This was an exciting week in our AAC classroom because we really got to focus on the concept of opinions. Different people have different feelings about what feels and smells good or bad and we were able to assign the words “yum” or “yuck” to them pretty readily! We were pretty split on whether or […]

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Meet Katya. She is a bright and vivacious 12-year-old girl. She spent the first six years of her life in a Ukrainian orphanage. The opinion of the orphanage staff was that she had “nothing in her head” and was therefore severely understimulated and necessary surgeries were neglected. Katya came home to her forever family at […]

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Week 5 in our Immersive AAC Class was a short one because of the 4th of July holidays but we had a great time learning about and experimenting with color. One of our favorite activities was making baking soda and vinegar volcanoes. We added glitter and food coloring to make it them colorful. The students […]

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The theme of this week’s Immersive AAC Class was WATER! We splashed, sprayed and sprinkled water all over the classroom. The favorite activity of the week was a simple one: dropping objects into a tub of water! We guessed whether they would sink “down” in or float “on” the the water. The kids loved taking turns […]

Read more "Immersive AAC Class Week Four: Water!"

Our third week of the Immersive AAC Class focused on things that SPIN! We had so many fun options that we didn’t actually get through all of our lesson plans! The favorite activity by far was using the Astronaut Board we borrowed from the OT department. Students used the word “go” or phrase “turn me” […]

Read more "Immersive AAC Class Week Three: SPIN!"

Week two of the Immersive AAC Class was a blast! We talked about flying and falling which were excellent opportunities to work on the words “up” and “down.” Our plans for the week were pretty packed: Favorite activities this week included: Blowing up helium balloons and releasing them to the ceiling. This was the most […]

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The special education field has embraced the unenlightened theme of heroism. As professionals we are often called “heroes” and praised for our patience and big hearts. We pride ourselves in “transforming lives” and “shaping futures.” Our skills and education are praised as “superpowers.” I am uncomfortable with these terms describing myself as a professional but […]

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