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 — ...

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 ...

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 ...

Last time, I blogged about being a member of a state speech-language-hearing association. In that blog I mentioned my state association's upcoming annual convention. Today's post is about some of my experiences at the PSHA Convention. I'll write about the other presentations I attended in my next post. My time at the convention was split among ...

This week I'd like to continue with specific therapy material suggestions for new graduates and the books and manuals that have worked for me, with a focus on cognitive-linguistic resources. Cognitive-linguistic therapy is a very important aspect of our work in geriatrics and long-term care (LTC). At the very least, we should be supporting ...

I have spent a fair amount of time here complaining about winter, so it's a good time to let you know that I LOVE St. Patrick's Day, mostly because to me it is the beginning of spring. Also, I am Darn Well Irish (the MacSweeneys, one of them being my grandfather, hail from County Cork, Ireland). This is sort of a weird holiday to target ...

Today I want to share one of my favorite apps to use with preschoolers who have receptive and/or expressive language delays. It's called ''Monkey Preschool Lunchbox,'' and is a mere $0.99 to download onto your device. Below I have listed the overall layout of the app in bullet points. The concepts that the app addresses are in ...

Thank you to everyone who has been writing in over these past few weeks regarding the iPad apps and the many ways that the iPad can be used in speech therapy sessions. I love hearing your feedback and the various ways you are using these apps in your sessions! This week I would like to share my next iPad passion, namely the full version of ...

Books continue to be my heroes in my school position, sometimes showing up to save me from ennui when I least expect it. I was recently doing a pull-over sort of session in the literacy center (the kindergarten class is nearby and my room is, well, not), and spied the colorful cover of Alphabet Rescue, by Audrey Wood and her son, Bruce. ...

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. ...