Nikki Heitner Heyman
Are you a guilty parent? Speech & Language Intervention
A mom recently brought her child to me for a speech and language assessment and despite the fact that all his speech problems were ‘developmental” and likely to resolve without any intervention, her...
Reading Comprehension Camp: App Review
Reading Comprehension does not just happen; it requires effort. Readers must intentionally and purposefully work to create meaning from what they read. Smarty Ears has released an awesome tool to...
Auditory Processing Studio: App Review
I have found that Auditory Processing Disorder is a word that is often bandied about as a “cover all bases” term but the disorder has far reaching consequences in terms of a child's academic...
Why vocabulary is important and how to teach it
Word knowledge is critical to language development. Children who have a better vocabulary are often able to think more deeply, express themselves better, and learn new things more quickly. ...
Did you know…? Toddler Questions
Did you know.... that the average 4 year old may ask between 250 – 400 questions a day! If you are a parent of a 3 to 5 year old, then you probably knew this. 🙂 But the relentless “why – ning” can...
Teach your Toddler to Talk: First Words
My son’s first word (at the age of 9 ½ months) was “die”; don’t keel over yet! The reason for his rather inappropriate first word was entirely my fault. Whilst babbling happily saying...
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TouchChat with WordPower
Snap+Core First
Grid for iPad
SpeakforYourself[
WeaveChat
AAC is short for Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Source: AssistiveWare
Communication devices, systems, strategies and tools that replace or support spoken language are known as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). These tools support a person who has difficulties communicating using speech.
The first “A” in AAC stands for Augmentative Communication. When you augment something, you add to it or supplement. Augmentative communication is when you add something to your speech (eg. sign language, pictures, a letter board). This can make your message clearer to your listener.
The second “A” in AAC stands for Alternative Communication. This is when you are not able to speak. It is also when your speech is not understood by others. In this case, you need a different way to communicate.
Basically, AAC can be tools, systems, devices or strategies. These tools help a person communicate, when they cannot rely on speech. Perhaps your child has not started talking. Perhaps you have lost your ability to speak. Perhaps your speech comes and goes. Maybe speaking is harder than other ways to communicate. AAC can help.
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