Dyslexia Awareness Month: Understanding Dyslexia

In addition to October being AAC awareness, it is also dedicated to Dyslexia awareness. As so perfectly stated on the TED-Ed website:

"Dyslexia affects up to 1 in 5 people, but the experience of dyslexia isn't always the same. This difficulty in processing language exists along a spectrum -- one that doesn't necessarily fit with labels like "normal" and "defective." -Kelli Sandman-Hurley

I felt strongly in highlighting the TED-Ed video below, created by Kelli Sandman-Hurley, because simply enough, it put a fresh perspective on how we should be viewing dyslexia, specifically dyslexic brain function and the neurodiversity of the human brain. I hope you find it to be as enlightening and educational as I did. 

 

To view the original post from the TedEd website, click here

Video Source: TED-Ed

Image Source: The Summit School

Motivational Monday

The Do's and Dont's of AAC Printable Poster

To print or save this fantastic poster created by Jane Farrall (Follow on Twitter @janefarrall) and David Niemeijer (Follow on Twitter @@NiemeijerD) from AssistiveWare, click on the link below. 

Printable Version of the Do's and Dont's of AAC

The Periodic Table of AAC

Click to access the PDF printable version

AAC Awareness Month: Core Vocabulary Resources

This week kicks off AAC Awareness month and therefore all of this week's posts will be dedicated and focused on augmentative communication resources and tools. Today's post focuses on another incredible (and printable) resource of October core words compiled by Carole Zangari (Twitter handle: @PrAACticalAAC) of the Praactical AAC blog. The link to the original article and the many other resources available on the blog can be found below. 

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Know any AAC learners like these?

• Jeremiah has an SGD with thousands of core and fringe words, but he uses less than 100 of them in day-to-day life.
• Bella used an AAC app with visual scene displays to interact at playtime and during daily routines for the past several months. Her team just added an app with grid-based vocabulary so that she can begin to create novel sentences and expand her language abilities.
• Mason was recently evaluated for an AAC device, but it will likely take a few months to get the funding situation straightened out. In the meantime, his team created a manual communication board that mirrors the main screen of the SGD’s language software.

Each of them need lots of practice to become fluent with the core words in their AAC systems. Are you looking for resources to support your use of core words in therapy, in the classroom, and/or at home? Today’s post has some resources for those of you who try to highlight a small set of of words each month.

Those who are following along with our first set of core words (2013) (12 words/month) or the second set (2014) (16 words/month; Different than the previous year’s core words), may have printed out some of the word cards to use with the AAC learners in your life. Thanks to the kindness of PrAACtical AAC readers (Barbara Fernandes, Bill and Lori Binko, Heidi LoStracco, Alison Wade, Russell Cross, Gail Van Tatenhove, Eric Sailers, Rachael Langley, Laura Kessell, Christine Bayley and others) we have a variety of resources to explore.
Word and Symbol Cards

1. Templates for you to plug in your own symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2words
2. Minspeak/Unity version: Set 1 words
3. PCS versions: Set 1 words , Set 2 words
4. Lesson Pix: Set 1 words
5. Speak for Yourself version: Set 1 words
6. Symbol Stix: Set 1 words
7. Smarty Symbols: Set 1 words, Set 2 words
8. CoughDrop: Set 1 words; Set 2 words
9. WordPower: Set 1 words (Note: This is a large file that contains the resources for several versions of WordPower)

Our words for this month are as follows...
Set 1 (2013): another, change, every, for, idea, pretty, say, start, thank you, think, try, under
Set 2 (2014): afternoon, break, food, hide, hold, if, keep, medium, most, never, party, picture, quick, stop, story
We can highlight these as we talk, teach specific lessons to strengthen use of the words, and model them throughout the day. Here are some suggestions for sentences using the first set (2013) of words. Laura Kessel for putting this together.

As we all know, story reading is a great way to highlight core words, build fluency with AAC, and support literacy development. Christine Bayley graciously provided some book suggestions and I added a few of my own.

• Afternoon: One Afternoon (Yumi Heo)
• Another: Another Monster at the End of this Book (Jon Stone)
• Break: Thomas Breaks a Promise (Random House)
• Change: When the Wind Changed (Ruth Park)
• Every: Every Little Thing (Bob & Cedella Marley)
• Hide: Stuart Hides Out (Susan Hill)
• Hold: Let Me Hold You Longer (Karen Kingsbury)
• Idea: What to Do with an Idea (Kobi Yamada)
• If: If Kids Ran the World (Leo & Diane Dillon)
• Keep: If I Could Keep You Little (Marianne Richmond)
• Most: The Most Magnificent Thing (Ashley Spires)
• Never: The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes (Mark Pett)
• Picture: The Book With No Pictures (BJ Novak)
• Pretty: My Rules for Being a Pretty Princess (Heath McKenzie)
• Quick: Quick as a Cricket (Audrey Wood)
• Say: Oh, Say Can You Say (Dr. Seuss)
• Thank you: Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book (Richard Scarry)
• Think: The Little Engine That Could (Watty Piper); Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!(Dr. Seuss)
• Try: Try, Try Again (P. K. Hallinan)
• Under: There is an Alligator Under my Bed (Mercer Mayer)

Need even more ideas? Rachael Langley has been kind enough to put together calendars with daily suggestions for practicing these words. The October calendar for this year features the set 2 words. You can take get ideas for set 1 words from Rachael’s previous calendar.

Set 1

Click here to access the printable version

Set 2

Click here to access the printable version

Source: PrAACtical AAC 

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

Motivational Monday