Tag: cerebral palsy
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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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Authentic AAC: The Second Week
This month, I’m sharing the #AuthenticAAC moments that I learn from each day during #BHSM (Better Hearing and Speech Month). Then I’m posting a round up each week for those of you who are not on the Speak for Yourself Facebook page or prefer to read all at once. I hope you gain confidence in your ability to…
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Let’s Talk About Appropriate Behavior
Trigger warning: This post will discuss applied behavior analysis (ABA) and low expectations of autistic individuals and people with complex communication needs (CCN). I stop at red lights. I avoid fast food. I wash my hands and use hand sanitizer…A LOT! I don’t do any of these things because I enjoy them. I would love…
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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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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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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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AAC Modeling Part 2: Layers of Modeling Engagement
Yesterday, I wrote about AAC Modeling and compared it to introducing broccoli to a child. I’ve also written about modeling here and here, if you’d like some additional information. If you are at all involved in the world of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), you probably hear a lot about modeling, also called Aided Language Input…
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AAC Modeling Part 1: A Piece of Cake and a Bite of Broccoli
If you are at all familiar with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) implementation, you have likely heard of modeling, also referred to as aided language input and aided language stimulation. In my daily conversations, I get the feeling that dedicated teachers, parents, and therapists often have the misconception that they’re not doing enough for their…
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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…
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The Ever-Evolving AAC Voice Options
When I was an undergraduate, pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, one of the required courses was Speech Science. It was the mid-late 90s and we sat in a small “speech science lab” and shared large desktop computers with “high tech” software. We studied formants and looked at sounds and words…