AT and AAC: Practical Tips and Strategies : language disorders

AAC Implementation

Angela Desideri — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:18:00 GMT

Introduce AAC more effectively! Here are 3 tips to help you do just that: No. 1 - When you are using AAC apps on an iPad, iPod, or iPhone, always utilize Guided Access. When enabled, Guided Access prevents the students from exiting within an app. This helps them focus on communication instead of trying to exit from the app to explore other apps — which has had a tremendous positive impact on my students. Guided Access is one of my favorite features!

No. 2 - Model, Model, Model — How can we expect our students to use their AAC system without first teaching them how to locate, construct, operate and use language?

This is one of the most enjoyable parts of the AAC teaching process — and it's easy to do. When you are modeling you are showing them how to use the device.

No. 3 - Introduce a new core word each week. l like to introduce the word each week while doing therapy in the classroom. That way I can model the word and let everyone know that this is the word we are highlighting. I have found that introducing new concepts in small chunks helps with implementation. Too much information all at once is overwhelming for everyone and often ends up being abandoned.

Remember to also praise and highlight all accomplishments the AAC user makes. It's important that everyone on the team recognizes accomplishments and praises the AAC user along the way. We all appreciate well-deserved praise, and recognition makes learning that much more satisfying for our students.

More resources:

To enable Guided Access, update to iOS 6.0 and click here to follow the easy directions.

Read Modeling, AAC Style by Carole Zangari to learn more about the importance of modeling.

A fun way to get everyone using AAC and also teach core words.

Read more features by returning to the ADVANCE for SLP’s home page.

Teaching Core Words

Angela Desideri — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:43:00 GMT

Teaching core words is an important and essential part of the AAC process. To learn more about core words you can read my previous blog post.

Recently, I discovered a free app that I love using when teaching core words, it's called Sight Words for Reading HD by Rock n Learn. This free app is available on both the iTunes and Android markets which is great because more people can access and use it.

Here are the words it teaches:

up
down
come
go
in
out

One of my favorite things about this app is that it teaches the words using videos and it includes two videos along with a flashcard section. The first video teaches the words separately and the second video combines the words (e.g., "Go down", "Come up" etc.). After you have had spent time learning the words you can u se the flashcard portion of the app.

Here's how I use it:

I first start by playing the video to teach each of the words. I like how you can pause the video as I do this frequently to practice teaching the concepts.

Also Online!

Boosting Language Skills

After the video, I bring in objects to generalize the learning outside of the app with three fun activities.

1. For up and down I use a big balloon and my students tell me to put it "up" or "down". I also do this with bubbles and provide choices on which way to blow the bubbles.

2. Using a tunnel my students practice going "in" and coming "out". We also had fun putting items in and watching them come out.

3. We take turns telling each other to "come" and "go" to different locations.

I encourage you to install this app and share the ways you are using it in therapy to teach core words.

Find it for the Android, here; and in the iTunes store, here.

Go Away Big Green Monster

Angela Desideri — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:44:00 GMT

Did you know that "Go Away Big Green Monster" by Ed Emberley is an app that is exactly like the book? The book app has 3 settings, Read Along with a Friend, Read Along with Ed and Sing Along. Some of the goals I addressed using this app were: sequencing and retelling, body parts, colors, describing using the attribute of color + body part, commenting, requesting and asking for help.

Here are 3 activities I did to help expand the learning outside of the app.

1) We created our own monsters. Here's a picture of a few of our finished products. I took a picture of each student with their monster and made a slideshow of all of them on my iPad using the photo library.

2) Using the Doodle Buddy app we worked on describing, retelling and explaining the steps to re-create the Big Green Monster. My students told me to draw each of the parts of the monster. This was a fun way to work on their descriptive language skills. They loved seeing the monster come to life right before their eyes.

3) For a group activity I hid Mister Potato Head body parts in a bin of beans. I had my students take turns finding a body part, telling me what they found and then putting it in the green Play-Doh face. They had so much fun with the beans and Play-Doh. I made sure the lid was closed and they had to tell me to open and/or ask for help.

Since we did this activity in the classroom the teacher decided to also expand the learning outside of the app and she created this amazing bulletin board. I love how she included the labels and also the open-ended sentence strip (i.e., The big green monster has _______).

As you can see we have been having so much fun with Go Away Big Green Monster and expanding the learning outside of the app!

Toca Monsters

Angela Desideri — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Toca Boca has done it again! An amazing free app for the iPhone, iPod and iPad called Toca Monsters.

How it works:

Begin by selecting your monster. Gomez is the brown monster, and Nebula is the blue monster.
Choose from 8 ingredients to feed to your hungry monster.
Prepare the food by choosing to cut, blend, boil, fry, mix or microwave.
Feed the food to the monster.

How I use it:

I take screen shots of the food choices and screen shots of the appliances/food preparation page. We start by choosing the ingredients and then choose the items used to prepare the food. My students tell me what to do, and then they watch me do it on the iPad.

Goals that can be targeted:

Following directions
Vocabulary skills
Social language skills - practice watching and reading the monster's nonverbal body language and make predictions if the monster will like the food based on reading their nonverbal cues.
Core words - eat, like, stop, go, on, off, more.
Commenting
Descriptive language
Verbs

Some of my favorite features of this app:

The reaction on the monster's face when it doesn't like a food.
The surprise you find when you boil the blue fire ball.
Shaking the salt and pepper on the food and adding too much.
Option to have only vegetarian foods (if selected in the main settings)
Can be used to support any language.
All of the language you can elicit when you use this app interactively!

Have fun selecting, preparing, and feeding the monsters!

Get to Know Your Students

Angela Desideri — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:30:00 GMT

Recently, I discovered a new app called Music Color. Music Color is a universal app that's available on the iTunes app store and supports 20 languages.

How It Works

Select a color from 12 possible options: blue, yellow, red, pink, brown, white, green, gray, orange, black, purple and light blue.

Once you select a color, a page with six items in the color you selected opens, and classical music is played. When you press the item on the page, it displays a large, vibrant picture that changes each time the same picture is pressed.

The question mark opens a page that requires you to receptively identify the colors in a field of four.

Interacting in the App

I begin by modeling all of the colors and items. Then I give all of my students screenshots of the main page that contains the 12 colors. Be sure to refer to my previous blog Screenshots: An Easy Way to Create Visual Supports to learn how to take screenshots. The students take turns requesting their preferred colors and items that they want to see. We then take turns commenting about the pictures. I comment and describe using core words, and my students follow along. The pictures are so exciting that you will be amazed at the spontaneous language they elicit.

Observing Your Students' Favorite Items in the App

I observed my students interacting within the app and discovered some of their favorite things. One of my nonverbal students kept choosing the color orange, and when on the orange page, she kept pressing the basketball picture over and over. We gave her a basketball, and she immediately began bouncing it. Had it not been for this app, I never would have discovered her love of playing basketball. This is just one example among many that demonstrates how my nonverbal students use this app to communicate their favorite activities.

Expanding Beyond the App

I bring in objects that are the same colors as in the app. Some of the objects I used were marshmallows, different color squishy balls, different color putty, Play-Doh.
I made a board with 12 blank icons and then had my students glue colored squares on their boards. They loved their finished products and enjoyed telling me their favorite colors!
I created sensory boards with different colored items that we used to elicit descriptive language.
Stephanie Bruno-Dowling recently wrote about making Rainbow Punch in her blog "Drink Recipes for St. Patrick's Day!" We made rainbow punch, and it was such a fun activity to generalize the colors that were learned.

I encourage you to observe your students using this app and report your findings to me in the Comments section. Please describe the colors/items you observe are of particular interest to them.

Screenshots: An Easy Way to Create Visual Supports

Angela Desideri — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:10:00 GMT

One of the ways I have been using my iPad with my students who require visual supports such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), communication boards, and AAC overlays is by taking and using screenshots.

You may be asking yourself, "What is a screenshot?" If that's the case, let me explain. Screenshots are images that are taken by the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch that, once taken, are stored in the photo library. If you look through your photo library you will more than likely discover random pictures that you don't recall taking. These are most likely screenshots that you snapped without knowing it. The good news is now you will learn how to take and use screenshots to enhance your therapy sessions.

Here's how to take a screenshot:

Your picture is now stored in your photo devices library.

Now your pictures can be emailed, messaged, assigned to contacts, used as wallpaper, tweeted, printed or copied.

I have screenshots for all of the pages in the apps that I use. I then print them on card stock and laminate them. I provide these to my students and they can be used as choice boards to make requests or comments, as well as making descriptions and assisting with answering and asking questions. The possibilities are endless!

I find that screenshots really help with kids who are impulsive, as this is a way to structure your therapy session while using apps, especially with groups. Screenshots are an easy way to provide visual supports while engaging interactively in the apps. I encourage you to practice taking screenshots and start using them in therapy today!

Expanding Communication Skills? There's an App for That!

Angela Desideri — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:30:00 GMT

What better way to get children excited to learn language and communication skills than a birthday party? Toca Boca's "Birthday Party" is an interactive app that provides numerous opportunities to help speech-language pathologists expand language use and teach social skills, as well as AAC skills, in a fun and motivating way.

Here' s how it works:

Select a birthday cake design from the following choices: Panda, Dragon or Rainbow.
Select the plates/dishes from the three choices provided.
Select one of three presents.
Sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candles (by touching them).
Time for the birthday party celebration! Eat the cake, pop the confetti, pour the juice, put the cake on the plates, eat the cake, open the present, and drink the juice.
Once all of the cake is eaten it's time to clean up and wash the cups and dishes.
The birthday party is over!

Here's how I use it in therapy:

Requesting items such as the type of cake, blow out candles, eat cake, pour juice, drink juice, open present, pop confetti, wash dishes, and wash cups by using signs, PECS, AAC systems or visual supports.
To practice labeling items.
To practice stating preferences: "I like______."
To review and practice using core words like eat, drink, more, look, like and open.
To teach social language skills related to birthday parties.
To review the schedule of a birthday party.
To practice expected vs. unexpected behaviors at a party.
To work on asking questions such as "Do you want cake?" "Do you want juice?" "Which juice do you want?" and much more.
To practice social skills related to birthday parties.
To work on turn-taking skills.

iPad & Settings: A Tip to Enhance Learning

Angela Desideri — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:07:00 GMT

Are you aware you can adjust the general settings on your iPad? By controlling the specific settings, you can increase students' attention, decrease frustration and behaviors, and most importantly, make the most use out of your therapy time.

Settings allows you to restrict access to certain areas on your iPad and provide SLPs with the peace of mind to ensure the iPad is used for learning purposes.

Here's how you can access restrictions on your iPad (located within the general settings).

Select the Settings icon
Select General
Select Restrictions
Select Enable Restrictions and when prompted enter a passcode

Here are my setting recommendations:

Safari - off - Disables internet access.
YouTube - off - Prevents access to videos.
Installing Apps - off - Prevents apps from being installed.
Deleting Apps - off - Prevents apps from being deleted.
Allow Music and Podcasts Rated Explicit - off
Movies - Don't allow movies
TV Shows - Don't allow TV shows
In-App Purchases - off - Prevents in-app purchases from being made.

Here's a screenshot of my recommendations:

Technology & SLPs: 2011, A Year in Review

Angela Desideri — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:33:00 GMT

As 2011 comes to a close, most SLPs will be using new technology like the iPad in therapy or know someone who is. Many SLPs are embracing this new and innovative therapy tool and most importantly seeing improvements with their students.

I decided to end my final blog post of 2011 with a review of some of the posts that provided the most comments.

Please post your thoughts on technology in 2011 and predictions for where it will take us in 2012! Sincerest thanks to all of you, my faithful readers, for your past support. I would like to wish you and your families a healthy and happy New Year!

#5: My Favorite Free App and AAC: 3 Things Every Parent, SLP, and Educator Needs to Know (these were tied)

#4: My Favorite Apps for Speech Therapy: Part 1

#3: iPad and Speech Therapy

#2: iPads in Schools

#1 most commented blog post:iPad: Should I Buy One?

Happy New Year, 2012!

My Favorite Free App

Angela Desideri — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:05:00 GMT

Typically, I don't use lite (free apps) for use in speech therapy. I find the in-app purchases and advertisements to be highly distracting and take away from learning. However, there are always exceptions and the Toca Hair Salon Christmas Gift is one of them.

So here is an early Christmas gift from Toca Boca!

How it works:

The app provides various options:

Comb
Cut
Add more hair
Blow dry
Take a picture
Shave
Color
Decorate

Example:

If you select the scissors, when you touch either Santa's hair or the Christmas tree, your hands become the scissors and whatever you touch is cut off. It comes complete with sounds that bring this action to life!

How I have used the app:

My students and I have been having so much fun using this app. It's simple, engaging, and it can be used to support students who speak any language.

My AAC users:

All of their devices and/or PECS books contain the following vocabulary:

I want, I like, more, cut, comb, color, shave, decorate, take a picture, and blow dry.

This app is a great way to work on verbs and requesting, stating preferences and recurrence. It's been fun to see what features my students have enjoyed. So far, blow drying, taking pictures, coloring, and decorating have been their top picks.

My students working on expressive language skills:

We work together and complete an outline where they map out the steps they want to do in the order they will do them.

Here's an example: First, I'm going to cut Santa's hair. Next, I'm going to comb his hair. Then, I am going to shave his beard. After that, I am going to color his hair green. The last thing I am going to do is take a picture.

This plan goes home with my students and they practice retelling the steps to their parents who have received an email of the picture that they created. It's a great homework activity that they love doing!

One more tip: every time a picture is taken, it's saved in your photo library. Some of my students really loved this feature and have frequently requested it. In the general settings you have the option to turn on/off the snapshot saving. Here is a picture that my students created. Happy styling!

My Favorite Apps for Speech Therapy Part 1

Angela Desideri — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:44:00 GMT

I wanted to share some of my favorite apps that I use for speech therapy. Please feel free to comment and tell me your favorite apps so I can add them to my wish list for the holidays!

My Play House by Shimon - This is an interactive play house that I use to work on play skills, turn taking, linguistic concepts, following directions, cause and effect, and much more.

The Social Express by The Language Express - This is a new app that was just released and it works on teaching social language skills. It's a comprehensive app that targets all aspects related to social thinking including: feelings, eye contact, interpreting non-verbal cues, conversational skills, learning how to be a part of a group, teaches the hidden social rules, sequencing and inferencing, coping skills, and much more! The app also contains the option to turn on "Teacher Tips" where it tells you what to say to your students when engaged in the app. It even comes with printable activities and lesson summaries.

Cinderella by Nosy Crow - I use this to work on comprehension, vocabulary development, following multi-step directions, choice making, social skills, narrative development and emotions. Some of the pages in the app I love are the invitation page, garden scene and the dancing scene where you can change the music.

What are your favorite apps?

iPads in Schools: Interview with an iPad Coach Part 2

Angela Desideri — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:07:00 GMT

In my last blog, I interviewed Dawn Hallett, iPad Coach at Warringa Park School in Melbourne, Australia. As you will soon learn from Dawn's experience, it takes a considerable amount of planning, training, and support to ensure the successful use of this new technology. Here is Part 2 of my interview with Dawn.

Angela: What is your school doing to train and provide ongoing support to staff?

Dawn: An essential part of my role is to provide training for my staff. I provide professional development on the basics of the iPad itself. We also encourage teachers to provide a workshop based around an application they are currently using. This happens every Thursday after school.

Although my official title is ‘iPad Coach,' I operate as a teaching and learning coach, with a focus on technology. I work alongside teachers for a term at a time. Together, we identify the level each student is working at, plan activities to enable the student to progress onto the next level and identify opportunities for using the iPad to support these activities. I will then model some lessons that integrate the iPad and provide support to my colleagues with further lessons.

Angela: How does your school ensure the iPads are being used for educational purposes?

Dawn: This is an expectation when teachers sign up for an iPad. As we don't download applications unless they are educational, our students are only able to use the iPad for educational purposes, even if they don't stay working on the app the teacher wants them to!

Angela: How are apps purchased and distributed?

Dawn: Each student is provided with an iTunes gift card. At the start, this was $50. The teachers are then provided with a list of suggested applications that total the amount and are asked to download these applications onto each iPad. For some older students, we quickly learned that some needed the restrictions applied, as Justin Bieber had been downloaded "accidentally" onto one iPad! But this has been part of the learning process for us.

When teachers plan at the end of each term for the following term, they identify applications that will fit with their topic and are then given vouchers that total the required amount. It is more beneficial to use iTunes vouchers, as there are always special offers, for example, buying $50 for $40. However, if a teacher desperately needs an app, our IT Manager will gift it to them.

Please share in the comment section how your school is using iPads and the success and/or challenges you have encountered!

iPads in Schools: Interview with an iPad Coach Part 1

Angela Desideri — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:26:00 GMT

In my last blog, I posted questions regarding the use of iPads in schools that many SLPs have. I'm excited to interview Dawn Hallett from Warringa Park School in Melbourne, Australia. Dawn has been kind enough to share more about her role as an iPad coach and comment on many of the questions that have been raised.

Angela: Please share with my readers more about your job as an iPad coach and your school?

Dawn: Warringa Park School is based out in the Western Metropolitan Region of Melbourne. The school has 304 students enrolled, from 5-18 years of age, all with additional needs. In June, 2010, we purchased 10 iPads to explore with students. The feedback from teachers and students was overwhelming and so we invested in additional iPads.

In October, 2011, Warringa Park was one of two special schools in Victoria chosen to take part in the Victorian iPad Trial. The purpose of this trial was to explore the impact of technology on students' learning outcomes. To support the special schools in the implementation, I was seconded to work for the DEECD for two months.

My main objectives were to compile a list of applications that could be used in different areas of the curriculum in a special setting and provide professional development to teachers of both schools. On my return to school, my role changed from being a classroom teacher to a full-time iPad Coach. My school had decided we were going to implement iPads 1-1 across the school and my job as iPad Coach was to support this implementation.

My primary roles were identified as supporting teachers with the integration of the iPad as a teaching tool in the classroom, along with conducting professional development for teachers and identifying applications to meet the learning needs of all students.

Angela: How does your school determine which apps to use?

Dawn: One of my main roles is to find applications that will support the learning in different areas of the curriculum. I continually research the internet and other app finding applications, then try the apps out before I decide whether to recommend them to colleagues. As many other teachers have started to research applications themselves, it is important that we make time to share the good and bad applications across the school.

Angela: How does your school evaluate if the apps are beneficial?

Dawn: From my experience so far, effective apps:

Are interactive and colorful
Enable teachers to set a level appropriate to the child's needs
May be used across the curriculum
Don't have pop-ups appearing constantly to distract our students.
Enable students to get the right answer, rather than presenting a "no" or just moving onto the next question
Speak words as well as display the words on the screen
Allow you to personalize them using pictures, labels and your own voice
Have breadth and depth that keep our students motivated

Be sure to read my next blog where we learn about Warringa Park School and their iPad success!

iPad & Speech Therapy

Angela Desideri — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:00:00 GMT

The iPad has become a significant part of daily therapy use for many SLPs. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Jordan Sadler who owns Communication Therapy P.C., located in Chicago, Illinois. Jordan has agreed to answer questions regarding the use of the iPad in her private practice.

Angela: Please describe the setting and age of the population you are working with on the iPad.

Jordan: I own a private practice and we serve kids ages 3-12. We use the iPad with everyone.

Angela: Describe the benefits you have seen using the iPad.

Jordan: The iPad provides critical visual support to aid comprehension of language. It is also incredibly helpful as an augmentative communication device that aids kids in making transitions and processing emotions.

Further, I have clients who are using it as a dedicated AAC speech device very successfully. It is easy for kids to manipulate and so intuitive that they figure out how to navigate apps immediately.

Angela: Describe the challenges you have encountered using the iPad.

Jordan: I have had just one child who has had significant difficulties due to a severe motor disorder. It also has to be very well protected with a strong case to keep it from breaking if dropped. Also, when kids bring their own iPads and are familiar with favorite music or games on them, it takes some work to set limits around which apps can be opened and when.

Angela: What areas have you been using the iPad in therapy to address?

Jordan: We use it for language comprehension, early literacy, narrative development, linguistic concepts in math, voice output/AAC, sequencing, grammar, language concepts (e.g., prepositions), improving transitions, and improving expression of a wide range of emotions.

Angela: What criteria do you use for selecting apps for your students/patients?

Jordan: I look at their attention level, visual-motor skills, gross and fine motor skills, developmental level, and treatment goals.

Angela: What area(s) do you find that parents and teachers need the most training/support in when using the iPad?

Jordan: Parents and teachers need a tremendous amount of support.One of the most important considerations is simply how to choose from the enormous number of apps that are touted as being specifically for children with special needs.

It is difficult to figure out which apps are both of high quality and appropriate for one's child or student.The next challenge is taking the time required to set up each app; many of the apps I use for AAC incorporate photos taken with the iPad2 to customize them for a child; this takes time to learn and can become frustrating for parents and teachers.

I am reviewing apps specific to communication and AAC on my blog and contributing to the Spreadsheet of Apps for People with Autism that I posted on LinkedIn. I am also providing workshops for parents and clinicians in the Chicago area to highlight the wide range of apps out there for AAC and meeting with parents to individualize their iPads appropriately for their particular child. Everyone has gotten the message that this device can be beneficial to children with special needs, but then they purchase an iPad and ask, "Now what?" SLPs can play a significant role in answering this question.

Thank you Jordan for this information on your experience using the iPad!

Please add your experiences with the iPad in the comment section.

iPad : Should I Buy One?

Angela Desideri — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:09:00 GMT

I bought my iPad when they first came out over 2 years ago and have used it everyday since then with my students.

Should YOU buy an iPad?

The best way for me to answer this question is to explain the three major benefits I have found so far using the iPad with my students.

Access:

The majority of my students have learned how to access the iPad. Most have learned how to turn it on, swipe the screen, flick, scroll, and zoom while interacting with the selected apps.

Motivation:

I have witnessed a greater motivation to learn from my students. With a large selection of cost effective apps, we are able to work on many targeted areas including:

Expressive and receptive language
Social skills
Organization
Communication
Much, much more.

One of the largest motivating factors has been many students initiating preferred activities on the iPad.

Attention:

Some of my students have very short attention spans. Therefore, I find myself looking for activities that can help sustain their attention for longer periods of time. I have found many apps that can help achieve and expand my students' attention.

For me, the iPad has definitely been a game-changer. For those of you that already purchased an iPad, how has it benefitted you and your students?