AAC Family Friday!

Our AAC families: kids, adults, siblings, and professionals . . . all joined in AAC.  

Eva and her brother in post-bath Avaz chatter in French!

A second talker for modeling? No way---I can use them both myself!

Roo, 5, lives in Houston TX, uses the Speak for Yourself app, and has an unspecified genetic disorder.

Friday night fun for Roo's mom: programming the extra talker for the teachers to learn motor planning!

Hello AAC family! This is C at a family wedding near our home in Vancouver, B.C., getting ready to make a request for the DJ.  She took this over to him and about 5 minutes later he played 'Redemption Song', much to our little Bob Marley fan's delight. We use TouchChat with WordPower on an iPad mini and the case/stand is Chatwrap.

This is Cady using her talker (Speak for Yourself) in the backyard this summer. (London, UK) 

The life of a Special Education teacher ... Spending our 'holidays' making and re-binding PODDs in Australia!

(part one)

(and part 2)

 Aidan is texting like a boss! 

For more information on Aidan's text messaging abilities using Speak for Yourself, check out this post from his mom: http://familysynapse.com/thoughts-about-our-21-day-aac-challenge/

C and E curled up together in the kitty bed (what is it about kids and small spaces?). C was reading a book while E found some words on the talker. When she couldn't find one and lamented aloud on the fact, C reached right over and found it for her.

I know some parents get frustrated when their kids perseverate on a button. Why is it necessary to press the same thing over and over? C definitely has annoyed her sisters with her insistent button pushing. I remind them that this is her way of learning and cementing the motor planning pathways. The other day, she was in Babbly mode and kept pressing ON. All of the sudden, she squealed and jumped up- she went over to the light switch and turned it on. Back and forth she flew, continually pressing ON then turning the light on or off. Presume competence- without all the practice pressing the same button over and over, she wouldn't have made the connection. (picture #1)

(picture #2)

 Here's my cheeky Charlie using his PODD to let me know that he's trashed his playroom. It goes something like this....'throw' (laughter), stuff gets dumped out of the toy box, 'throw' (more squeals of delight), more stuff hurled, 'throw', 'throw', 'throw' (uncontrollable giggles), the dog gets covered in soft toys....thanks for the heads up buddy! Charlie is 7, we are in the UK. 

Charlie's mom also shared this great video about what PODD/AAC means to them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwPTLWSg8w4&feature=youtu.be

Lily Grace, a PODD user in San Francisco, telling her parents to hurry up and get her on the train! 

Nico, 4, on his favorite slide! Nico has Angelman Syndrome and has been using Speak for Yourself for just over a year.

 Nico using the light tech printout of his homepage during water play!

 Harry from Australia chatting with his PODD Compass app in the car. Now he can chat about trucks and buses to his heart's content and direct the music choices. So it's The Wiggles on replay! 

Check out Harry's mom's blog page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Give-the-boy-a-chance/919532388105983

 This is Lemmy, aged 4, with his little brother Linus, 1 year old, shopping in target. Lemmy likes to use his talker to make excuses to hurry up, like being hungry or tired. Sometimes he complains he's bored. Lemmy uses speak for yourself on an iPad Air 2 in a gripcase.

 Mirabel, age 4, eating a quick lunch between therapies and using Speak for Yourself. Her little sister (17 months) demands a talker too and uses SfY on the mini.

This is Emiko,7, using her LAMP app in the ball-pool last Saturday, in Devon, UK.

Maya and I working together to program new words in Speak for Yourself on her iPad mini. 

Thank you all :) Snap some AAC pictures this weekend and start sending in your submissions for next Friday!