Tag Archive: schools

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #7: February 2020

February 16, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #7: February 2020

Happy Sunday, AAC friends! Here are some posts you may have missed. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Go Away, Big Green Monster!’ Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Supporting Students Who Use AAC with School-wide Implementation Thursday – How I Do It: Project-Based Learning and AAC ———————————————————————————————- Before you leave, here are a few more past posts to check out. Visual Supports for Places Around School (downloadable) Visual Supports for Places We Go (downloadable) AAC Intervention for Children with ASD Teaching Communication Partners Through Video Self-modeling Bilingual AAC Assessment Tips

Filed under: ,

Tagged With: , ,

How We Do It: AAC Strategies & Adaptations for Students in Support Walkers, Assessment & Funding

December 12, 2019 by - 1 Comment

When young children with significant motor challenges are unable to move freely around the environment, it impacts many things. Today, we introduce a limited series on why hands-free mobility is so crucial during the early years, and what we can do to promote independent mobility. We are extremely fortunate to have Christine Wright-Ott authoring this series. Christine is an Occupational Therapist and consultant at The Bridge School in Hillsborough California. She authored the chapter, Mobility, in several editions of the book, Occupational Therapy for Children. Christine lectures at universities and conferences including ATIA, Closing the Gap, ISAAC, ISS, and AAC by the Bay.

How can we reduce the negative impact of significant motor challenges on children who use AAC and are not independently mobile? Today, we conclude Christine Wright-Ott’s series on this topic. Christine is an Occupational Therapist and consultant at The Bridge School in Hillsborough California. She authored the chapter, Mobility, in several editions of the book, Occupational Therapy for Children. Christine lectures at universities and conferences including ATIA, Closing the Gap, ISAAC, ISS, and AAC by the Bay. If you missed the earlier posts in this series you can catch up via the links below. Part 1: From Wheelchair to Walker: The Cascading Benefit of Hands-Free Mobility Part 2: From Wheelchair to Hands-free Walker for Preschool Children with AAC Needs Part 3: How We Do It: A Support Walker Mobility Program for Elementary Students with AAC Needs ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: AAC Strategies, Adaptations for Students in Support Walkers, Assessment & Funding AAC Strategies and... [Read More...]

Filed under: ,

Tagged With: , ,

How We Do It: Changing AAC Mindsets & Outcomes

November 21, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

How We Do It: Changing AAC Mindsets & Outcomes

As AAC interventionists, we spend a lot of time helping therapists, teachers, families, and others develop their appreciation for multimodal communication and build their skills in using supportive strategies. In today’s post, Deidre Dobbels, a speech-language pathologist specializing in AAC, language and literacy development in young children, shares her thoughts on how we can do this effectively. Deidre is employed by Barrington CUSD #220 in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago in which a Universal Core Approach to Language and Literacy has been in place for nearly a decade. Deidre authored a multi-media early developing core vocabulary curriculum used by her school district as well as by therapists and teachers throughout the Midwest. In her guest post, Deidre talks about her experiences in addressing the AAC needs of young children with complex communication needs. Changing Mindsets, Changing Outcomes As a young Speech Language Pathologist working in Early Childhood classrooms, I was... [Read More...]

Filed under: ,

Tagged With: ,

Video of the Week: Using the AAC Participation Model to Guide Implementation Planning

November 13, 2019 by - 3 Comments

Video of the Week: Using the AAC Participation Model to Guide Implementation Planning

The AAC Participation Model, originally developed by Drs. David Beukelman and Pat Mirenda, has been a guiding force in AAC practices for many years. In today’s featured video, we turn to Kelly Fonner, a former teacher and highly experienced AT and education consultant, to share some thoughts about how we can use this to strengthen our plans for AAC implementation.  This recorded session was part of the 2019 AAC in the Cloud Conference, which is hosted each spring by CoughDrop.  We are grateful to Kelly and to CoughDrop for their generosity in making this session available. You can access Kelly’s handout for this session here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO2fXruxk1w

Filed under:

Tagged With: , , ,

5 Ways to Build Increased Support for AAC Within an Organization

November 11, 2019 by - 1 Comment

5 Ways to Build Increased Support for AAC Within an Organization

In many organizations, the AAC practices of individual therapists and teachers outpace the support for AAC by the larger staff or community. Here are some suggestions for building more wide-spread support for AAC in schools and other agencies.  Take advantage of any requirements to attend mandatory training events. Most school districts have mandatory staff development days, and often, the training provided on those days has little or no relevance to those who do AAC work. Perhaps you can offer a more relevant alternative. Work with administrators to be able to provide AAC training on these days to share information on AAC implementation with teachers, paraprofessionals, and therapists. To get a spot on that calendar, it may take a while to establish rapport and relationships with the leadership team and various department heads but this is time and effort well-spent. Invite administrators, department heads, and committee chairs to AAC-related events on... [Read More...]

Filed under: ,

Tagged With: , ,

How We Do It: Getting to the CORE of Communication (Part 1)

August 5, 2019 by - 2 Comments

How We Do It: Getting to the CORE of Communication (Part 1)

Looking to create a sustainable AAC program in your school? Today, we learn about the way one school district in Illinois created a core vocabulary initiative that has been up and running for almost a decade. Kelly Key, the Assistive Technology (AT) Coordinator for Barrington School District 220 serves as our tour guide. Kelly is passionate about giving students a voice through core vocabulary and empowering others to support students.  She has been in the field for over 22 years as a special education teacher, an administrator, and AT Coordinator.  Kelly presents at local, state, and national conferences and colleges on various AT topics including core vocabulary and AAC implementation. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: How We Do It: Getting to the CORE of Communication (Part 1) Rolling Out a Core Vocabulary Initiative- How this District has been going strong for a decade! The Importance of Using Core Vocabulary As we all know, individuals with complex... [Read More...]

Filed under: ,

Tagged With: , ,

Video of the Week: Important Considerations in the AAC Selection Process

January 23, 2019 by - 2 Comments

Video of the Week: Important Considerations in the AAC Selection Process

What are some of the ‘big ideas’ that we should have in mind as we approach the process of selecting AAC supports for an individual student? There is much to consider during this process, as SLP and AT Specialist Chris Bugaj notes in today’s featured presentation. Thank you to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s TTAC Program for making the archived sessions from their TechKnowledgy Conferences available to all. Click here for the handout for this session. Note: You may need to create a free account in order to view this video. Also, you can check out their upcoming TechKnowledgy Conference here. 

Filed under:

Tagged With: , ,

Video of the Week: Aided AAC and the IEP

July 18, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Aided AAC and the IEP

Last month, CoughDrop held the 2018 AAC in the Cloud conference, offering 3 tracks of presentations and online discussions with the presenters. I was thrilled to find this ‘meaty’ session by Amy Goldman, Technical Assistance Specialist and AAC SLP, at the National AT Act Technical Assistance and Training Center. Amy is a tireless advocate for AAC and has shared some of her work here in the area of emergency preparedness and on the activities of the NJC. In this video, she gives us a solid overview of the IEP as it relates to AAC and AT. There’s something to learn even if you’ve already done a lot of work around the topic of AAC and the IEP. Many thanks to CoughDrop for putting on another wonderful, online conference and offering it to the AAC community without charge, and to Amy for sharing such valuable information. Enjoy! Direct Link to video... [Read More...]

Filed under:

Tagged With: , ,

Video of the Week: Be More with Core

June 20, 2018 by - 1 Comment

Video of the Week: Be More with Core

Looking to improve the AAC implementation practices in your school? Today, we hear from Kelly Key, the Assistive Technology Coordinator for Barrington School District in Illinois, who discusses the ways in which their schools boosted AAC use by focusing on core vocabulary. Many thanks to Kelly and the Kansas Technical Assistance Network (TASN) for offering this presentation. You can learn more about TASN here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.ksdetasn.org/resources/1628

Filed under:

Tagged With: , ,

PrAACtical Resources: Lockdown, Code Red, & Other School Safety Drills

May 14, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Resources: Lockdown, Code Red, & Other Safety Drills

Recent events, such as the horrific mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, have led us all to re-examine policies and procedures that impact school safety.  Throughout the country, school communities are re-evaluating and fine-tuning their processes for keeping students and staff safe in the unlikely event of violent acts, such as bomb threats and active shooters. It seems surreal that we have to think about and plan for this, but that is our reality. We look at school safety drills for Code Red and lockdowns with a greater degree of importance and a heightened level of urgency. Our students with AAC needs are among the most vulnerable in any emergency situation and this is no different. Our students may have difficulty understanding what is happening in a drill or its implications. They may have difficulty moving quickly to get to a safe space or staying quiet once they get there.... [Read More...]

Filed under: ,

Tagged With: , , ,