AAC Awareness Month App Sales

AAC Awareness Month is here and with that comes much anticipated graphic with all of the apps that will be on sale in October 2019. Pay close attention to dates (they vary) & mark your calendars! 

Source: Lauren S. Enders

AAC Awareness Month: Social Media: A Powerful Tool for AAC Learning and Networking

In our personal lives we see firsthand how social media creates a world of connectedness, allowing us to communicate with friends and family that may not be physically close. Parents and educators, too are turning to social mediate to showcase the work of their children and students, optimize their professional images, or connect with others in their field to share resources and grow their professional practice. When put to good use, the opportunities that are afforded to us through social media are endless. 

The ASHA Leader, an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association publication, published a list created by Lauren S. Enders, a Speech-Language Pathologist, of some of the most popular social media platforms used by the AAC community including blogs, Facebook pages or groups, Pinterest, and YouTube. Although these AAC-related social media sites and pages only make up a subsection of those available, they will get you started in making new connections and finding respected resources. If you need more information on how to serve those using AAC, these sites can help you provide best practices and approaches for your clients or students.

To view the original article, click here. Please add any others you find resourceful in the comments section below. 

Blogs

AAC Intervention: Caroline Musselwhite taps into her 30 years of experience to offers tips, products and presentation handouts.

Jane Farrrall Consulting: Jane Farrall shares excellent information on literacy, AAC and assistive technology. Her site also includes a helpful and frequently updated list of AAC apps.

PraacticalAAC: This prolific searchable blog—created by Carole Zangari and the late Robin Parker of Nova Southeastern University in South Florida—offers daily posts with high-quality resources including articles, videos, product highlights, from professionals and families in the AAC community.

Stories of a Seasoned AAC SLP: This blog from Gail Van Tatenhove offers helpful implementation strategies and stories.
Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs: This blog offers guidance and resources from Kate Ahern who is an assistive technology specialist and teacher of students with complex communication needs.

Uncommon Sense Blog: Written by Dana Nieder, this blog offers an interesting viewpoint because Nieder is a mom to a spunky little girl using AAC and is completing graduate school to become an SLP.

Facebook pages and groups

AAC for the SLP: This group offers a place for SLPs working with AAC users to post questions, find resources and participate in discussions about related issues.

AAC Through Motivate, Model, Move Out of the Way: This group, created by Kate Ahern, aims to “share how to use motivating activities and interactions, modeling and fading supports to increase independence to support AAC users in becoming competent communicators.”

Lauren S. Enders, MA, CCC-SLP: On my professional Facebook page, I curate and post resources related to AAC every day.

PrAACtical AAC: By liking this page, you will see posts from PrAACtical AAC in your newsfeed.

Rachael Langley, AAC Specialist: Langley is an SLP who shares resources such as the latest AAC technology or innovations, as well as original AAC memes and posters.
In addition, check out user groups and pages for dedicated devices and AAC apps. In addition to sharing useful resources, these pages can be a way to get speedy technical support from an employee or an experienced user. Simply search the name of a company or AAC System to find company sites or device user groups.

Pinterest boards

AAC Chicks

Lauren S. Enders, MA, CCC-SLP

PrAACticalAAC

*Leslie DiChiara

YouTube channels: Videos to demonstrate device features and operation as well as models of best practices in implementation.

AAC Chicks

Communicare, LLC

Gail Van Tatenhove

Kate Ahern

We Speak PODD

Source: The ASHA Leader

AAC Awareness Month: Deep Discounts with Assistiveware

To celebrate AAC Awareness Month AssistiveWare will be offering a 50% discount on 4 of their popular apps: Proloquo2Go, Proloquo4Text, Pictello and Keeble. Gateway to Language & Learning©, the core word vocabulary available through an in-app purchase in Proloquo2Go, will also be at half price.

The discount, available worldwide on the App Store, will be in effect from October 10th through October 12th.

If you buy more, you save more

The discount also applies to Apple’s Volume Purchase Program for Education. When your school or educational organization purchases 20 copies or more, you get an additional 50% off! That's 75% off the original price!

Spread the word

Do you know people who could benefit from these apps? Make sure you share the news about this limited-time discount!

If you have any questions about the discount please contact the AssistiveWare support team at support@assistiveware.com

* Please note: The discount percentage is based on the US App Store. Exact prices vary from country to country. Bundles will not be discounted during this promotion.

AAC Awareness Month: TouchChat 50% off October 4-6

For the first time ever, the TouchChat app is going to be offered 50% off for 3 days only to celebrate AAC Awareness Month!  The discount will be valid Wednesday, October 4th through Friday, October 6th.

This promotion includes all TouchChat apps worldwide (except Classic TouchChat). However, the discount does NOT apply to in-app purchases.

To purchase TouchChat in the App Store:  simply go to the App Store, search for TouchChat App, make the appropriate selection (make sure it shows up as 1/2 off), and purchase using your Apple ID.

To purchase Touchchat using a Purchase Order:  Purchase orders need to be dated October 4, 5, or 6 and they need to be received  by us through email (info@touchchatapp.com) or fax (330-674-6726) on October 4, 5, or 6.  Any P.O.'s received outside of these dates will not honor the discounted purchase price.  NO Purchase Orders will be accepted by any means outside of fax or email.  Purchase Order pricing will include tax. 

Purchase Order pricing is 

$82.50--TouchChat HD app

$165—TouchChat HD with WordPower app

Note: The discount % is based on the US App Store. Exact prices may vary in other countries.

DIY AAC Visuals

Today's post comes from the blog Speechy Musings. In keeping with my other posts focusing on AAC Awareness Month, I felt the importance of this post rested in the notion that often times SLPs, along with other professionals and parents, experience difficulty when locating individualized AAC materials. Read below or click on the original article to learn more about these DIY AAC visuals. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AAC materials are incredibly hard to find online, primarily (I think) because the graphics in systems are diverse and copyrighted. In order to have AAC visuals and materials for your caseload, think about how many different systems your students use! Speak For Yourself, TouchChat, Proloquo2Go, LAMP, etc.. Every system uses separate buttons, graphics, and layouts. Sellers cannot use the graphics in communication apps and sell their own products using them, therefore online materials using the same graphics as AAC apps are impossible to find! I’ve had great success making my own, and thought I’d share a simple DIY freebie and directions on how I use them!

This method works best for apps that are on iPads because of the screenshot feature, however I’ve had success taking pictures of devices and using these methods as well.

Now, how do you make one? Follow the steps below:

Step One: Prep the graphics! These are meant to be customized with the graphics and symbols from your student’s AAC system. If using an iPad, take screenshots of the pages you need symbols from. I typically take screenshots of the home page, as well as important secondary pages (people, places, action words). Click here for directions on how to take a screenshot on your iPhone or iPad if you’re not familiar! Email them to yourself. I keep them on my computer in a folder titled with the student’s initials.

  Step Two: Get a binder and make a customized cover! Add in the student’s name and the screenshot of the student’s home page. Put tons of page protectors in the binder as you’ll be filling them with all of the awesome materials you’re about to make.

Step Three: Add in pages with targeted vocabulary and related activities. Use the pages included in this freebie or make your own! To isolate the symbols, “crop” the screenshots! You can use this method to make ANYTHING!

Check out some examples below:

Let’s say we’re learning about the word “love” one week. I would make this sheet and add it into the binder:

Then, I make up some cut and glue activities specific to the child. For this sheet, we glued on things we loved (our pets, picture of our friends, cartoons, etc..). For each thing we glued on, we practiced saying “I love______”.

     

Then, I printed little “love” symbols as well as a mini sheet. I sent the mini sheet home, and used the “love” symbols to adapt materials I found on TpT about love! We did this unit on the week of Valentine’s Day.

Another example of visuals I make are the ones shown below. This one was for a student who loved basketball, however I use the same sheet to teach vocabulary related to topics being covered in the classroom.

For example, if the class is learning about bugs and insects, I put in words related to that such as gross, little, crawl, fly, scared, or bug. I try to choose words from a variety of categories on the device such as actions, places, people, describing words, and specific nouns.

PS: After you make these visuals, SAVE THEM. You never know when a student will get added to your caseload who uses the same system! I now have tons of these made up for a variety of apps and it make things super easy.

To make visuals like this on your own, you could make everything in Powerpoint (how I did it), or download this freebie to shortcut things a bit!

Included in this file is the following. The first page shows what I included in the freebie, and the second page shows how I edit and use it:

       —>      

•AAC Vocabulary Binder Cover

      —>      

       —>      

•Vocabulary Maps (two styles)

•Core Vocabulary Word Unit Outline

      —>      

To learn more about these sheets I use on the backs of iPads, click here to read my blog post about them!

•Carryover Sheets (for the backs of iPads)

•Data Sheets (two styles, one for recording number of activations by activity and one for recording prompting level for each vocabulary word)

Check out some of the Speechy Musings AAC products by clicking on the images below.

Or click here to check out the Speechy Musings' AAC section on TPT!

13 Ways to Celebrate AAC Awareness Month

October is AAC Awareness Month, and what better way to kick it off then with this amazing resource created by the  PrAACtical AAC blog. Click here to access the original article! 

1. Participate on the #USSAAC Twitterchat at 7:00 pm EDT (UTC−04:00). New to Twitterchats? You can learn more here. The wonderful Chris Bugaj will be moderating.
2. Subscribe to a blog with an AAC content, such as Uncommon Sense, Jane Farrall Consulting, AAC Girls, or Superpower Speech
3. Follow a new AAC topical Pinterest board from Lauren Enders and others: AAC and AT, AT/AAC/Adapt/Modify/Accessibility/Accommodations, AT for Communication, SLP AAC, & AugComm, AAC by Constantly Speaking,Communication-AAC
4. Print, hang, or give someone an AAC awareness image, 10 Commandments of AAC Devices, or 5 Tips for Communicating with Nonverbal Student
5. Register for a free AAC professional development webinar from Ablenet University
6. Print out an AAC Poster, like Lauren Enders’ AAC Boot Camp-Getting AAC Users to Communicate or Kate Ahern’s The Periodic Table of AAC,
7. Explore an AAC app or SGD that is new to you
8. Print out song visual supports
9. Read a Tar Heel Reader Book with an AAC learner
10. Use Aided Language Input while talking to AAC learners (for 10 minutes…. or more)
11. Learn more about AAC supports for challenging behavior
12. Consider providing an AAC training (browse Tabi Jones-Wohleber’s PPT material for inspiration)
13. Join the 8th annual AAC Chat and Read-a-Thon October 14-15

Source: Praactical AAC