Category: Uncategorized
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What Would Language Be Without Core Vocabulary?
My typical fifth-grade daughter climbed into the backseat the other day after school. I asked her about her day and she said, “Mrs. K. Baby. Grumpy. Jarrod Jarrod. Hunt. (Sigh)” Then she said: “Jamie. Mrs. J. Math reading. Questions dividing fractions multiplying fractions. Reading vocab. Responsible smart.” Crystal clear, right? Oh…hold on a second. I…
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Speak for Yourself AAC App Will Be 50% off on World Autism Awareness Day
It has been a busy couple of weeks for awareness. World Down Syndrome Day was March 21st. March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month and Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day was March 25th. April and May will raise awareness for autism, undiagnosed children, and apraxia. Undiagnosed Children’s Day is April 25th. Apraxia Awareness Day is May…
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Would You Accept This Behavior Towards a Non-Autistic Child?
“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe This is not only about autism. This is about any child who is in an autism or multiple disabilities classroom. It is about any child who is in…
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Simon Says: Model One More Word
One of the more common, and important, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) implementation strategies is Aided Language Input or modeling. It would be overwhelming to use your child’s/client’s device to model EVERY word you are saying verbally…for you and the child! Here’s the good news, you can successfully use Aided Language Input without overwhelming anyone! This blog topic was prompted by a discussion in the Speak…
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The AAC Detective: Try Observing These Five Behaviors for Clues
“I want you to know that today, in the brief moments when I was quiet, I was just enjoying being with you.” I want to say that more in 2014. The beginning of this post is more personal than most, but it’s a new year and a good time to reflect. I feel like my…
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The History Feature in the Speak for Yourself AAC app
“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” – Michael Crichton I don’t usually write a blog post when we release a Speak for Yourself update, but this 1.5 version update is special. Over the years, as we’ve worked with…
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AAC Implementation: Where Do I Start?
You have a nonverbal child who is depending on you to find him/her a way to communicate. Whether you are a parent or a speech-language pathologist (SLP), that’s a lot of pressure, and the stakes are high. You take the responsibility seriously. You have an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app or device. If you’ve…
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ASHA Parallel Play Online Giveaway of Speak for Yourself
We are here at the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) Conference in Chicago! We are giving away a code each day here at our ASHA booth, but we don’t want all of you who don’t happen to be in Chicago today to be left out! So, we are giving away a code a day online…
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ASHA 2013 Speak for Yourself Code Giveaway!
We are so excited to meet you!!!! Please enter here to win a free copy of Speak for Yourself! a Rafflecopter giveaway
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An iPad Is Not an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Device… Unless It Is!
When we write or say something about the iPad and AAC, we inevitably have someone respond that, “The iPad is not for everyone.” (Obviously. Nothing is for EVERYONE.) “An iPad is NOT a communication device,” is another popular statement. We’ve seen and heard this (or some derivative of it) quite a few times recently. We disagree, so we…