May 16, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
In the US, we just celebrated Mother’s Day and the phone lines were busy with people connecting with moms, grandmothers, aunts, and friends. In this short video, Jennifer Lindner, reminds us that not everyone has an easy time making a phone call. AAC is a great option for some, but others prefer to use their natural speech, even when there is diminished intelligibility. Everyone in the US with a significant speech impairment is eligible for a free service connecting speech impaired people with trained communication partners who can assist them in making phone calls. Speech-to-Speech is a nonprofit organization that has helped promote this concept and make it available throughout the country. Take a look. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaK2cV8Km8
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Jennifer Lindner, phone, speech to speech, telephone
February 28, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
AAC professionals are generally big proponents of multimodal communication. These days, it seems like almost everyone has a cell phone and many of the AAC learners with whom we work use them for texting. If you need a low-cost stand for a cell phone, take a look at this video from the New Hampshire AT Project. With a little stabilization, this might be just the ticket for some of our prAACtical friends. Direct Link to Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQhRhKFWklo&feature=share&list=UUOhlN8JnAwdYrhWEdWpmE3g&index=3
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AT in NH, cellphone stand, DIY, mount, New Hampshire AT Project, phone
June 20, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
While I am not one of those folks who has a phone glued to her ear, I sure wouldn’t want to live without the ability to make a phone call. Here are some sites with information of interest to people with AAC needs. 1. Photo Phone Dialing: While many high tech SGDs can do phone dialing, sometimes the best solution is the simplest one. For some people, using a phone that has prestored numbers stored under photo buttons, provides just enough support to make the call. Once the call is placed, however, out comes the SGD so the conversation can proceed. – 2. Phone Skills: We’re not born knowing how to use the phone and some of our AAC friends have needed direct instruction and lots of practice phone skills. Making visual supports, like this one from SET BC, can help. Another neat tool is the Tele-Trainer, which is a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation ideas, phone, resources, visual supports
May 27, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Not sure how we missed this great video when it first came out, but it is worth sharing. It was made by Michael Brian Reed and friends for the Many Stories, One Voice Online Collection in support of International AAC Month back in 2008. Michael also posted some tutorials on how to create animated video stories and posted them to his YouTube Channel.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: phone
May 26, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
I don’t think there is a house I’ve ever been to that hasn’t had a drawer that looked something like this. If your junk drawer has some old phones (you know, the ones you saved ‘just in case’), consider digging them out and putting them to good use. – The folks at Different iz Good, one of the wonderful groups featured in our post on charitable groups that support AAC, have a cellphone drive program that helps fund the iPhones and iPod touches that they provide to people with significant communication challenges. Besides donating your own old phones, you can also put out collection boxes in schools, places of employment, the library, your gym, etc. Once you have 3 or more phones, shipping them is free. – Get the details at their site along with printable letters, mailing labels, and such. – –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: mobile device, phone