March 7, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
1. National Technical Assistance Consortium for Children and Young Adults Who Are Deaf-Blind: Communication Fact Sheets. – 2. Early Interactions with Children Who are Deafblind by Deborah Gleason – 3. Learning to Communicate: Strategies for Developing Communication with Infants Whose Multiple Disabilities Include Visual Impairment and Hearing Loss by Dr. Deborah Chen, California State University, Northridge – 4. Communicating and Connecting with Learners Who Are Deafblind – Developing Communication Portfolios (Books and Videos) by New England Center Match Maker Project – 5. Tangible Symbol Systems: Making the Right to Communicate a Reality for Individuals with Severe Disabilities by Dr. Charity Rowland and Philip Schweigert –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: hearing impairment, intervention, resources, visual impairment
February 19, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
This is the first in an occasional series of posts in which we take activities designed for students in general education and tweak them a bit to make them into opportunities for AAC teaching. We’ll be building on great ideas from clinicians, parents, and educators (giving credit where it is due, of course). – The first HijAACked activity is from the Classroom Magic blog by Selina Smith. We chose this one because it gives us a chance to promote one of our favorite online book sources, We Give Books and share a wonderful book that supports Black History Month. We Give Books is a project of the Pearson Foundation and Penguin Books (you can find out more here). The Hallelujah Flight is the story of pilot James Banning and his good friend, mechanic Thomas Allen, flew cross country during the Great Depression. Written by former teacher Phil Bildner, this book... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Books, HijAACked AACtivities, intervention, literacy, resources
February 18, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
One of the first things that many SLPs ponder when doing an AAC assessment is about how language will be stored on an SGD, no-tech communication tool, visual support or AAC app. The issue is this: What symbols are best for this person’s communication aid? This is never an easy question to answer, but the proliferation of symbols used in visual supports, communication aids, SGDs, and AAC apps has made the process even more challenging. – There are several ways in which we go about answering that question, but that’s a post for another day. In this post, we want to share some of the most comprehensive sources for identifying your symbolic options. Here are some sites you may want to bookmark. – 1. A Guide to Selecting Pictures and Symbol Sets for Communication by Sally Millar 2. Comparison chart of AAC symbol sets and systems by Spectronics 3.... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: resources, symbol
February 7, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for some well-grounded, yet concrete ideas for assessment of early communicators? Communication Matrix is one of my ‘Go To’ places for just that sort of thing. The site is home to a tool that allows you to develop a clear communication profile for someone at the earliest stages of communicative learning. It is not a direct assessment instrument, but rather a systematic way of capturing knowledge gained through observation, interaction with the communicator, and interviewing families and other professionals. The tool itself has been around for over 20 years (I have the paper version on my shelf). Its primary author, Dr. Charity Rowland of the Oregon Health and Science University, has been refining it over the years and developed the online site with the support of the US Department of Education. The profile covers 7 levels of communication, 4 communicative intents, and 9 communication modalities. I’ve been using the online... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: assessment, beginning communicators, resources
January 18, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
It’s great to have some places to turn to when we need answers to AAC questions, resources to share, and the like. Here are some of the AAC groups that we’ve been able to count on for support. 1. ACOLUG: An oldie but a goodie. Run by Diane Bryen and Tracy Rackenberger, this email list is primarily a venue for people who use AAC to connect with one another but, in the spirit of inclusion, keeps the list open to professionals and students as well. 2. ASHA SIG 12: We can always count on their quarterly publication, Perspectives on AAC, and the online AAC community for support and pertinent information. We miss their annual conference, though! 3. Communication Matters AAC Forum : The ISAAC UK Chapter runs this and it is chock full of helpful information. We love the search feature and the digest options. 4. PACT: Promoting Augmentative Communication... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: resources