Tag Archive: research

PrAACtical Research: Improving Accessibility for People with Significant Speech Disabilities

July 23, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Research: Improving Accessibility for People with Significant Speech Disabilities

When clinicians, researchers, and individuals with AAC needs come together to work on a problem, good things can happen. In today’s post, SLP Katie Seaver tells us about her experiences with Project Euphonia. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: My name is Katie Seaver and I have been an SLP for 16 years.  For the past 10 year I have been an SLP and AAC Specialist at the Leonard Florence Center in Chelsea MA at their ALS Residence (see ALSRI.org for more information).  The center is uniquely built to meet the extensive accessibility obstacles pALS experience.  Each room is private with a fully automated environmental control with a program called PEAC.  Once a resident has a device that allows them to access WiFi (e.g. an iPhone or even a Tobii Dynavox SGD) then they have access to their environment as well, from heating and TV, to doors and elevators.    My passion for AAC has been... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #19: May 2020

May 10, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #19: May 2020

Happy Sunday, AAC friends, and Happy Mother’s Day to those in the US. Here are some posts from our prAACtical week. Monday – PrAACtical Resources: ASHA’s AAC Evidence Map Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Some Good AAC News Thursday – Parent Coaching & Tele-AAC ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: If you have a little more time, check out some of these past posts. 5 Kinds of Pre-stored Messages That Put the AAC Learner in Control PrAACtical Guessing: 5 Apps for Interactive Inferencing Supporting Children in the Pediatric ICU 5+ Things to Do to Help AAC Learners Communicate About Illness or Injury “What’s Wrong?” AAC Messages for Negative Emotions and Feelings

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Throwback Thursday: AAC Research

March 5, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

Throwback Thursday: AAC Research

It’s Throwback Thursday and today we’ve reached into the archives to revisit past posts on research in the field of AAC. Enjoy! PrAACtical Research with Kathy Howery Profiles of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities AAC Intervention for Children with ASD Aided Language Input for People with Developmental Disabilities Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members’ Voices Effects of Parent Instruction on SGD Use Recasts in AAC Mediated Interaction Research Support for Aided Language Input AAC & Challenging Behavior Research Tuesday: Photos Versus PCS – Babies Weigh In Literacy Instruction for Students with Significant Disabilities Comparing Picture Exchange and SGDs Research Reviews Supporting the Use of AAC Supporting Children with Severe and Profound Multiple Disabilities Sensory Intervention for Individuals with ASD: What Does the Research Say?  

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #8: February 2020

February 23, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #8: February 2020

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We’ve got some posts that may be of interest. Monday – PrAACtical Research: Recasts in AAC Mediated Interaction Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Bridging Literacy and AAC for Adolescents Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AACtivities for Language Building ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Before you head off, take a look at some of these posts from the archives. Alphabet Books & AAC Implementation PrAACtical Guessing: 5 Apps for Interactive Inferencing Supporting Children in the Pediatric ICU 5+ Things to Do to Help AAC Learners Communicate About Illness or Injury “What’s Wrong?” AAC Messages for Negative Emotions and Feelings

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #43: October 2019

October 27, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #43: October 2019

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. Here are some posts that may be of interest. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with I Went Walking Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Social Closeness in AAC Intervention Thursday – PrAACtical Research: Effects of Parent Instruction on SGD Use ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Looking for a few more posts to browse? We’ve got a few suggestions for you. PrAACtically Reading with Karen Natoci: The Family Book Communication Boards: Colorful Considerations AACtual Therapy: Building Language and Emergent Literacy Skills with ‘Do You Wear Diapers?’ How We Do It: Using Language Boards to Support AAC Use By Nerissa Hall and Hillary Jellison “I Made a Communication Board. Now What?”

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Video of the Week: Parent-Implemented AAC Intervention for Young Children

March 13, 2019 by - 1 Comment

Video of the Week: Parent-Implemented AAC Intervention for Young Children

Over 100 young children with AAC needs and their parents participated in research to look at the ways that their communication changed when families were trained to provide support. For today’s featured video, we turn to the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium (ERLC) and the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia (ARPDC) to learn more about what research teams led by Drs. Maryann Romski and Rose Sevick found out. Learn about the methods and strategies they used in this archived webinar. Many thanks to the ERLC. the ARPDC, and Drs. Romski and Sevcik for making Parent-Coached Augmented Language Intervention for Toddlers available. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=373&v=rnILKJu_ai0

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #1: January 2019

January 6, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #1: January 2019

Happy 2019, AAC friends! If you were busy celebrating and then returning to work this week, you might have missed a few of these posts. Monday – Top AAC Posts of 2018 Tuesday – Ringing in a New Year of AAC Wednesday – Video of the Week: Ian & the Struggle for Inclusive Societies Thursday – PrAACtical Research: Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members’ Voices ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ready for a few more suggestions? Here are some past posts that you might enjoy. PrAACtical Ideas for Repurposing Older AAC Technology 5 AAC Downloads to Use and Share 5 Ways to Make Semantic Maps More Effective in AAC Therapy PrAACtical Resources on Language Development When Helping Isn’t Helping: Prompt Awareness in AAC Instruction Interested in AAC for the little ones? We’d love to see you at this full-day AAC session in Orlando later this month. On the graphic below, use the slider on the right to... [Read More...]

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PrAACtical Research: Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members’ Voices

January 3, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Research: Meta-synthesis of AAC Team Members' Voices

We are delighted to start off the New Year by welcoming back Dr. Kathy Howery for another wonderful review of an AAC research article. Dr. Howery has worked in the field of assistive technology and special education for over three decades. Her research uses phenomenological methods to seek understanding of the lived experience of speaking with/through a speech-generating device. She is currently on contract with the Ministry of Education low incidence team, and as a consultant to schools and school districts across Alberta focusing primarily on children and youth with complex communication needs. In today’s post, she discusses a research study that sheds light on the ways that we can better support students with AAC needs. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Chung, Y-C. & Stoner, J. B. (2016). A meta-synthesis of team members’ voices: what we need and what we do to support students who use AAC. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 32 (3), 175-186.... [Read More...]

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Research Support for Aided Language Input

May 31, 2018 by - 1 Comment

Research Support for Aided Language Input

Aided language input, the practice of modeling AAC when speaking to those who are trying to learn AAC, is a pivotal intervention strategy. It has been shown to support comprehension and expression, and the development of early sentence forms. The evidence suggests it may also support the development of certain grammatical morphemes and verb combinations.  You can learn more about the implementation of aided language input here. Here are some of the research studies that support the use of this evidence-based practice. Binger, C., & Light, J. (2007). The effect of aided AAC modeling on the expression of multi-symbol messages by preschoolers who use AAC. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 23, 30–43. Binger, C., Maguire-Marshall, M., & Kent-Walsh, J. (2011). Using aided AAC models, recasts and contrastive targets to teach grammatical morphemes to children who use AAC. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 54, 160–176.  Dada, S., & Alant, E. (2009). The... [Read More...]

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Evidence-based Practice in AAC

May 7, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Dr. Jill Senner and Matthew Baud are staunch advocates for using research-based strategies and other evidence-based practices (EBP) in their AAC work.  In today’s post. they share their thoughts on what EBP is, why it is important for AAC professionals, and how to incorporate it into our clinical and educational practices. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Facts Matter: EBP in AAC Evidence-based practice (EBP) has been a buzz word in healthcare and education for almost two decades.  However, “it has been well documented in many disciplines that major gaps exist between what is known as effective practices (i.e., theory and science) and what is actually done (i.e., policy and practice)” (Fixsen et al., 2005, p. 2).  What is EBP, why is it important and how can we make sure we’re incorporating evidenced-based practices into our work with students and clients using AAC?  Let’s take a look at answers to each of these questions below.... [Read More...]

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