Archive » Success Using AAC

03 September 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Tips for Teachers

This month I decided to write post for teachers. Throughout my educational career, I have had some amazing teachers and I have had some not so amazing teachers. Someone recently asked me if I could tell teachers anything what it would be. So, I put together some basic guidelines that I think every teacher should [...]

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30 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

To be Dapper or not to be Dapper? That is the Question.

I consider myself a relatively handsome guy with a real smooth sense of style. I pride myself on making more then a few women turn their heads whenever I roll by in my wheelchair. I heard that my smile can melt any girl’s heart and is an excellent icebreaker. Sufficed to say I definitely got [...]

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27 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

How I have Adapted My Writing Process to My Disability

Putting together a presentation is hard for anyone. For some people it comes easily and for other people it comes harder. But as an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) user, the way I write may be different from how other AAC users write. I created a system that is adapted to my disability and works [...]

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23 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Having Fun

Making alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) fun and interesting is one of the keys to success. It should be fun, especially for children, learning how to use an AAC device. Therefore, it is important to ask, “Is the consumer’s experience in learning a device fun and interesting?”
If the learning experience is boring and without purpose, [...]

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20 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Tips on Relaxing when trying to Communicate

 Has this ever happened to you? You’re nice and relaxed, and all ready to talk to someone when someone walks into the room and you just tighten up.  You find you can’t think, you become totally spastic, and even though that one person hasn’t said or done anything, you just feel tight having them around. 
 This [...]

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13 August 2010 ~ 1 Comment

Tokenism

I am proud of the accomplishments that I achieved in my life and I am happy to be a role model for other people with cerebral palsy and with speech disabilities. What I don’t like, however, is being considered a token disabled man. What I consider being a token is people thinking of me as [...]

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09 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Having a Backup Plan

Yvonne, a colleague here at United Cerebal Palsy of Greater Houston, has a mantra, “Always have a backup plan.”  This rings true as an AAC user and as someone just trying to make her way in today’s difficult society.  Having an AAC device can be a great asset to any user. However, what happens when [...]

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06 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Breaking the Cycle

To finish my degree, I am doing my internship with DynaVox Mayer-Johnson. I started during the spring quarter and will be done during the summer quarter. I’m the Communications and Awareness intern and I love it. Ultimately, I would like to talk to /work with people who have never been around people with disabilities before. [...]

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02 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Success in AAC is Listening to Consumer’s Ideas

In previous blog posts I have highlighted different strategies that I feel are critical to making AAC a success for the individual.  This post is no different.  Here I’ll examine the strategy of to listening to the consumer’s ideas to make AAC a success for the individual. Consumers know their bodies the best, so their [...]

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30 July 2010 ~ 0 Comments

10-4 Affirmative

My past 2 blogs have been about how to access the internet  and how to easily listen to the radio. I have one more really fun thing I want to share.  I think kids will really like this one! 
As a kid I wanted to be a policeman.  What kid doesn’t?  Policeman, fireman, pilot, train conductor, [...]

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