYONE! Here are some great suggestions for helping libraries welcome everyone. Library visits are great experiences to help build literacy skills, vocabulary, and just to enjoy topics of interest. They are great for rainy or super cold days. Hope you get to enjoy your local library this winter and always.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Dan Habib’s film, Thaysa, needs no introduction. Enjoy!
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: AAC Awareness Month, ASD, inclusion, schools, support, teacher