Tag Archive: intervention
July 1, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Is it really time to turn to another page on the calendar? Time is flying by! Here are some AAC posts you may have missed in your busy week. Monday – PrAACtically July: AAC Resources for A Year of Core Vocabulary Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Putting Aided Language Into Practice Thursday – Using Vest Displays with Preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for some more AAC for your day? Here are some things that may be of interest. New Word Teaching: A Peek Inside Some PrAACtical Therapy Sessions PrAACtical Questions: “What Should I Program on the AAC Device?” Vocabulary Instruction: When Definitions Don’t Work 5 Ways to Use PowerPoint in AAC Intervention Thoughts on Teaching Core Vocabulary (downloadable template) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: intervention, language therapy, summary post
May 11, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Better Hearing and Speech Month is in full swing and we are excited to see SLPs talking about tools and strategies for supporting people with AAC needs. Many individuals with AAC needs have difficulty using language in expected ways, particularly in social interactions. In this post, we welcome back guest authors Jill Senner and Matthew Baud to discuss ways in which they target pragmatic language in their clinical work. They have a prAACtical approach to this subject and are generous in sharing AAC resources, including vocabulary/pagesets for some popular AAC apps/SGDs. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Chat with Me: Pragmatic Skill Intervention in AAC with Jill E Senner, PhD, CCC-SLP & Matthew R. Baud, MS, CCC-SLP Pragmatic skills, commonly referred to as social skills, play an important role in the successful integration of individuals with disabilities. People with disabilities need adequate social skills to live and be educated in the least restrictive environment, to be... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: EBP, intervention, pragmatics, Social Language
April 19, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Having trouble getting AAC integrated throughout the classroom day? Veteran SLP Maureen Castillo took a creative approach to this common problem in the classrooms she supports. In this video, she discusses a project she created to foster AAC learning and use in the context of literacy activities. Learn how she combines the teaching of core vocabulary and Dolch sight words using aided language input, peer modeling, anchor books, and more. The video was made possible by Saltillo and is part of their free webinar series. Many thanks to Maureen and to Saltillo for making this available. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epQ3QlBg0hs
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: core vocabulary, intervention, literacy, reading, sight words, video
January 23, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
The good news is this: A growing number of people with complex communication needs are getting access to AAC. Educators whose students had AAC only at circle and snack time are now using it more consistently with their students throughout the day and teaching lessons specifically designed to build skills with AAC systems. SLPs who had eschewed AAC or who had focused their AAC efforts on choicemaking, requesting, and labeling are now embracing their role as language specialists and teaching a fuller array of semantic, morphological, and syntactic skills to AAC learners. AT specialists who had been doling out the same few SGDs and AAC apps are now digging deeper and using established practices for AT selection in supporting minimally verbal and nonverbal students. Behaviorists who had previously focused primarily on receptive identification and verbal imitation are supporting the expressive needs of their clients in new ways. Families who had little... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: intervention, language development, myth
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
May 4, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
How can we boost the frequency of core vocabulary use across environments? Planning those opportunities and teaching experiences is a big part of that process, both for those new to this approach and those who’ve been doing it for awhile. In this week’s featured video, Gail Van Tatenhove offers ideas for how to structure this so that it is feasible and successful. Thanks to Prentke Romich Deutschland for making ‘Core Counts’ available. Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-xfv3VpvAg
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: core vocabulary, intervention, teaching strategies
April 29, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve been writing about aided language input, a pivotal strategy for supporting AAC learners, for several years. In fact, there are over 200 posts tagged with this term. In this post, we gather together some of the most popular posts on this fundamental intervention strategy. Implementation A PrAACtical Idea for Aided Language Input Using Aided Language Input to Build Communication Opportunities! How I Do It: Implementing Aided Language Input with Alicia Garcia Pivotal Skills for AAC Intervention: Aided Language Input How We Do It: Controlled Practice in Partner Augmented Input with Jill Senner & Matthew Baud Text-Based Aided Language: Making the Literacy-Communication Connection for Children with Autism Videos PrAACtical Resources: Video Explainers for Aided Language Input Video of the Week: Aided Language Input with Gail Van Tatenhove Video of the Week: Aided Language Input with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite PrAACtical Resources: Video Examples of Aided Language Input Aided Language Input in... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: aided language input, intervention, video
March 2, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
In this week’s video, we feature SLP Shannon Hennig who talks to us about some of her strategies for teaching language learners. As with her previous video, Shannon’s suggestions are clear, relevant, and prAACtical. Enjoy!
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: intervention, language therapy
February 23, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
AAC learners need a lot of support as they build the skills needed to have rich and effective conversations. Often, their role in the conversation is punctuated with partners’ reliance on context, prior knowledge, and questions to make sense of the message. What do we do when the learner gives us partial information or uses language skills below his/her capability? Do we accept the limited language so that we get to the bottom of the message our learner is trying to express? Or do we use it as an opportunity to shape improved language skills? One approach to making this decision is to start with a question. “What is the top priority for this interaction?” Making a decision about the most important goal of the conversation is a critical step in determining how to respond. In some cases, the time is right to use the opportunity to improve skills in... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: intervention
November 23, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
The effectiveness of AAC therapy is probably more related to the skill of the individual interventionist than it is to the therapist’s professional discipline. Whether our backgrounds are in SLP, special education, OT, or behaviorism, we all strive to further develop our skills in implementing AAC instruction. In today’s post, we invite you to join us on a journey of therapy skill-building. We start by learning more about two types of time delay, constant time delay and progressive time delay, both of which have are research-supported strategies for learners with ASD and other developmental disabilities. They are important tools for helping AAC learners generalize their communication skills across settings and minimize the possibility of prompt dependency. The team at Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM), a project of the National Professional Development Center on ASD at the Frank Graham Porter Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AFIRM, Frank Graham Porter Child Development Institute, intervention, intervention skills, National Professional Development Center on ASD, time delay