Author: Heidi LoStracco, MS, CCC-SLP
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Speak for Yourself and VocaliD Bring Cutting-Edge Custom Voices to the iPad
We just released version 2.7 of Speak for Yourself! This version is very exciting for some of you, and for others, there will be no difference in the app. For us, it’s pivotal! This update allows VocaliD voices to be used in the Speak for Yourself AAC app! I know we’re not the first augmentative…
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Independent Reading: Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Project Core
This is the final post in the six part series on using AAC, Speak for Yourself, Project Core to promote emergent literacy. If you’re just joining in, you may want to start with the first post. The impetus for this series was a presentation by the Project Core team at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA)…
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Alphabet and Phonological Awareness: Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Project Core
This is the fifth post in a series of emergent literacy posts. We’ve been talking about using AAC and Project Core to promote literacy. This week, we’re talking about the alphabet and phonological awareness. If you are just joining this discussion, you may want to start with the first post. The Project Core information comes…
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We Are the Lucky Ones
I wanted to take some time to reflect on how lucky we have been: individually as speech-language pathologists and as a company. People in business sometimes get offended if you talk about luck playing a role in their success. They feel like it minimizes the amount of effort and education that went into their life’s work.…
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Autism Acceptance Sale Dates: Speak for Yourself Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) App
The Speak for Yourself app will be on sale for 50% off ($149.99 USD) from March 31st through April 4th, 2017 (Friday through Tuesday) in honor of Autism Acceptance Month. There are a large number of individuals on the autism spectrum who use the Speak for Yourself app successfully to communicate throughout their day. We…
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Independent Writing: Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Project Core
This is the fourth post in a series about using Project Core with the Speak for Yourself AAC app. If you haven’t read the others, here’s a link to the first post. We’ve been talking about emergent literacy and using the evaluation forms from the Project Core website. Information is also being shared from the Project…
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“I Like” Predictable Chart Writing: Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Project Core
If you’ve been following along, we’ve been talking about emergent literacy. This is the third post about using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with Speak for Yourself and Project Core. If you’re just jumping in, you may want to start from the first post. However, even if your child/student is not yet engaging in shared reading,…
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Shared Reading: Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) with Project Core
I love shared reading! When children enjoy books, it is one of my favorite augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) activities. Don’t misunderstand…I love to jump up and down on command, push cars across the floor, and run back and forth across the room. I love messy sensory play and crafts that are truly done by…
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Using Speak for Yourself with Project Core: Non-Instructional Routines
Last month, we attended and exhibited at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference in Orlando, Florida. One of the reasons that the ATIA conference is my favorite – besides the “work trip” to sunny Florida in the middle of the cold Northeastern winter – is that the exhibit hall hours and sessions are coordinated.…
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Presuming Competence in Practice
“Presume Competence” has become a mantra of many excellent parents and professionals who are implementing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for individuals with complex communication needs (CCN). I’ve also experienced some misunderstandings in person and in online groups suggesting that presuming competence is not evidence-based in its idealism. So I’ve been paying attention to the…