Please note before I begin this post that I am aware that PECS is a specific and trademarked system. I have been through the formal training, however, like most, I have adapted it and can no longer officially call it PECS. Over the years, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with picture exchange. I have gone… Read more
Viewing posts tagged with: communication
Low-tech AAC: Core Vocabulary (Pros and Cons)
Last year, several SLPs in my district attended a fantastic conference by Gail Van Tatenhove. By the end of the two days, we were ready to make some district-wide changes to AAC in our district. Although I have been using core boards and core vocabulary for years, this was going to be a radical collaborative… Read more
Low-tech AAC: PODD (Pros and Cons)
Seventeen years ago I was a brand new SLP graduate. I accepted the only mid-year job that I could find (overage for 2 SLPs with high caseloads) and began on a crazy adventure. One of the classrooms that I was to be serving contained students who were profoundly impacted by a variety of disabilities. I… Read more
Engage AAC users with a manipulative core board!
Although picture exchange can be an effective communication system for some individuals (Tien, 2008), there are limitations to its use (Flippin et al, 2010). This includes the fact that comments are not introduced until phase IV of training, and protests and refusals are not directly taught. Core vocabulary, on the other hand, is… Read more
Behavior as Communication
She was agitated and upset. This was not a good day. Her routine had gotten out of whack when her aunt dropped her off at school instead of taking the bus. She dropped her backpack on the way down to class. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep. As so, during our normal circle time activity, when… Read more
Communication Specialist
(Please note that although “I Help People Communicate! What’s your Super Power?” has been floating around Pinterest with no link, this is the original quote, by ME!) If you’d like a poster version of this quote, check out this set of posters/activities that I have made! That’s it. I’m changing my title. I want no… Read more