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This non-exclusive community has come together in an effort to unite all individuals concerned with communication rights for Pennsylvanians with intellectual disability, autism and other disabilities that create complex communication needs. This wikispace aims to serve as a mechanism for: Sharing ideas and resources (including appropriate and/or promising practices) Raising awareness of issues and barriers for individuals with complex communication needs Problem solving through collaboration

iPad apps for complex communication supports/aac

There is a rapidly growing body of research that demonstrates the positive effects of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention on the communication of children and adults with complex communication needs. Despite the positive impact of many AAC interventions, however, many individuals with complex communication needs continue to experience serious challenges participating in educational, vocational, healthcare, and community environments. In this paper, we apply the framework proposed by the International Classifi cation of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to illustrate the need to re-think AAC intervention to improve outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs, and to foster a new generation of intervention research that will provide a solid foundation for improved services. Specifi cally, the paper emphasizes the need to take a more holistic view of communication intervention and highlights the following key principles to guide AAC intervention and research: (a) build on the individual ' s strengths and focus on the integration of skills to maximize communication, (b) focus on the individual ' s participation in real-world contexts, (c) address psychosocial factors as well as skills, and (d) attend to extrinsic environmental factors as well as intrinsic factors related to the individual who requires AAC.

This website provides guidelines for teaching literacy skills to learners with special needs, especially learners with complex communication needs Autism spectrum disorders Cerebral palsy Down syndrome Developmental apraxia Multiple disabilities. The This website provides guidelines for teaching literacy skills to learners with special needs, especially learners with complex communication needs Autism spectrum disorders Cerebral palsy Down syndrome Developmental apraxia Multiple disabilities. The webs

Note: Last upadate to website was in 2012. "This website provides guidelines for teaching literacy skills to learners with special needs, especially learners with complex communication needs (CCN) such as: Autism spectrum disorders Cerebral palsy Down syndrome Developmental apraxia Multiple disabilities This website provides information on: What skills to teach How to teach these skills Videotaped examples of instruction with learners with special needs"

Links to Ian Bean's free resources to accessible materials, videos and other activities, along with documents and information useful to those working with or parenting young people with severe and complex needs. All of their resources have been virus checked and determined to be safe to download for use at school or at home.

"A complete revision of the Pragmatics Profile of Every Communication Skills, the Pragmatics Profile contains two separate interview forms - each of them taking full account of the increasing variety of complexity of the different communicative and social setting that children encounter as they grow older and enter formal education"

The Penn State AAC community of faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students are dedicated to enhancing communication and improving the overall quality of life for individuals who have complex communication needs and their families.

"Are you the parent or teacher of a child with deaf-blindness or multiple disabilities? Are you looking for a community of families and teachers such as yours? Are you a professor or student at a university interested in connecting with others to share resources and strategies around literacy for learners with complex challenges? Are you an administrator looking for ways to improve literacy in your school systems? Then you are in the right place."

"Welcome to the Communication Matrix Community: an online community of support for professionals and family members of individuals with complex communication needs.  Log in or join now to start contributing!"

"Welcome to Backyard Brains The brain is complex, but extremely fascinating. We need more people interested in studying the brain because 20% of the world will have a neurological disorder... and there are no cures! To study the brain, you typically have to be a graduate student at a major university. Not any more! Backyard Brains enables everyone to be a neuroscientist! We provide affordable neuroscience experiment kits for students of all ages to learn (hands-on) about electrophysiology. Now everyone from schoolchildren to grad students and every grade in between can experiment with similar tools used by real neuroscientists worldwide! By following a few simple steps, everyone can experience first-hand how the brain communicates with our senses, memories, hopes, and desires."

"Every voice should be heard Some people are hard to hear -- through no fault of their own. Disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome and Rett syndrome make it harder for many individuals to communicate on their own. Many people use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools in order to help make their voices heard. We work to help bring out the voices of those with complex communication needs through good tech that actually makes things easier and supports everyone in helping the individual succeed."

About Inkscape An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.

An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.

"ModMath is an adaptive program to assist students in acquiring math skills from basic arithmetic to complex algebraic equations. The app, created in cooperation with the Christopher's Way Foundation, lets you type math problems right onto the touch screen of an iPad rather than write them out long-hand. You can then solve the problems using the built-in touch pad. And you can print, save to cloud services like Dropbox, or e-mail the assignments all without ever picking up a pencil. The app is free. But we will be charging a nominal fee for extra features to subsidize the cost of future updates. Please know that the purpose of any fee is not for profit. But rather to expand the usefulness of ModMath to a broader range of students. We have a dysgraphic son too. We just want to see all our kids succeed. So even if you don't need the pay features, consider buying them as an investment in another child's future. ModMath specifics: - Provides students with a virtual piece of graph paper, where they can set up and solve math problems in a format that's easily legible. - Allow students to solve basic math problems and more complex algebraic equations, all without ever picking up a pencil. - Print assignments, email them directly to the teacher or save to cloud storage."

PODD Communication Books Image of child using her PODD with her mother.Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display (PODD) is a means of selecting and organising symbols so that people with complex communication needs and their communication partners can commu

"The Communication Supports Inventory- Children & Youth (CSI-CY) is a tool to help professionals working with students with complex communication needs make educational plans that are comprehensive enough to capture their strengths and restrictions. The  CSI-CY is designed to make goal writing easier for teachers and speech-language pathologists who work with students who are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users or potential users. By itself, it is not an assessment, but rather a guide to organize the professional's understanding of the impact of a student's communication strengths and limitations on their participation at school and home. The Inventory consists of a survey and a report. The World Health Organization developed the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY) in 2007 to provide a global common language for describing the impact of health conditions and disabilities on human functioning. This Inventory uses that same global common language. It utilizes the broad perspective on function and disability of the ICF-CY to characterize students who use AAC."

Resources and ideas for teachers of learners with severe, profound, intensive, significant, complex or multiple special needs

This site offers free software that runs online and doesn't require an install. Topic areas include around the house, animals, food, letters, numbers, clothes and body, size, shape and color that build vocabulary, concentration, cooperation and literacy. Simplistic format designed for learners with complex learning needs.

This site offers free software that does not require an install. Great for students with Autism and other complex learning needs

Simply Said is an ongoing video series designed by the PACER Center to explain complex topics in easy-to-understand language. The videos feature simple drawings that make it quick and easy to learn. This format makes this resource especially easy to share. The series covers topics from Assistive Technology to Accessible Instructional Materials.