CSUN Assistive Technology Conference #CSUN16 I recently attended the CSUN 2016 International Technology and Persons with Disability Conference. #CSUN16 This was a fantastic opportunity to learn, but also to meet individuals in our field. I felt like a Trekie at...
Functional Core Vocabulary Core Vocabulary is a small set of words that have high frequency use across languages and contexts. 85 % of what we say consists of 200 basic words. It is applicable across various subjects and settings. Most of our AAC programs from low to...
WANT and Communication WANT a four-letter word! So that got your attention. I feel that WANT is one of the most overused words in AAC and speech therapy. I would like to take a moment to get you thinking about WANT! Let’s think about want and functional early...
Function Core Vocabulary Examples In my post on functional core vocabulary, I shared the importance of vocabulary choices for your child (student/client). This post will discuss and show some examples of a starter page for core vocabulary. In my posts, I will show...
AAC Individualized Vocabulary One Size DOES NOT fill all in AAC I began to wonder where these vocabularies came from as I set up AAC systems for my students. Something I kept hearing about was, “core language” and observed how most of our AAC programs use...
Where do I start? One of the many things that I have learned about working with children is the need to be flexible. I might design what I feel is a “perfect” starting place for a child only to find out the level was too high or too low! Below are some...
In my CFY year, I worked in a classroom with individuals that were minimally verbal to nonverbal. At the time, at least 8 out of 12 of my students had some communication device. I took most of these AAC devices out of the box for the first time and figured out how...
Communication Matrix The Communication Matrix is a fantastic tool created to assess early communicators and guide intervention development. The Communication Matrix is a tool that I have used to help me better assess my student’s strengths. Knowing their current...
