April 2, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
If you’ve ever woken up in the middle of the night sweating over one of your AAC clients who doesn’t have a back-up communication tool, then this post is for you. Jeanne Tuthill is back with another prAACtical suggestion, this time on the importance of ensuring that people with AAC needs have communication options when their technology isn’t available or appropriate. In keeping with the generous spirit of the AAC field, Jeanne also shares her files for this project. Enjoy! How I Do It: Making a Back-up for High Tech AAC Each time I teach my graduate class I try to invite at least one AAC user in as a guest speaker to share their story with the students in the class. It never ceases to fill my students with awe and appreciation for the challenges that AAC users face on a daily basis. My students often list it as... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC app, back-up, high tech, Jeanne Tuthill, LAMP Words for Life, SGD
July 31, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We are so pleased to have a return visit by SLP Jeanne Tuthill. In this post, she shares an informal assessment activity based around a Book of Favorites. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Greetings from Massachusetts! My work at the Collaborative for Educational Services is on a school-year contract so I’m currently on summer break with my three girls. We’ve been plenty busy with fun summer activities but my learning and growing as an AAC therapist isn’t tied to my contract dates. I’ve also been busy watching webinars, reading some great books (educational as well as pleasure-reading), and following the Facebook feeds of some of my favorite AAC peeps! I really wish I could have attended ISAAC in Lisbon, Portugal this year…I loved seeing everyone’s photos and posts from what looked to be a spectacular conference! In my last post on assessment I shared with you an ice-breaker activity that is low-stress for... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, Books, download, Jeanne Tuthill, resources
May 23, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re happy to have SLP Jeanne Tuthill back with a brief post on one of our all-time favorite products. Since we have a few folks who are new to AAC, we thought it would be great to review this simple guideline. We’ve known to break a few rules but this one is sacrosanct. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Recently, on PrAACtical AAC, there was a blog post that poked a little fun at fellow practitioners with a tongue-firmly-in-cheek list of ways to determine if you might be an AAC therapist (You Might be an AAC Therapist If…). I am guilty of far too many items on that list (Hello, my name is Jeanne and I am an AAC therapist…) and I even added a few of my own idiosyncrasies in the comments section – just for good measure! One of the things I added to the list was: “You get irrationally upset when someone doesn’t... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Jeanne Tuthill, Velcro Rule
March 20, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
We’re so excited to introduce a new AACtual therapist, Jeanne Tuthill. Jeanne has been an SLP for over 15 years and has specialized in AAC for the past 6 years. As an AT specialist for the Collaborative Center for Assistive Technology and Training (CCATT) in Northampton, Massachusetts, Jeanne evaluates and provides consultation services for K-12 students in schools throughout Western Massachusetts. In addition, she provides workshops and professional development training in that region. Since 2012, Jeanne has served as an adjunct faculty member for the Assistive Technology Graduate Program at Simmons College. She has also presented at a number of regional and national conferences. You can see Jeanne here with her long-time student Lauren Suprenant, who is using a Step-by-Step Communicator, to share information about how she communicates with others (introduction strategy). Jeanne shares a little bit about her work and then discusses an activity that is used in their AAC... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, CCATT, interview, Jeanne Tuthill