Tag: speech langauge pathologist
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It’s Not Complex If You Use It
When I was 19 and in my second year of college, I worked in a supermarket deli. Every individual item in the deli had its own four-digit code. Land O’Lakes American cheese had a different code than New Yorker American cheese. You might think that it doesn’t matter, but it did. Each week there were…
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Survey: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Modeling Implementation Intentions
Yesterday, we wrapped up our two-week Make Room for AAC Modeling Implementation Intentions “Experiment.” This post includes a link to the short survey to see if using the research on implementation intentions was helpful to increase the use of aided language input for our AAC learners. The survey also includes questions about your size and where…
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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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Advanced Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) User Challenge
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and recharging for the new school year! In response to the modeling challenge issued by Dana Nieder from the Uncommon Sense Blog, some adult Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) users have expressed an interest in a 21 day challenge geared towards adult/teen users. If you are looking for…
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Authentic AAC: The First Week Round Up
In case you missed my blog post on Monday, I’m sharing Authentic AAC moments this month for #BHSM16 in an effort to expose my “behind the scenes,” less-than-ideal experiences. So, if you’re insecure about making mistakes or missing something, know you’re not alone. I strive to improve every day. We learn from our mistakes, and maybe by looking at…
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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 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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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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Speak for Yourself AAC App Now Has Multi-User Capability!
Version 2.0 of the Speak for Yourself Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app has just been released…FINALLY! We’ve been working on this update for a long, long time. If you were at the American Speech, Language, and Hearing (ASHA) conference in November of 2014, I may have shown you a test version. Seriously. The irony is, at…
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Using Aided Language Input to Elicit Verbal Speech
This post is combining two important concepts in the world of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): Aided Language Input (which may also be referred to as Aided Language Stimulation or Modeling) and the relationship between verbal speech and AAC. Sometimes I hear people say that they’re afraid to use AAC because they are worried that…