How to Teach Core Words on AAC Devices

Below are the links to the products that were talked about in the Speechie show:

• Speech Language Pirates Blog: http://www.speechlanguagepirates.com/
• Speech Language Pirates Teachers Pay Teachers Page: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Speech-Language-Pirates
• AAC Core Vocabulary Board (with barrier): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dynamic-AAC-Core-Vocabulary-Communication-Board-3005811

If you’d rather listen to the audio version of the Speechie Show, click here:

Or if you prefer to read the transcript, see below:

Welcome to the Speechie Show! Being a speech language pathologist often means having too much work and not enough planning time. To beat the overwhelm, we’re bringing you the tricks and tools that will make your job a little bit easier.

Carrie:  Hey everybody and welcome to the Speechie Show. I’m Carrie Clark from speechandlanguagekids.com and I am here with Denise from Speech Language Pirates. How are you today Denise?

Denise:  Good thanks. How are you?

Carrie:  I’m good. So, happy to have you on. We are going to be talking today about how to introduce a new core vocabulary word on a child’s AAC device or board. And we are going to specifically share with you some ways that you can use different activities to use the same word to give them lots of multiple repetitions and really learn that word very concretely. So, we’re going to be talking about that here in just a minute. If you are new to the show, this is the Speechie Show. We do this once a week over here on Facebook Live. We have audience participation. We do some giveaways here at the end. And we share some tips on one specific topic for speech and language therapy. So today we’re talking about AAC and how to teach a new core vocabulary word. So, if you are watching with us live right now, go ahead and type in what kind of AAC apps or devices are you using right now. We’d really love to hear what you’re using so we can make sure that we tailor our message to you. Alright, Linda is on and is an SLP in Garden City, NY. Hi Linda, welcome. Ok so go ahead and type in what kinds of AAC you are using and while they are doing that, Denise why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself and your company.

Denise:  I’m Denise and I’m from Speech Language Pirates. I live right around the corner from Linda in Garden City. I live on Long Island in New York. I work full time in speech language, well in a special education preschool. And I do Speech Language Pirates, also. So, I have a blog and a Teachers Pay Teachers store. And that’s it.

Carrie:  Now do you just specialize in AAC or do you have a lot of other stuff on your website, as well?

Denise:  No, I have a lot of other stuff on my website. I previously worked in elementary so I have some for as old as 6th grade, even 7th grade. But now my more recent resources are for the preschool age because that’s where I am now. So, it’s everything from articulation to AAC.

Carrie:  Absolutely, wonderful. Alright, ok let’s see, Linda says Novochat, Proloquo2 and Peks are the AAC that she’s using. Perfect. Ok if you are watching with us live go ahead and type in the type of AAC you are using and don’t forget to share so we can share this information with other SLP’s, as well. And Tia said she would like to hear information regarding Lamp and she says she’s only ever heard about that. You know Lamp is probably one that we could do a whole separate Speechie Show on. Do you do a whole lot of the Lamp program?

Denise: Yes. Not to quote a Steve Carell movie, but I do love Lamps!  Hahahaha. It is probably my favorite AAC app and it’s sort of, the reason I love core vocabulary is because of Lamp. It’s what introduced me to core vocabulary and it sort of reinvigorated my own buy in to AAC after tons of apps and Peks and a lot of other things were sort of used, not so great in classrooms. I really love how Lamp works and basically core vocabulary.

Carrie:  Yeah, so what we are talking about today is going to fit really well with Lamp if we do have a Lamp user out there right?

Denise:  Yeah. Lamp is basically a philosophy and the people who came up with Lamp have an app, an AAC app that they market. But you can use the principles of Lamp in any manner that you…like low tech to high tech. It doesn’t need to just be on an iPad.

Carrie:  Sure. So, for those of you who aren’t familiar with that, Language Apposition Through Motor Planning is what Lamp stands for. And it’s the idea plan that if the motor is consistent where if they push this button and then this button and it says this message, that actually helps them acquire language. Am I saying that right?

Denise:  Yeah. And the analogy that I liked is on your car dash, you can change the radio station to be your favorite pre-set without really looking. You sort of know where those buttons are in relation to the volume dial or the air conditioning vent. So, you don’t need to search every time you are driving or else that obviously wouldn’t be safe. So, you can keep your eyes on the road, not look at the dash and be choosing your favorite radio stations, just through a motor memory. So that’s sort of the same principle.

Carrie:  Absolutely. Alright so let’s see, ok we had somebody else talking about Paks. We’ll come back to that one. Ok so since we are already talking about Lamp and that the idea that the buttons are in the same place. Talk a little bit about the core vocabulary concept and why and how that is helpful for children who are learning to use an AAC device or board or system of some sort.

Denise:  So core vocabulary is a set of words that are found most often in yours and my and typically developing preschoolers and sort of every age range in between and their everyday language. So, they are the words we use most often. So, previous to core vocabulary you may have taught a Halloween lesson and have the vocabulary word jack-o-lantern. Aside from October, how often are you and I saying jack-o-lantern? Not very…click here to read the full transcript.