Tag Archive: self-advocacy
January 18, 2021
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome back SLT Katherine Small, an AAC Consultant at the Ace Centre, for the second in her series about working with Talking Mats. In her previous post, Katherine shared her experience in implementing Talking Mats with her clients. In this post, she discusses her role in developing a tool designed to help potential AAC users become more active participants in the decision-making process around using and selecting AAC tools. Readiness for AAC is a free resource that can be used to help explain the process of AAC evaluations and options to people with complex communication needs and engage them in sharing their thoughts and preferences. My Experience as Part of the Development of the ‘Readiness for AAC’ Talking Mats Resource When Ace Centre began a collaboration with Talking Mats to create some new mats about AAC topics I was thrilled to get to be part of the project... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC assessment, self-advocacy
October 28, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
How can we best empower people with AAC needs to achieve their goals, become autonomous, and fully develop their sense of self? Today, we learn from Stephanie Faso, a graduate student in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University, who discusses this topic and ways in which ableism impacts our perception of individuals with AAC needs. This presentation was hosted by USSAAC with the support of ISAAC. We are grateful to those organizations and to Stephanie for this important webinar. You can download the handout for this session here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCjY9e2mUxc&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=InternationalSocietyforAugmentativeandAlternativeCommunication%28ISAAC%29
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: & Empowerment, AAC Users & Perspectives, advocacy, self-advocacy, self-determination, video
June 14, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
Happy Sunday, AAC friends. It’s been a long week and we’re glad you’re here. Monday – TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘If You’re Angry & You Know It’ Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Social Networks Inventory Thursday – Alternative Learning Experiences in Clinical Education: An AAC Video Case Study If you have a little time before you have to leave, take a few minutes to browse through these past posts. If you’re in a hurry, please skip down to the end. Core Values: Suggestions for Language Building with AAC Learners AAC & Personal Narratives AAC Site of the Month: Centre for AAC AAC: 4 Ways to Develop Self Advocacy Skills & Become A Self Advocate 5 Ways to Support Self-Advocacy in AAC Learners :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” (James... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: communication partner, narrative language, preservice AAC, self-advocacy
April 1, 2019
by Carole Zangari -
What does Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month mean to you? From where I sit, it is a personal challenge to learn more about the lived experiences of autistic people and discover the most impactful ways to support communication learning and quality of life. Our understanding of what autism is and how we can help autistic people have a rich, fulfilling, self-directed lives is evolving. Even if you’ve worked with autistic people for a long time, chances are that there are still many more things to learn. Here are some ideas for things to do in honor of people with autism. Take advantage of the deep discounts offered by many AAC app developers and share this information with those who might benefit from it. AAC Specialist and SLP Lauren Enders does a wonderful service to the AAC community by tracking the app discounts in the US app store and sharing that... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: ASD, Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, self-advocacy
November 28, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Transitions usually seem a bit daunting, but the move from the school system to post-school life is one fraught with a great many challenges. For people who use AAC, a group with unemployment rates exceeding 90%, the path to a rich and fulfilling life in adulthood requires a great deal of support. In many cases, the systems and individuals who are in the position to provide that support lack the information, experience, training, and resources they need to be effective. In today’s video, we hear from Dr. Rackensperger, Vice President for Persons who Use AAC and Their Families at USSAAC, who has a unique perspective on these issues. She shares ways that we can address these challenges by using person-based panning and strengths-based approaches in our efforts to foster self-determination and build self-advocacy. This video is part of the USSAAC webinar series and is made possible with the support of... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: adulthood, post-school, self-advocacy, self-determination, transition
November 19, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
Here’s a conundrum. Personal autonomy is an important component of happiness and well-being, yet it may be hard to come by for people who use AAC. How can we give some power back to our AAC learners so that they have more control of their own circumstances? One way is to provide them with the language that enables them to push back on us and/or assert their own influence on situations. Some individuals have the language in their AAC system already but need instruction and support in learning to say the kinds of things that allow them to advocate for themselves. We can also provide AAC learners with prestored messages that help them stick up for themselves, and teach them when and how to use those. Here are some examples to consider. Take a look and see if there are any that may help your AAC learners achieve more personal... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: control, prestored messages, self-advocacy, self-determination
August 8, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
What better way to help local businesses become more AAC-friendly than to have people who use AAC every day teach them to use supportive strategies? Today’s video features the Thumbs Up Communication in Action group supported by Dr. Shannon Hennig’s Inclusive Communication in Wellington, New Zealand. Follow along in their journey as they advocate for more inclusive interactions in a community business and take a peek at this experience of effective self-advocacy. Many thanks to the group members, Dr. Hennig, and to ISAAC for making this video available. You can see more of Dr. Hennig’s work here. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pkDvybXq1c
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: community, self-advocacy
July 30, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
self-ad·vo·ca·cy: self ˈadvəkəsē/ Noun: the action of representing oneself or one’s views or interests. —————————- Empowering AAC learners to advocate for themselves may be one of the most important and impactful things that we can do to help them stay safe and achieve their goals. Here are some ways we can support that process. Provide messages for self-advocacy behaviors: It’s hard to represent your own interests without the appropriate set of vocabulary and messages. Words and prestored messages for protesting and rejecting are essential (e.g., No; Stop; No, thank you; I don’t want to). In addition, consider adding messages which allow the communicator to express disagreement or negative opinions (e.g., I don’t like it; I don’t think so; That doesn’t work for me; This is unfair; That’s disrespectful) and proactively provide self-advocacy information (e.g., Please do what I asked; It’s on my IEP; I have a right to be heard; I... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: advocacy, self-advocacy, vocabulary selection
May 23, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
If you appreciate the Communication Bill of Rights, you won’t want to miss today’s featured video. Kudos to the leadership, clients, and staff of the Communication Technology Education Center (CTEC) for this wonderful video. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Q44HuMvG0&t=3s
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Communication Bill of Rights, self-advocacy
June 8, 2016
by Carole Zangari -
Parents, therapists, and educators share the common goal of helping AAC learners be as independent as possible and assert control over their own communication systems. One step toward this kind of self-advocacy is to teach our clients to add messages to their own AAC systems. In this video, Lindsey Cargill demonstrates how she introduced this to Katya. Enjoy! Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo3x333cIy0
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: self-advocacy