Tag Archive: Shareka Bentham
April 16, 2015
by Carole Zangari -
We are headed to Barbados with this post, to hear how SLP Shareka Bentham and her prAACtical friends are making popcorn and building language skills. You can see Shareka’s earlier posts here. I love the ease and versatility of this activity which could be a fun way for AAC learners to practice core vocabulary with a manual communication board/book, SGD, or PODD book. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I revisited this activity this week and thought that it would be a great one to share. It’s fun, functional and filling! What more do you need? Making popcorn together is not only one of the best group activities I’ve done, it’s also one of the most fun, and interactive AAC activities I’ve done. It’s a chance to learn and use new vocabulary, take turns using the AAC device and to do some requesting and describing. Initially, when I worked on this activity I only used a... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: activities, implementation ideas, Shareka Bentham
December 11, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Today we welcome back SLP Shareka Bentham to share her prAACtical adventures in the kitchen. You can see her previous posts here. For the past few months I have been having lots of fun using functional ways to teach my little ones vocabulary for items around the house. “Around the kitchen” is a favourite theme, since we always get to explore the kitchen, and make some yummy treats. I’ve found in my sessions that many children can recognize many of the items in the kitchen, and are aware of their function, but don’t actually know the names of these objects. It has been my goal then for children to be able to label at least 15 items within the kitchen. Vocab items range from the fridge, stove, blender, to food items, spoons, dish towel. Through these activities we have also highlighted the need to be able to talk about many... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, cooking, Shareka Bentham
May 29, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Today, we welcome back Shareka Bentham, who has told us about her AAC adventures with the Harlem Shake, a field trip, and more. In this post, she shares her experiences in getting little ones started on the intentional use of eye gaze for communication. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I think that most Speech & Language Therapists have those moments in therapy where they’re wondering “Am I doing the right thing here??” I have been feeling that way recently in my practice as I have been nudged into the world of using the head and eyes for communication. I was (with extensive research) once able to use an eye gaze board quite successfully with an adult patient in the final stages of ALS, but I had never used such techniques in my paediatric clinic. However, I now have a few little ones on my caseload who have severe physical limitations, and are unable to... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: beginning communicator, eye gaze, Shareka Bentham
June 6, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are happy to welcome Shareka Bentham back to our site with more AAC intervention ideas. Earlier in the year, she shared ideas for AAC intervention on a field trip to the zoo, playing Stop and Go, in therapy groups, and doing the Harlem Shake. In this post, Shareka uses a fun card game, Go Fish, to build vocabulary and help students learn to ask and answer questions. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I have been working more frequently with a few more low tech devices recently, particularly with my older kids at school. We have started using the Go Talk 4+ and the Quick Talker 12 in class, (depending on the child’s level and ability) and have been seeing excellent results. One of my greatest challenges however has been finding ways to incorporate general vocabulary learning into AAC use, while keeping these older children engaged. These are the kids who are 7 years... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, Shareka Bentham, therapy activities
April 18, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back again with another AACtual Therapy post from SLP Shareka Bentham. We love the way she creates ‘buy in’ with kids, families, and teachers with this terrific activity. Everyone who knows me knows that I can get a little bit crazy sometimes, so when I went around school informing the teachers that we were going to be doing a school-wide Harlem Shake, no one was surprised. The thing is, my little ones, especially the school aged children are all very aware of the latest trends in popular culture (I have a little one that will only use his Big Mack to request Adele). Whether they are verbal or nonverbal, they can show you all the latest moves. So we just had to do Harlem shake. Well, a modified version… The main focus of the activity was making using AAC to make choices for the dress-up part of the activity.... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, communication book, Harlem Shake, Shareka Bentham
March 14, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back to share more from SLP Shareka Bentham whose enthusiasm for providing AAC services to children in Barbados is infectious. If you’ve read any of her previous posts, you’ll know why we appreciate her perspective. Today, Shareka shares some of what she’s learned through starting AAC groups. Groups can be daunting for many Speech & Language Therapists. They sure were for me for many years. So to make the decision to start an AAC group was more than out of my comfort zone, especially as a beginning AAC therapist. However I think that it has been a great decision so far, as the changes that I have been seeing in the children, parents, and in myself as a therapist have been extremely encouraging. As I keep stressing I am by no means an AAC expert, but I’m an expert in reflection. I have been able to review each... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, group, Shareka Bentham
February 14, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
We are delighted to have Shareka Bentham back to share another post about the AACtual therapy she provides to little ones in Barbados. Last month, we followed her along to the zoo where her little friends got to generalize the language skills developed in therapy sessions. In this post, Shareka discusses her approach to something we all struggle with: selecting vocabulary that will both fun and functional. One of my biggest challenges in AAC is choosing good vocabulary targets, and working on vocabulary instruction for early communicators. By ‘good’ I mean targets which are functional for their everyday settings, representative, and most of all fun for children who are not only beginning communicators, but also beginning AAC users. I have become the AAC ‘specialist’ at a school for children with complex communication needs, so I generally have to cater to the communicative needs of children from the pre-communication to... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AACtual therapy, Shareka Bentham, vocabulary selection