Tag: AAC
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The “Beginner” Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) System Catch 22
It’s ridiculous if you think about it. In schools around the world, children with complex communication needs (CCN) are being asked to prove that they can communicate before they are given access to language. How can students show they have the ability without the words they need? NO ONE can prove he/she can communicate without being…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 11
Can you believe it!? It’s Week 11 of the Learning to Speak AACtion Plan! For those of you who have been following along each week, thank you. Knowing that you’re interested has been motivating for me. This may be one of those resources that ends up being useful to parents and professionals who don’t even know the importance augmentative…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 10
The daffodils always surprise me. Even though I know they are the first flowers in my yard to bloom, I don’t notice that they’re green and growing until I see the first flower. The yellow gets my attention, and spring begins. Every year I wonder how I missed the leaves. It would be exciting to…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 9
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California was once called “the bridge that couldn’t be built.” It took ten years of planning because of the intense opposition and another four years to actually build it. Once…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 8
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” ~Arthur Ashe Welcome to Week 8 of the Learning to Speak AACtion Plan! If you’ve been following along each week and doing all of the practice lessons up to this point, you have learned 35 core vocabulary words in your child’s augmentative and…
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The Day You Raised Your Expectations
Have you heard about the rats? There’s a study that was done where Bob Rosenthal, a researcher, took a group of regular, every day, average rats. The rats were divided randomly into two groups. He put signs labeling one cage of rats as “maze bright” and the other as “maze dull.” Each group, with the signs…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 7
“Until you learn to play what you want to hear, you’re barking up the wrong tree.” ~ Billy Gibbons I’m reasonably sure musician Billy Gibbons wasn’t talking about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and modeling when he said this, but it…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 6
Welcome to Week 6 of the Learning to Speak AACtion Plan! This week, one of my students made organic dog treats to donate to the animal shelter, and he gave me a package to give to my dog. Since today also happens to be Valentine’s Day, I wish you all the kind of joy that my…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 5
We are officially through the first month of the Learning to Speak AACtion Plan! The majority of our past week was spent in Orlando, FL at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference. The number of people that approached our booth and said something about this AACtion Plan was unbelievable…Thank you all for being part…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 4
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” ~Robert Collier We are beginning Week 4 of the Learning to Speak AACtion Plan, and if you’ve been following along and completing the challenge, we are hearing from a lot of you that it’s making a difference and you’re seeing results! I…