April 13, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
It’s a healthy sign when practitioners in any field examine their beliefs, reflect on their own practices, and revisit previously held assumptions. In this post, veteran SLP Alicia Garcia challenges us to think about some important questions. Do we hold people who use AAC to standards that are different from their speaking peers? How does that impact them? What, if any, adjustments in our thinking should be made to help them flourish? It’s a great day for us to slow down and think through questions like these, and Alicia’s guest post helps us do just that. The Curse of the Random Thought in AAC Situation: Young verbal children playing in a sand pit Child 1: My dad’s truck broke Child 2: Oh… my mom has a blue car and she’s coming over later Child 3: … I had a big candy bar all by myself… Communication is a messy... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: reflective practices, self-reflection
January 4, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Novice or expert Parent or professional Generalist or specialist No matter what our differences, we share a common goal of helping AAC learners move forward on the path to better language and literacy. We can all do a little more to help people with AAC needs achieve their potential. Here are some things ideas to get us moving. Find a new use for a retired, abandoned, or under-utilized tool. Lots of us are cleaning out closets and drawers at this time of year, and we’re bound to find something that has AAC potential. It could be an old magnetic card reader (great for phonological awareness and other literacy activities), a talking switch (adds flavor to ‘word of the day activities;’ great for telling jokes, getting attention and more), or even some random picture cards (add some spice to the sensory table or hide them around to read the room). Someone’s... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: implementation, professional development, reflective practices