Tag Archive: language therapy
July 16, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Have you worked with students like these? Gaby has been using SGDs since kindergarten. As she approaches high school, Gaby is able to express many things but her language is significantly below those of her peers. This makes it difficult for Gaby to read grade-level textbooks with comprehension, complete writing assignments, and perform well on academic tests. Ian’s SLP and teacher are trying to understand why he is able to learn new language skills but seems to lose some of them when they start working on new goal areas. When the time came for a speech-language re-evaluation, they were surprised that Ian scored so poorly in areas where he made mastered his IEP goals. Brandon is a fifth grader who wants to go to college someday. His language skills have been growing steadily since he got his first AAC device several years ago, but are still remarkably delayed. In situations... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: language therapy
July 8, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: Core Vocabulary Flipbook for July Words Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Independence Day, AAC style! Thursday – 5 Visual Supports for Emotions and Feelings ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a couple of additional posts to explore? Check out these selections fromt the archives. PrAACtical Suggestions: How to Get Started with a New AAC Client Visual Schedules 411 How to Use Magnets to Promote Language Development Visual Supports for Places We Go (downloadable template) From Disney Princesses to Houseplants: More on Building Communication Opportunities
Filed under: Featured Posts
Tagged With: language therapy, summary post, visual schedules
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
October 26, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for ways to engage AAC learners in language therapy? Today, we welcome back SLP Rachel Madel to tell us about her experience in using wordless videos. Her prAACtical tips will get you excited about using videos like these, curated by The Activity Tailor, in your lessons. Enjoy! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Using Animated Shorts to Build Language Skills with AAC Learners We are living in a digital age, where video content is often free and easy to access. Children on my caseload are tech savvy and are constantly dazzling me with how well they can navigate YouTube to find their favorite videos. Motivation is paramount in creating meaningful communication interactions and watching animated videos is highly motivating for both students and clinicians. I’ve had great success utilizing wordless videos in my practice and was lucky enough to present on the topic during “AAC After Work” with a fellow AAC colleague, Susan Berkowitz. In case... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation ideas, language therapy
June 29, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Today we learn from a veteran AAC SLP, Lindsey Paden Cargill, who has been working in the field of SLP for 12 years and is passionate about service provision and research in the area of AAC for individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition to her caseload, she is also the Therapy Manager at a private therapy and education center in Columbus, Ohio called Bridgeway Academy. Lindsey is currently collaborating with The Ohio State University on several AAC-related research studies including an immersive AAC classroom and a parent-training course. AAC Intervention Strategies for Beginning Communicators: Presume Competence and Be the Fun In the last ten years providing energetic, creative and data-driven AAC language therapy has become my passion… or maybe obsession. My mission statement is for anyone interacting with a new AAC user to “presume competence and be the fun.” To accomplish my goals I have to prioritize several things: providing a... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation ideas, intervention strategies, language therapy
January 16, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
Here in the US, we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on the third Monday of January. It presents, among other things, a wonderful opportunity to talk and teach about concepts like tolerance, fairness, dignity, respect, and peaceful protest. Many of our AAC learners have a deeper understanding of these concepts than we will ever realize but they lack the language skills to discuss them in the same ways as their speaking peers do. Today, we share some ideas for continuing the conversation about these issues to help our AAC learners continue to develop their language skills. You may already have books, videos, and other resources that are useful in teaching about the life of Dr. King and the values he fought for, but here are some previous posts with a few more suggestions. Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday: 5 Resources for AAC Learners AAC and Anti-bullying... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: holiday, language therapy
December 28, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or some combination of holidays, these events offer rich opportunities for building language in people who use AAC. There’s a good chance that someone took photos which can be a terrific source of motivating materials. In this post, we’ll look at a few ideas for using those to strengthen language and communication skills. Collect them into a photo album: Use PowerPoint, Keynote, or an app to pull the photos together into a collection that can serve as a highly motivating context for language learning activities. With these albums we can: Page through them together to practice making comments (e.g., cold; I see tree, That is pretty), Co-create a narrative about the picture, Work on morphological goals such as pluralization and verb tenses, and, Build longer sentences (e.g., ‘hot chocolate’ becomes ‘drink hot chocolate’ or ‘make more hot chocolate’). Create a photo collage: Work with the... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation, language therapy, photo
December 26, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
A great many AAC learners would love to be more actively involved in social conversations but may not have the skills to carry on a conversation. For some individuals, the use of pre-stored messages designed to get their partners talking is a great way take the pressure off and allow the AAC learner to be more actively involved in the conversation. Partner-focused questions serve to get information, opinions, or feedback. By creating these and storing them as whole questions, the AAC learner has a relatively quick and easy means to drive the direction of the conversation. Here are some examples: How were your holidays? What did you get for Christmas/Hanukkah? What do you think? Where did you go over break? How’s your family? What’s going on with you? In general, people love talking about themselves and questions like these are a great way to get the ball rolling or keeping... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Conversation, holiday, language therapy, prestored messages
May 9, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
It has been so exciting to see that AAC learners are increasingly provided with communication boards, books, SGDs, and apps that feature a robust set of core vocabulary words. For many years, ‘providing AAC’ used to mean access to topic and choice boards or activity-specific communication displays (ABCDs). Now, we recognize the limitations of those approaches and do our best to move beyond them in favor of more linguistically robust options. AAC systems with core vocabulary that is organized to support the development of a motor plan allows learners to build and grow their skills over time. For a long time, the AAC field has known that providing access to appropriate tools (in this case, a core vocabulary set) is only the first step toward successful use of augmentative communication. Providing it is necessary but not sufficient for most AAC learners to develop any sort of linguistic competence. For... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC intervention, implementation, language therapy
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