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Communication disorders impact people of all ages. For adults, there are a variety of diseases and disorders that can affect their communication abilities: stroke, traumatic brain injury, ALS, other progressive diseases (Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Primary Progressive Aphasia, etc.). Adults with these disorders/diseases still have something to say and want to participate in their lives by talking to their spouses and families, making medical decisions, and more.

 Aphasia, a disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain where language is stored, may affect the ability to comprehend language, to express oneself, to read, or to spell and write. For persons with aphasia, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has been proven to be an effective intervention strategy, especially to move beyond treatment of just the impairment.

 Saltillo's vocabulary file “Communication Journey: Aphasia” can be easily adapted for use by people with different types of aphasia and a range of cognitive levels and degrees of severity. Derived from the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia from the Aphasia Institute in Toronto, Canada, this vocabulary file's User Guide is full of comprehensive, easy-to-understand information. This is especially important because spouses or family members often help people with aphasia use their device to communicate.

 Be sure to stay tuned with us in June as we go more in-depth about Communication Journey: Aphasia during Aphasia Awareness Month!

A common theme you've probably noticed in our blog and social media posts this month is that it's never too early – or too late – to use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). To help facilitate and support language development, PRC-Saltillo's AAC Language Lab is an excellent and fun resource for SLPs, educators, and parents as they assist communicators in all stages of development. Here are three things you may not know about the AAC Language Lab:

FREE lesson plans, activities and other resources make it easy to "try before you buy" an annual subscription…who doesn't love free resources to help facilitate language!?

Activities AND lesson plans can be filtered by a variety of categories. You can search based on stage of language development, specific words, specific language skills, or functions of language, etc. 

AAC Language Lab activities aren't just for AAC users! They can be used in groups with verbal kids, too, to target different language concepts. For AAC users, we've done the work to give you the supports you need!

Reading is such a great task to support language development for all children! There are many research-supported benefits of reading to children. Reading is: 

• Language rich. It exposes children to complex language and skills in a way that engages them and helps them learn how to use language like that.
• Predictable and repeatable
• A minimizer of motor movement. When we sit down together to read a book, we aren’t running around trying to get a toddler’s attention to teach them words and language.
• Fun and natural! It is something our AAC users can see other kids their age doing, so there is a sense of inclusion.

For toddlers using AAC, WordPower60 Basic was designed with early language learners in mind, providing ample picture support and core words to grow language. It also includes pages designed to teach language and core through popular children’s books like Brown Bear Brown Bear. Here at Saltillo, we believe in the power of reading and offer a fun library of read-along books on our website and YouTube channel…be sure check them out!

Remember, early intervention is key – it's never too soon to start therapy and AAC use…the younger we start, the better the outcome!

Providing the best user experience with Saltillo devices is always top of mind. That's why we're dedicated to delivering the most up-to-date software and vocabulary enhancements…and the 2.19 Software Release does just that!

• -You can now plug a dual switch into NovaChat® and ChatFusion™ devices for two-switch scanning
• -The new Switch Setup Wizard will have your switches up and running in no time
• -PCS symbols are now disabled by default in ChatEditor. If you have purchased PCS symbols on your NovaChat or ChatFusion device, simply connect that device to ChatEditor and the PCS symbols will be enabled (this is the same way that speech is enabled on ChatEditor). This maintains the copyright integrity of PCS symbols and ensures that those who use the PCS symbols have full access to them in the ChatEditor software.
• -Lots of cool WordPower™ vocabulary enhancements for increased functionality and language building!
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WordPower™ Enhancements 

All WordPower files

• -Questions on the SOCIAL/PERSONAL pages are now color coded to make them more prominent
• -Verbs “mow" and “whisper” added in all files
• -BODY pages include SymbolStix® updates and increased page functionality 

All vocabularies up to 60-locations

• -QUESTION and DESCRIBE are now written out in full
• -SENSORY pages available – on WP20 and 25 (located under TOYS); in other files, they have their own pages

WordPower42 Basic

• -“is” and “-s” now available on ANIMALS pages
• -SPELLING page now has “-s” and “-’s” available
• -Apostrophe option also on SPELLING page 

WordPower60

• -ANIMALS links appear individually on GROUPS page
• -DESERT animals now included

WordPower80

• -Added “away” following “go” and “come”
• -Turn > the page, around, it up, it down, it on, it off
• -Read > leads to a link to READING page
• -Added words “to, me, you” to READING page 

WordPower42, 108 & 108 w/Keyboard

• -Now you can say “my favorite color” and “your favorite color”
• -Numbers on the spelling pages now programmed with the “Speech Message” action 

WordPower60 BASIC

• -The words QUESTION and DESCRIBE are now written out in full
• -PROJECT CORE low-tech vocabulary board added as an option to “Manual Communication Boards”
• -“-‘s” and “smart comma” available on SPELLING page
• -“else” now follows indefinite pronouns like “something” (“something else," etc.)
• -“some” and “an” added to EXTRA WORDS page
• -“some” appears as a logical next word following “want” and “would like”
• -DESERT ANIMALS and a second page of BIRDS included 

WordPower140 Scan & Touch

• -You can now say “I would like to order…” on DRINKS and FOOD pages
• -“again” added to READING page

 Spanish WordPower Files

• -SOCIAL (FRASES) pages updated, DESERT ANIMALS added, and much more!
• -Low-tech vocabulary board that loosely coincides with English PROJECT CORE added to WordPower60 ESPANOL BÁSICO; added as option to “Manual Communication Boards” PAGE

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