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In her preparation of curriculum for a 7-week, graduate level course on AAC, Tami Brancamp, Ph.D. (Univ. of Nevada, Reno) asked the ASHA Community SIG 12 for input on the content of her course. I couldn't resist! and would like to share my personal soap box shpeal with you, too... (From Gwendolyn Meier, Pasadena, CA) I hope that you will dedicate at least one class session entirely to AAC in autism. I recognize two primary issues that are of great importance when teaching nonverbal and minimally verbal folks with autism to use AAC: 1) expanding pragmatic functions right from the start, and 2) de-emphasizing symbol recognition and association in exchange for emphasis on motor patterns for expressive communication. It is my experience that much graduate instruction as well as continuing education courses focus on providing AAC to persons with intact social communication desires (i.e., disabling conditions other than ASD). In autism, as I'm sure you have also experienced, early pragmatic functions of communication are restricted by the lack of intrinsic motivation to communicate socially. In addition to teaching learners to make requests and to protest using AAC, I find that even at the 1-word/hit language stage, the functions of commenting, interjecting and sharing opinions can be very powerful when sufficiently modeled in motivating interactive contexts. Some examples of content follow: Early Non-Verbal Language Stages 1. One word/picture card/button/hit at a time - Cause-and-effect, One-word/hit requesting (More, Mine, Want, Go, Turn, Open, In, Out, object or action labels) - Rejecting/Protesting (Stop, No, All done, Break) - One-hit comments, interjections, sharing opinions, greetings (taught through modeling; Oh man!, Oops, Sorry, Help, Be careful, Funny, I like it, I don't like it, Cool! Hi, Bye) 2. Two- and three-word/picture/button/hit phrases - Specified requests ("I want" + item/action, "More" + item/action) - Specified protests ("No" + item/action, "All done" + item/action) - Directing others' actions using core vocab (Help This, Give Me, I Go, You Go, Put in, Open it, etc.) 3. Building phrases and early sentences (3+ words/hits), moving toward grammar, morphology, etc..... In addition to this content, I think it is important to emphasize that when teaching learners who have complex communication needs, with our without autism, receptive symbol recognition should not be considered prerequisite to the teaching of expressive language concepts through modeling in meaningful interaction. In the teaching process, consistent location of motivating vocabulary can reduce the learner's reliance on visual recognition, symbol iconicity and metaphoric association - particularly learners with autism. Learners don't need to be able to recognize/"point to"/"give" a symbol that is named before they can use that symbol to get something done in the world. This concept may seem counter-intuitive to some, but is supported by the fact that nonverbal individuals with autism and related disorders have inherent challenges in abstract association of meaning and, in general, their motor systems are relatively more intact than their conceptual and linguistic systems. Picture communication books or other Velcro-based displays often lack a consistent placement of vocabulary from one use to another, which can put a strain on the cognitive demand of communicating any particular message. If clinicians and teachers capitalize on the benefits inherent in consistent motor patterns when creating and maintaining visual displays for communication in different settings or activities, motor learning will reduce the associative demand. In fact, for all learners, motor planning plays an important and often overlooked role...This is not to say that receptive identification of photos, drawings, etc. is not an important skill to teach! It just may be less important than we think when teaching use of a visually-based expressive communication system. The Center for AAC and Autism's LAMP program (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) talks more about this. There is also a wealth of practical and well-organized information on the evidence base for speech generating devices in autism at this site: http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/speech-generating-devicesvoca
Food is always a fun storytime theme. Tortillas are a great selection if you want to celebrate a specific food and get a little creative. Below is a suggested Family Storytime using tortillas as a theme. This is designed as a bilingual storytime, but it could also be a monolingual Spanish program or a monolingual English program which is inclusive of Latino cultures through its use of materials by Latino authors/illustrators and celebration of a food item common in many Latino cuisines. It is worth noting that the word "tortilla" does not mean the same thing in every Spanish-speaking country! For a family program, this would be a great discussion topic and a way to play around with geography and vocabulary as you introduce the theme in the beginning of the program. In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a flat bread, generally made of wheat or corn, used for scooping or wrapping vegetables, meats and beans. In Spain and South America, a tortilla is an egg dish, very similar to an omelet! For older kids, particularly in a classroom setting, this could be a great topic to explore. You could ask the students to brainstorm why a word may mean one thing in one country, yet mean something else in another country. Can they find any examples of this in the English language? Opening Book: Round is a Tortilla - Roseanne Greenfield Thong This English language story told in rhyme uses Latino imagery to introduce shapes. Options for extending the story abound - you could have shapes hidden in the room and have a scavenger hunt, you could go on a shape walk around the neighborhood, or you could have a shape sort activity for parents and children to work on together. There is no Spanish only version of this story, so monolingual Spanish language programs will need to replace this book with another title. Rhyme: Tortillitas "Tortillitas" is a very well-known children's rhyme. I believe that it originates from Mexico, but is also widely known in Central America. If I am mistaken, please leave a comment and let me know! Also, I'm curious if anyone who is from or grew up in the Caribbean or South America can let me know if this rhyme (or a variant of it) is something that you remember from your childhood, or if it is new to you. I know there is a similar version about papas/potatoes. I'd love to hear from you on this topic! There are several versions of the "Tortillitas" rhyme; here are two that I like to use: Tortillitas, tortillitas, / tortillitas para mamá; / tortillitas para papá. / Las quemaditas para mamá. / Las bonitas para papá. / Tortillitas, tortillitas. Tortillitas de manteca / pa'mamá que está contenta. / Tortillitas de salvado / pa'papá que está enojado. Here is an English translation that I came up with. The literal meaning has changed in order to maintain rhythm and rhyme: Little tortillas made of wheat / for my mom who is so sweet. / Little tortillas made of corn / for my dad who I adore! Book/Flannelboard Story: La tortilla corredora - Laura Herrera A cumulative story based on the Gingerbread Man that follows a runaway tortilla. Unfortunately no English version of this story is available, so you may want to replace it with one of the titles below in an English language storytime. Alternatively, you can tell this story using the flannelboard. Ending Activity - Painting Tortillas Time to get creative! Use tortillas as a canvas and have a paint party! You could encourage children to paint the various shapes or pick a favorite shape to paint in lots of different ways. Another blogger I found suggests keeping the whole activity edible by adding food coloring to water for paint (you could maybe try yogurt as well for different textures) and using lettuce leaves (or corn husks) as brushes! Other Suggested Books: Magda's Tortillas / Las tortillas de Magda - Becky Chavarría-Cháirez Tortillas and Lullabies / Tortillas y cancioncitas - Lynn Reiser The Tortilla Factory - Gary Paulsen (also available in Spanish as La tortilleria) The Dog Who Loved Tortillas / La perrita que le encantaban las tortillas - Benjamin Alire Sáenz The First Tortilla: A Bilingual Story - Rudolfo A. Anaya
When we started the Civic Lab at the end of this past summer, we knew one of our major goals would be to engage our community in conversations around current events and issues in a landscape with disappearing local news sources. Like many libraries and other institutions dedicated to access to information, we've felt this particular goal explode in import over the past few weeks. Or, rather, it was always important; the past few weeks simply cast the need in a more urgent light. To that end, many of our staff are scouring news and current events to think about topics about which our community can discuss and learn. This past week, we focused on Standing Rock. This pop-up of the Civic Lab had a simple statement to bring people to the space: Let's talk about Standing Rock. I worked with a coworker (who is a bookmobile librarian and a philosophy professor) who had gone out to Standing Rock in early November; with lots of input from his experience, research, and resources, we determined that our pop-up would explore three core questions: How do the collective economic gains of the Dakota Access Pipeline weigh against its environmental impact, both actual and potential? To what extent should the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock be considered in the context of the history of interactions between Native Americans* and the United States government? How should the government respond to the presence of water protectors? It should be clear from these core questions that our goal was to provide all of the information, resources, and perspectives our patrons would need to be able to make an informed opinion of their own. To that end, we gathered and curated a number of resources. These included: key definitions (including Standing Rock, sovereignty, Dakota Access Pipeline, protest, and water protector) map of the full pipeline from Energy Transfer (the company building the pipeline) map of the pipeline, including its original proposed route, overlaid with the Native American territory and treaty boundaries since 1851 (from NYC Stands with Standing Rock**) timeline for historical context of Standing Rock (on a laptop) Mni Wiconi: The Stand at Standing Rock (8.5-minute documentary; on a laptop) "The Conflicts Along 1,172 Miles of the Dakota Access Pipeline" from the New York Times (which explores other conflicts along the pipeline route, not just those at Standing Rock; on a laptop) image from Redhawk that was shared on the Standing Rock Rising Facebook page (as an entry point for talking about peaceful protest and government response) special issue of the publication Indian Country Today focused on the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline my coworker's jacket he had worn to Standing Rock, on which a water protector had pinned a sign (this certainly caught many patrons' attention) relevant books from the library collections This Civic Lab installation popped up for community conversation last Wednesday evening for 2 hours. In that time, we had some really outstanding conversations with patrons ranging from junior high-age through seniors, and all across the political spectrum. Those participants also ran the gamut in terms of previous knowledge they brought to the conversation; plenty had known nothing, while a small handful were already up on many of the details. While several patrons did feel the urge to identify themselves politically, none of the conversations were overtly political; rather, everyone seemed really eager (and relieved) to have conversations about issues rather than partisan posturing. Only one of our conversations lasted fewer than 10 minutes--that's the level of engagement we're talking about. This photo from the library's Instagram account shows the Civic Lab pop-up space and several of the participants. Through the course of our conversations, we learned that 35% of the folks who stopped to talk had not heard of Standing Rock before they came to the Civic Lab. About 30% of the participants took copies of resources with them and/or expressed a desire to share what they were learning with others; one gentleman snapped some photos of resources to share on his Facebook page on the spot. And, when all was said and done, about 80% of the people who stopped to talk about Standing Rock indicated that they had learned something in the course of the conversation. What we're learning in these Civic Lab pop-ups is that our community is really interested in having thoughtful and resource-based conversations about topics--both ones they've seen a bit on the news, and ones that are totally new to them as well. Are you finding this in your communities as well? We're also learning that many patrons want to know when these pop-ups will be happening; they want to be sure they plan to come participate, and a few even said they'd do some advance research to come better prepared. These pop-ups thus far have been true pop-ups in the sense that they aren't advertised anywhere; staff know when they're happening and on what topics (so that we can plan), but patrons participate only if they happen to be in the library when the Civic Lab appears. We're going to change that model in coming weeks; while we want to retain the flexibility to pop up around topics as they emerge, we'll take steps to advertise pop-ups on our website and events calendar (and, potentially, via social media if the topic warrants). If the people in our community want to have these conversations, we certainly want to give them tools they need to do so. Right now we're in planning stages for what's next for the Civic Lab. Staff are scouring the news and thinking about models for civic engagement that may resonate with our community. As we reflect and plan, I'd love to hear how you're thinking about civic engagement in your own libraries. *You'll note that we used the term "Native Americans" rather than "First/Native Nations" in referring to indigenous groups participating in the Standing Rock action. We used this terminology because it was the express preference of the water protectors my colleague stood alongside when he was at Standing Rock. **The #StandingRockSyllabus from NYC Stands with Standing Rock was incredibly valuable in allowing us to curate the content for the Civic Lab; if you've not yet explored it, I recommend you take the time to do so. We also looked to a variety of news sources--big networks and national papers as well as the international coverage and, particularly importantly, coverage from within indigenous communities.
Language is divisive. Regardless of whatever the intention may be, the impact of our words can be powerful. In libraries, we often find ourselves reflecting on the words we use for special populations, especially regarding the disability community. But even the words “disability” and “special populations” have connotations and references that may be positive or negative to different groups of people. As our profession continues to expand awareness on diversity and inclusion issues in libraries, we remember language and identity is a big part of the conversation, especially for people with disabilities. Person First vs. Identity First You may have heard of the phrase “Person First Language.” Person First Language puts the person before the disability, so that the disability is no longer the primary and defining characteristic of the person. For example, instead of saying “disabled person,” supporters of Person First Language will say “person with a disability.” Those...
The "Laura Ingalls Wilder Award" has been changed to "the Children’s Literature Legacy Award." Here's a breakdown of what that means, and what it doesn't.
This is a post that I’ve been working in various forms for about 3 years. There’s a lot of background and explanation here and I’ll even cite my sources where I can. Essentially, I’m going to make …
Library Visits Have Gone Way Up Over the Last Two Decades. Here’s Why… https://medium.com/everylibrary/library-visits-have-gone-way-up-over-the-last-two-decades-heres-why-567de914bccc" "Fact: Between 1990 and 2014, visits to public libraries grew by a whopping 181%. For context, the population of the United States increased by 28% during that period. Why have so many more people been using their libraries in the last two
One of the hardest concepts to teach in second grade was time. But that challenge was also the most rewarding for me! So when I moved up to third, I figured ALL my 3rds would know how to tell and therefor elapsed time (the third grade standard) would be like a dream boat… Yeah… not […]
Finding Unique Gifts for Grads The fall semester is well underway, which means that it’ll soon be time to celebrate the December graduates in your life. Gift-giving is often tricky. While it’s always easiest to stuff a couple of bucks into a card, it won’t leave much of an impression. It’s important to
Fascinating vintage eye candy for library lovers--from Farm Security Administration!
Late last year the Rochester Public Library (MN) administrative team worked with a consultant from Wilder Research to develop a logic model. I know what you are thinking: What is that and who even cares? But if you stay with me for a minute, maybe I can sell you on this wonderful tool for tracking outcomes. Yes, outcomes! Those nebulous, seemingly impossible to track things that prove what the library does changes or benefits the community. It has felt in the past that it is best to leave tracking outcomes to the academics, but with a simple and straightforward logic model, even the smallest community library can get tracking. A logic model is essentially – everything that your organization is doing, everything that you want to know about how your organization is doing, and everything that you hope will change because of what your organization is doing – all in...
See how to cite a website with no author in APA. With our examples & explanations, you'll be creating reference list citations & in-text citations easily.
Young children who show sophisticated story-telling skills go on to demonstrate greater mathematical ability.
This summer, I'm trying something a little different. Every year for the past [many] years, during the summer, I've hired a series of performers (jugglers, magicians, storytellers, etc.) to come to the library and perform for an audience of library families. This past spring, I attended a presentation about a new educational movement (think: on par with Montessori or Reggio) that's coming out of China. It's called AnjiPlay and I left the presentation completely inspired. You can read more about AnjiPlay (and get inspired!) on their website, but the short version is that it's all about TRUE PLAY and self-determination and the inherent learning that takes place when kids reflect on their play. I knew that it would take a long time for any public schools in the U.S. to even begin to embrace this amazing philosophy, so... I decided to bring at least some form of AnjiPlay to my library this summer (and the folks of AnjiPlay have graciously agreed to help shape this endeavor -- their feedback has strengthened this event so much!). And so, instead of asking kids to sit still in a stuffy meeting room, this summer, everyone is invited to join us at a nearby park to play. I'm calling it "A Wild Rumpus." This past Tuesday was our first Rumpus. It was a blast! Here are some photos (this week's play was a little shortened due to our summer kick-off presentation by local Frisbee expert, Brad Wendt) after the jump: a chair! a wooden fort! a bed! I'm not sure what this is, but I love it! a crane! A tea party, complete with table and chairs you can actually sit at, tea cups and plates and a centerpiece! Rolling is fun! Building is fun! One of the key components of AnjiPlay is reflecting on the play you've just engaged in. I'm asking all of the kids who attend to draw or write a "Play Story" for each time that they participate. I created 8 page booklets for each child to use so that by the end of the summer they should have a full booklet of pictures. Here are a few of the Play Stories from this week: Some focused on the Frisbee presentation I love how this one subdivided the page to allow for multiple "stories" Some focused on the things they built: Some chose to just tell their own story about another fun and exciting day: This participant created a long story that took up her whole booklet: I'm also asking parents to create a "Play Memory" in which they answer simple prompts that are designed to encourage them to reflect upon the play that they engaged in when they were children. Some drew pictures, most just wrote text, but I really loved how specific they got with their reflections! All in all, it was a lot of fun. I can't wait for next week when they'll have more time to play and I'll hopefully have the benefit of a few lessons learned under my belt to make things run even more smoothly. Come out to the park and join us! Haen Family Park, 7702 Tree Lane from 2:00-4:00 every Tuesday through the end of July. HUGE thanks to the Madison Parks Division for sharing their space with us--what a great partnership! Please note: "Anji Play,” refers to a specific philosophy and comprehensive approach to early education developed by Ms. Cheng Xueqin in Anji County, China. I use the term "Anji Play" to describe my programming and throughout this blog with the explicit permission of Ms. Cheng because our programming has been developed as part of a close collaborative relationship with her and her team of Anji Play educators. If you are interested in learning more about how you can bring Anji Play to your community, please visit www.anjiplay.com
When you begin creating a course, you want to design with the end in mind. The best way to approach this is to start by writing measurable, learning objectives. Effective learning objectives use action verbs to describe what you want your students to be able to do by the end of the course or unit. Aligning assessments with course expectations is much easier when you have written measurable objectives from the beginning. Identify the noun, or thing you want students to learn. Example: seven steps of the research process Identify the level of knowledge you want. In Bloom’s Taxonomy, there...
Student blogging provides opportunities for sharing, reflection, and ownership. With ELLs, blogs can provide deeper engagement and a public forum to demonstrate their developing skills.
Rather than stewing over an aspect of your boss, it’s a lot more productive to understand that her working style may not change.
The word theory can become quite confusing…in social work ‘theory’ is thrown around and can often become synonymous with model, approach, or practice. Defining and understanding …
There are many resources for psychology students who want to jumpstart their career while in school. Learn about tips, guides, and advice for psychology majors.
Wonder what working on your first book is like as a freelance proofreader or copy editor? Read this interview to gain valuable insights.
Most people are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Model Shown Above) and the five motivational levels it contains. Anyone who has taken a basic psychology course has probably encount…
Learn more about a professional development opportunity for children's librarians; a discussion group that meets bi-monthly to talk about trends & practices
Teaching ESL/ELL students of different proficiency levels in one classroom can be tricky. Here are a few tips and strategies that will help you be organized and effective.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details. Thanks for supporting the brands that make The Happy Arkansan possible! If there’s one thing you need to master in college, no matter what your major is, it’s how to write a good essay. For some, it’s easy. Writing comes naturally […]
Rochester (MN) Public Library’s core values focus on being a welcoming and inclusive environment. A few years ago we started to hear from adults and teens in the community that there were not a lot of safe spaces for LGBTQIA teens to hang out, so in our 2015 Action Plans we included “Develop programming to specifically meet the needs of Rainbow Families and LGBTQIA teens” and got started. Before we share our ideas for serving LGBTQIA kids and families, let’s talk about “LGBTQIA”. LGBTQIA stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual or Ally. Without including the word “queer”, this alphabet soup is not inclusive of the entire spectrum of sexual and gender identities out there. But as you can imagine, when we use the word queer in our program descriptions or trainings, people have a lot of questions. Queer is a word with a terrible...
Storytellers and story lovers know that that the essence of collaboration lies in the “Stone Soup” tale — everyone gives a little something (carrots, a potato, some salt and pepper) to achieve a common goal (a more satisfying soup for everyone).
Vigor Alaska aims to build a more productive team by developing ‘soft skills’ – meaning daily stretching and socializing on the clock
vc_rowvc_columnvc_column_text Description Master the techniques of Gestalt Therapy and boost your professional development with the Level 2 Certificate in Gestalt …
Our Research Methods: Experimental Methods Poster is a great educational resource that will help you create relevant and engaging Psychology classrooms.
Dropping off your student at college can be a stressful time. Here are tips to finding the balance between being supportive and overstepping.
