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Families Needed for Vanderbilt University AAC Research Project
AAC, Research, COVID-19 Janice Reese AAC, Research, COVID-19 Janice Reese

Families Needed for Vanderbilt University AAC Research Project

The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously brought so many challenges for families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Researchers at Vanderbilt University have received a small grant from the Spencer Foundation to try to address some of these challenges by learning more about the ways that families are involved in language and literacy learning for children with disabilities.

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Tangible Object Communication Activities
AAC, Literacy and Reading S... Janice Reese AAC, Literacy and Reading S... Janice Reese

Tangible Object Communication Activities

When initiating communication activities for any child with significant disabilities, we must first look at their receptive skills to see what is understood with regards to people, places, objects and specific core vocabulary words. Using activities that incorporate words that are familiar to the student helps reinforce attention and engagement. Core vocabulary are the 250+ words that form the basis of about 80% of everything we say, allowing us to engage within multiple contexts about an infinite number of topics.

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AAC Resources for the Classroom

AAC Resources for the Classroom

I've learned a lot about AAC technologies over the last 15 years.  I often say that I don't know everything, but I can probably tell you how and where to learn more.  Because I provide direct technology support and training to educational teams for many students with impaired language and communication skills, I have gathered a wealth of forms, tip sheets, tutorial resources, assessment materials, etc. for use in the school setting.

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AAC in the Classroom for Young Children (part I)

AAC in the Classroom for Young Children (part I)

It's always exciting to see kids with limited speech and language abilities respond to the use of visually supported communication tools and strategies. Images are easy to recognize and recall, making the transference of information universal...no matter what the 'language' might be!

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Free Resources for AT, AAC, Modifying the Curriculum
Resources for Families of Children with Autism

Resources for Families of Children with Autism

I am an ATP working in the special education setting, but I've also been an OT for almost 30 years. Since the goal of OT is to improve functional independence and the goal of AT use is to provide tools that help accommodate for disability, the two are a perfect match.  Although my role is to foster academic engagement and success in the classroom, we all recognize the importance of the child's family as members of the education team.  Carryover in the home is a key piece to supporting that success!

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