Tag Archive: resources
June 25, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We’re in the first month of hurricane season and preparedness is very much on our minds. With that in mind, we thought it was a good idea to share a link to this important resource. The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust funded the development of this Communication Passport which is disseminated via the Widgit Symbol website. – This Communication Passport is designed to give important information about a person who uses AAC to healthcare professionals and first responders in case of accident or emergency. It uses a stoplight metaphor to guide the partner through important information, such as emergency contacts, health conditions, medications, how the person takes their medication, how to communicate with the person, and more. – Even those who are always accompanied by a familiar adult, such as a child, could benefit from this tool. In an emergency situation, there is often confusion and having all the key information... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Emergency, Medical, resources
June 23, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Yes, a picture’s worth a thousand words. But which pictures are the ‘right’ pictures for your client’s AAC system? There is a lots to be said on the subject of symbol selection but in this post we focus on exploring the options. This set of slides by Sally Millar and CALL Scotland is a concise chart with a great many symbol types. – The chart is packed with useful information, including examples, distinguishing features, intended use, associated software, comments and contact information. We love the section on picture symbols specifically for adults with symbols for self-advocacy and independent living. – Happy exploring!
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: resources, symbol
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
June 17, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
There is a more recent version of this post and app list. Click HERE for the updated version. — Here is our most recent update of free and lite versions of AAC apps, including a dozen for the Android platform. As with the previous version, we’re including some additional resources and excerpts from previous posts related to AAC app selection. We’d also like to give a mention to the first draft of RELAAACs, our attempt to quantify some of what we look for when we try to compare AAC apps based on their language and communication features. —————————————————————————————————– Thanks to all who’ve given us great feedback and suggestions on our list of free and lite AAC apps. If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve had concerns about the decision-making process around app selection, and have advocated for that... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Android, Apps, iPad, resources
May 30, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
When I first heard about curation being the next big thing on the internet, I had a hard time seeing how I would have time to get involved. Less than a year later, I can’t conceive of being on the internet without my curation tools. Every day, something comes up that I want to store on a curation site. And it’s almost every day that I send someone to those places for a specific tool, video, article, etc. – In addition to Pinterest, which we blogged about earlier, we are frequent users of Scoop.It and LiveBinders. Each one has its unique properties and so, they are each useful for different things. – Scoop.It is a pictorial magazine where you can collect and share websites related to topics of interest. Unlike Pinterest, with Scoop.It, you can add things that do not have a sizable image. Anyone can view Scoop.Its, but if... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: curation, resources
May 26, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– A curator? Who, me? When a colleague first suggested that the online things we were sharing were part of the digital curation trend, I didn’t quite see it. Yes, I was always on the hunt for sites with quality AAC-related content. Yes, I sifted through those finds carefully to figure out which to keep, which to share, and how to organize it all so that I could actually find it when I needed it. But a curator?! Images of quiet basement rooms and dusty shelves came to mind…not quite the realm of my day-to-day experience. – On closer inspection, though, I began to see what my colleague was saying. Because I teach so many AAC graduate classes fully online, I am always trying to figure out new ways to use technology to get student SLPs engaged and passionate about AAC. It’s been exciting exploring the new web tools over... [Read More...]
Filed under: Strategy of the Month
Tagged With: digital curation, Pinterest, resources
May 23, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– For some people with significant communication difficulties, mobile devices and AAC apps play an important role. When selected after a process of careful evaluation, they can be incredibly useful in building communication, literacy, self-regulation, and other important skills. Here are links to organizations that provide support to families seeking mobile devices and communication apps for their children. – 1. The iTaalk Autism Foundation 2. Babies with iPads 3. Apps for Children with Special Needs 4. Different Needz Foundation 5. Gift a Voice Program from Different Iz Good™: iPhones only –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, families, iPad, mobile devices, resources
May 19, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We continue to celebrate ASHA’s Better Hearing and Speech Month with a focus on SLPs, specifically, strengthening our AAC connections in this digital world. This week we focus on websites that we find useful in our AAC work with graduate students, colleagues, clients, and families. – Ten years ago if you would have told us that sharing a list of useful AAC websites would seem dated and ‘old school,’ we would have either burst out laughing or withdrawn into a catatonic state. Now, however, it does seem a little old-fashioned to share a list of websites. Here is our starter list of sites to visit, explore, and bookmark. – 1. Resource and Training Material: The breadth, depth, and quality of the offerings by SET BC makes it one of our most frequented online resources. Downloadable AAC materials? Check! Curriculum supports? Got it! Accessible books? Yup! Training resources? Just wait ‘til... [Read More...]
Filed under: Strategy of the Month
Tagged With: BHSM, resources
May 16, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Since Robin has been doing such an awesome job of talking about Twitter and sharing AAC-friendly Twitter resources, I thought today we’d shift gears slightly and talk about applications for the classroom. – 1.If you’re new to Twitter, you may want to start with this helpful post on GeekSLP. 2. Great ideas for using Twitter in the K-12 classroom, many of which can be adapted for SLPs. 3. More ideas on how to use Twitter for teaching and learning 4. Beyond K-12 Twitter is just as useful. Here are some great resources for using it in Higher Education from Edudemic and Web 2.0 Teaching Tools 5. Twitter Professors: 18 People to Follow for a Real Time Education http://on.mash.to/IS5rej –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: BSHM, resources, schools, twitter
May 14, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– Today’s post is in honor of the first ever International Cri du Chat Awareness Week and the lovely young lady pictured here (as well as in the brochure linked below). – Cri Du Chat Syndrome (CdCS, also called Lejeune’s syndrome and 5p deletion) is a low incidence genetic disorder caused by a deletion on the short arm of chromosome 5 (5p-). Most children with CCS experience general developmental and communication delays, some of which are quite significant. They tend to have strengths in receptive language. Their speech is often marked by frequent articulation errors, small phonetic inventories, and restricted syllable shapes. Many infants and children with CdCS also have feeding and swallowing difficulties. Children with CdCS have a higher co-occurrence of cleft lip/palate. – 1. 5p- Society (US) and the Annual Conference: Positive Attitude, Reaching New Heights (July, 26-29 in Denver, CO). This group also has a network of... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: cri du chat, resources