June 4, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Karen Natoci is back just in time for the end of school and the start of summer break. Karen is an AAC Supervisor with The Speech Pathology Group in Walnut Creek, California. In this post, she gets us thinking about summer and shares suggested extension activities for home and a lesson plan for how to implement these materials at the return of school after summer break. Be sure to download the packet of materials using the link at the bottom of this page. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Book: How Do You Know It’s Summer? (Rookie Read-About Science) by Lisa M. Herrington It’s time to wrap up the school year! In the northern hemisphere, we are looking forward to summer break or a more relaxed school schedule. This is a great book to kick off the final week of school and to send along summer homework in preparation for the first week of school. The... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Karen Natoci, lesson plan, reading
August 4, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
We’ve all been there. You have meaningful goals, engaging materials, and a solid lesson plan for our therapy session. Five minutes into the session, it’s clear that the AAC learner has little or no interest in what we’ve prepared. Now what? Our choices are limited: persevere with the plan, modify it somewhat, or scrap it entirely. What’s a clinician to do? Take A Breath The first thing to do is breathe. Know that you are not the first one to struggle to engage this learner, and you won’t be the last. Think of it not as an excuse for an unproductive session but as a problem-solving challenge. Previous clinicians may have justified the session’s difficulties and atttibuted them to the learner’s lack of engagement, limited attention span, or behavioral problems. Personally, I feel sad for those clinicians because when we take that approach, not only do we fail the client,... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Therapy, lesson plan, self-improvement, self-reflection
February 7, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are so happy to have Deanna Wagner back with more AACtual Therapy. In her previous post, Deanna talked about her work with AAC groups for adults. Today, she shares a lesson plan and some implementation ideas. As a veteran AAC interventionist, Deanna’s therapy plan has many wonderful features that undoubtedly contribute to the success her students experience. Lesson/therapy Session: Using Social Phrases/Comments Intended audience & type of AAC: All devices/AAC users should have access to social commenting. Our Class: Middle school, self-contained classroom. Group of 3 students, SLP leading activity, paraprofessional, and Teacher of Visually Impaired supporting Goal for Overall Lesson: Use word/icon combinations to express opinions or make social comments Specific Student Goals: Student #1 will combine 2 icons for social interjections – please, thank you, cool, awesome, yum, yuk, ok (ECO2 from PRC) Student #2 will functionally use new phrases to chat or indicate an opinion (Dynavox... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, commenting, Deanna Wagner, lesson plan, middle school, social phrases