Tag: Angelman Syndrome
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I Meant to Model Today: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Implementation Intentions
It happens to the best of us. You have every intention of using some amazing and advanced aided language input. You imagine this wonderful interaction between you and a captive augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) user, soaking in the model of expressive language you fluently provide. But the day passes, and before you drift off…
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Authentic AAC: The Fourth (and final) Week!
May is #BHSM so last month I shared an ?#?AuthenticAAC? moment each day that didn’t go exactly as planned, something I missed or something I would have done differently in hindsight. My intention was for anyone reading who was afraid to implement augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to be more comfortable in the knowledge that things aren’t always…
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Deconstructing the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Glass Cubicle
Trigger warning: This post mentions self-injury and low expectations of autistic individuals and people with complex communication needs (CCN). Can you imagine the frustration? Words are all around you and pouring into you. They expand within you and your mind aches to speak them. They overflow, like a rushing waterfall, but with no escape. They stay…
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Learning to Speak AACtion Plan: Week 12
Well, friends, here we are…it’s the final week of the Learning to Speak AACtion Plan! For those of you who have been following along every week, you have a strong core vocabulary foundation to model for the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users in your lives. When I started this in January, my goal was…
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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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Does (AAC Button) Size Really Matter?
“Those buttons are so small!” In the almost 4 years that the Speak for Yourself Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app has been on the market, this is the feedback that we receive most frequently. Yes, the buttons in Speak for Yourself are small and you can not change the button size. In case you’re thinking, “Well…