Tag Archive: writing

TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘What Do You Like?’

January 20, 2020 by - Leave your thoughts

TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘What Do You Like?’

Welcome back to another installment of TELL ME About It, guest authored by Jeanna Antrim and Maggie Judson. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings with school teams. In this series, they discuss how they support preschool teachers who are implementing the TELL ME program with their young students. Today, they walk us through the ways that they facilitate AAC use while focusing on the book ‘What Do You Like?’ Don’t miss their Lesson Plan, video demonstrations, and other resources at the end of the post. TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘What Do You Like?’ TELL ME About Reading: The fifth book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “What Do You Like?”. ... [Read More...]

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TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Here Are My Hands’

December 16, 2019 by - 1 Comment

TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Here Are My Hands’!

Welcome to a new edition of TELL ME About It, with AAC Specialists Maggie Judson and Jeanna Antrip. Maggie and Jeanna are speech-language pathologists who work in the Assistive Technology Department for the Belleville Area Special Services Cooperative (BASSC) in southern Illinois. They are AT/AAC facilitators and provide evaluations, direct therapy, consultations, and trainings. They’ve collaborated on a series to share their experiences in supporting preschool classrooms that implement the TELL ME program that Lori Wise and I created. If you missed the earlier posts in this series, you can get caught up using the links below. From Head to Toe I Went Walking Brown Bear, Brown Bear TELL ME AAC Literacy Kits TELL ME About It: AAC Learning with ‘Here Are My Hands’! TELL ME About Reading: The fourth book in the TELL ME program (Teaching Early Language and Literacy through Multimodal Expression) is “Here Are My Hands.” A... [Read More...]

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #11: March 2019

March 17, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #11: March 2019

It’s been a fun week of AAC. Here’s what we’ve been up to. Monday – 3 Ways to Use Visual Schedules for Language Building Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: Parent-Implemented AAC Intervention for Young Children Thursday – Throwback Thursday: AAC & the IEP ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Stick around for a bit more if you can. Here are some posts that may be of interest. Let’s Go Outside! 5 PrAACtical Ideas At the Very Beginning: Working with Pre-Intentional Communicators Sometimes I Feel Sunny AAC Access for Individuals with Significant Motor Limitations Through Partner Assisted Scanning Supporting AAC Learners in Emergent Writing: 5 Helpful Resources

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Video of the Week: Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader

February 6, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Getting Acquainted with Tar Heel Reader

We’ve mentioned Tar Heel Reader many times here at PrAACtical AAC, but are still encountering people who don’t yet utilize this game-changing resource and those who aren’t aware of some of its most powerful features. In today’s post, we highlight some videos that will help you get started reading (and writing) with one of the world’s most important literacy tools for individuals with significant disabilities. Overview Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSmP4qwQNkU&index=7&list=PLPOEH_2JO5cUEvngWh4RmO-imE7Mosqjt Tutorial by the Pacer Center Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF3yGOW3KQs&index=1&list=PLPOEH_2JO5cUEvngWh4RmO-imE7Mosqjt Write and Publish a Book in Tar Heel Reader (Gary Bishop) Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91b4UQwgaNc&list=PLPOEH_2JO5cUEvngWh4RmO-imE7Mosqjt&index=3 Are you using Tar Heel Reader in your work with AAC learners? We’d love to hear about it. —

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Video of the Week: Journal Writing & AAC

December 12, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Journal Writing & AAC

Today’s video features the work of Mary Louise Bertram (Australia) and Caroline Musselwhite (US), both of whom are well-known to PrAACtical AAC readers, and focuses on journal writing, a writing activity that takes places in homes and classrooms around the world. In this video, we learn ways to make it meaningful and successful for beginning communicators who use AAC. Many thanks to the presenters and to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation for making and sharing this helpful video. To learn more about literacy and communication for early communicators from Dr. Musselwhite and others, check out the AAC in the Desert Conference. Direct Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoHlga-xemU  

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AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #25: June 2018

June 17, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC Posts from PrAACtical Week #25: June 2018

Happy Sunday, AAC friends. We’re celebrating Father’s Day here in the US but if you have time to catch up on a little AAC, you might be interested in a few of our posts from last week. Monday – AAC Assessment Corner with Vicki Clarke: Evaluating Skills For Use of Comprehensive AAC Systems, Part 2: Language Representation Elements – Noun Symbol Use for Functional Communication Tuesday – AAC Link Up Wednesday – Video of the Week: AAC in Emergency Situations – Tales from the Trenches Thursday – PrAACtical Resources: Core Vocabulary Flipbook for June Words :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We spent part of the week with Dr. Caroline Musselwhite who shared some wonderful ideas for teaching emergent to early conventional literacy skills. Her terrific workshop got us in the mood for a little more on AAC, reading, and writing. Using an Alphabet Flipbook for Writing Writing Instruction for Students with Angelman Syndrome Robust Literacy Instruction for... [Read More...]

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Video of the Week: AT for Writing

June 6, 2018 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: AT for Writing

Many of our AAC learners struggle with writing. Often, their teams can effectively support them through the emergent and early conventional stages of literacy learning so that they get a decent foundation for expressing themselves with traditional orthography. But what happens when they need to move beyond the basics? In this video, Paul Sanft and Tina Hanson, from the PACER Simon Technology Center, cover a variety of tools that can help our learners continue to develop their skills in written language. If you”re keen on raising the bar on expectations for literacy development. this session has some wonderful tips and tools for you. Direct Link to Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvZ4PALBUOs

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AAC and Emergent Literacy: 5 Posts with Implementation Ideas

January 5, 2017 by - Leave your thoughts

AAC and Emergent Literacy: 5 Posts with Implementation Ideas

Looking to infuse additional activities to support the reading and writing development of the AAC learners with whom you work? Today, we’re revisiting some popular posts with helpful ideas and resources. Robust Literacy Instruction for People Who Use AAC A PrAACtical Literacy Activity for Beginning Communicators  Literacy Lessons for Beginning AAC Learner Infusing Literacy Learning Opportunities in AAC Therapies  Literacy for All: A Series of Videos by Dr. Caroline Musselwhite  Hope you find some useful tips and suggestions.

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PrAACtical Teaching in the ASD Classroom: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary

December 29, 2016 by - 3 Comments

PrAACtical Teaching in the ASD Classroom

We are closing out the year with a bang by combining two of our favorite things: working on AAC and literacy. In this post, Michigan-based teachers Amy Devin and Lauren Pawlowski return to discuss their strategies for building communication skills in the context of writing activities. Enjoy their detailed descriptions of how they implement a 5-day writing sequence in their classrooms! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Predictable Chart Writing with Core Vocabulary If writing with your students is something you are apprehensive about, then Predictable Chart writing is a good place to start. You get a lot of bang for your buck, as you can work on many different concepts as you are instructing through the week.  Some areas you will be able to work on is location and meaning of core, concepts about print, print awareness and fine motor skills. Prior to starting your Predictable Chart Writing, you have to have a plan on which... [Read More...]

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Supporting AAC Learners in Emergent Writing: 5 Helpful Resources

December 8, 2016 by - 4 Comments

Supporting AAC Learners in Emergent Writing: 5 Helpful Resources

Looking for ways to help AAC learners of any age develop meaningful writing skills? These helpful resources may be of interest. “There is No Can’t” by Jane Farrall and Sally Clendon  Emerging Writers and AAC by Jane Odom  Alternative Pencils: What Does the Research Say?  Emergent Literacy Beginnings and Goals for Children with Angelman Syndrome by David Koppenhaver and Susan Norwell (information applicable to a broader range of people who use AAC) Can Low-incidence Students Become First-time Writers? By Janet Sturm  Happy exploring!

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