What are some exciting ways you’ve used teams in your classroom? I talked to a teacher in the Pittsburgh area last week who recounted a parent calling him to indicate that his son, Jimmy, a student in the gifted program, was not getting enough enrichment opportunities in their social studies curriculum. The teacher promised to [...]
Those of us who were born with a disability or have had one since shortly after birth don’t think that anything is wrong with us. We perceive that we are normal and everybody else is not. In our tender years, we believed that able-bodied people were the weird guys.
When growing up, I had two sets [...]
In my last blog, I wrote about taking a moment to reflect on your areas of strength and areas for improvement. I wanted to use this opportunity to take a moment and reflect on the topics we have covered and to ask you what topics you would like to see.
We have talked about tools and [...]
Many students with complex communication needs use symbol schedules at school, and benefit from the support that these schedules offer for understanding, planning for, and managing the events of the day. Have you ever thought about having some schedules ready for unexpected, rarely occurring, or difficult situations? It is truly counter-intuitive, I know, because we [...]
With the way things are in Washington, it’s a wonder anything productive gets done at all. It is very easy to get caught up in one’s own ideologies and forget the bigger picture. We, as AAC users, view the world from a different perspective and often have the ability to compromise where compromise seems unlikely [...]
Quickfires have been described with the catch phrase “Big Impact! Little Words!” in a downloadable introductory video on the Implementation Toolkit – http://www.dynavoxtech.com/training/toolkit/details.aspx?id=366. The word, “wait” is no different. It is a little word with a lot of power which you will find it in Quickfires.
V, V+, Vmax, Vmax+, Maestro – Young Adult, Adult and [...]
There was a strand recently on a listserve in which a question was asked as to the appropriateness of peers using an individual student’s AAC device. This is a very appropriate and important question.
It seems to me that this question may have arisen from hearing about a technique known as Partner Augmented Input (PAI) or [...]
I’m 46 years old and would love to think I know a lot. It’s 2011 so all elevators should be brought to code, automatic doors should have electronic eyes so they won’t shut on people, and buses should announce every stop so a disabled person can know where they need to get off. If you [...]
We have all seen the benefits of visual supports for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. We use visual supports to help individuals understand and anticipate the events of the day, follow rules, make choices, understand and follow the steps of a job or an activity, and manage behavior. Visual supports may incorporate photographs, objects, Picture [...]
While I am not expert on this subject I have used this concept for one student, a young boy using an AAC device. I consulted with his therapist via Skype. This is not for everyone, but it worked in this particular situation. I could have conversations with the student and see where language and communication [...]
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