Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP. Over 33 years experience in AAC. OMazing Kids AAC and app consulting. Creator of several AAC Feature Matching resources (https://omazingkidsllc.com/omazing-kids-aac-resource-links/). Includes info about unique features to support Gestalt Language Processors
{New App Review} My patients LOVE the newest app from Erik X. Raj! I love how you can move, rotate, resize and layer the articulation stickers and then save your creation to the Camera Roll to send home for practice. The app can be used with either the forward facing or rear camera. Kids love seeing themselves in the picture. đ
Have you ever had a patient who you knew had something to say but you struggled to find a means of communication?
I spent almost a year trying literally EVERY possible AAC device and app and every type of access option in a quest to find a “voice” for a child who I knew had so much to say. She made it very clear that she wanted to use her hands for direct access despite having minimal use of them. She hated head pointing and eye gaze devices and any type of scanning. I would seriously lay in bed at night and ponder what else we could try. I spent hours scouring the internet looking for PODD resources and watched just about every video I could find. Thank goodness a PODD training finally came close enough and was priced affordably enough that our facility sent two SLPs to get trained. Ideally I would have gone to that PODD training but it didn’t make sense for me to take a spot being so close to retirement. But having two of our SLPs trained gave me access to a PODD book to trial with her and then was able to order a premade one for her. Ideally you would custom make and print a book but the facility where I work had not figured out the logistics of printing on special water and rip resistant paper and spiral binding. So I have customized the premade PODD book for her by using clear packing tape to add symbols. Her older sister has even hand drawn a few symbols and the family has written lists on the back of pages. It may not be perfect but it’s working for her. She is my PODD rock star. Every week I end my session by telling her to “PODD on” (rock on with PODD).
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Here’s a screenshot of my desperate plea for help in the AAC for the SLP group on 10/20/16:
I periodically update this blog post. It is a âpay it forwardâ labor of love. I had an incredibly hard time finding info about PODD to get started with that patient back in 2016. So I was determined to make it easier for anyone trying to do that. đ
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The latest update for this post was on 9/26/22 when I went through and checked all of the links and info and updated as needed.
On 1/8/23 I updated pricing info for the digital PODD apps.
On 2/24/23 I updated to reflect that the PODD direct access template is sold out again on the Boardmaker website.
On 3/12/23 I updated this post to add info about Feature Matching Chart for Pragmatic Vocabulary Organization AAC Apps.
New resource: Feature Matching Chart for Pragmatic Vocabulary Organization AAC Apps. This is a VERY deep dive beyond just vocabulary organization⊠itâs also an in depth look at the flexibility or limitations of the app platforms, customization and alternative access options plus includes detailed info about three different Bluetooth switch interfaces (Blue2, iSwitch & Cosmo).
Available on TPT: https://bit.ly/PragmaticOrgVocabAAC-FeatureMatching-TPT. This resource includes free access to over 3 hours of unlisted YouTube videos where I highlight some of the most unique features in each option and discuss the flexibility in customization, options for alternative access, etcâŠ
I’m sharing links to things that were helpful during this PODD adventure and a few lessons learned….
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What does PODD stand for? Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display
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Update 9/25/22: This website has great info about the history of PODD: https://www.cpec.org.au/podd
. How to get started? Ideally go to a PODD training….. but the reality is they may not be offered anywhere near you and they tend to be very expensive. This was my reality so I learned as much as I could online through blog posts, workshop handouts, videos, Facebook groups, etc….
One of the biggest mind shifts for me was to let go of the need to plan contrived communication opportunities in therapy sessions and instead model initiating saying “I have something to say” through facial expression, raising my hand and vocalizing and then using PODD to share my own thoughts or ideas. I had to get comfortable with doing lots of modeling without any pressure on the child to do anything. And comfortable with writing measurable goals in a whole different way.
Examples of some of the goals that I have written for her during this process:
“__________ will show increasing interest and attention to someone using pages from the PODD aided communication system to talk to her in natural contexts throughout the day. This will be measured by an increase in: looking towards the communication symbols or the communication partner, calming during this process, looking away to the side but with a stillness as if listening, or responding the partnerâs message. Will increase from ______ to at least _______ times documented during the auth period.”
“Within natural contexts throughout the day, _________ will initiate use of PODD AAC by raising her hand and/or vocalizing to indicate âI have something to sayâ. Will increase from _______ to at least ________ times documented during the auth period.”
“After signaling âI have something to sayâ, __________will express an increasing range of communicative functions such as requests, comments, and directing actions using direct selection and/or partner assisted scanning with pages from the PODD communication book and yes/no responses. Will increase from_______ to at least ________ times documented during the auth period.”
Update 7/24/20: Those handouts are all no longer available. The website indicates they are being updated. Fortunately I had copies saved in the iBooks app on my iPad. I merged them into one PDF and uploaded that to my blog.
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This weekend I found these handouts and videos on Linda Burkhartâs website about PODD:
“Aided Language Stimulation and a Robust Language System: Autism a Case Example” – Presented by Linda J. Burkhart and Aura Baker at Closing the Gap Conference, October, 2016
Partner-Assisted Communication Strategies for Children Who Face Multiple Challenges Handout by Linda J. Burkhart and Gayle Porter ((Pre-conference Instructional course â ISAAC 2006): https://bit.ly/3f4DlNu
Partner-Assisted Communication Strategies for Children Who Face Multiple Challenges: PODD Communication Books â Gayle Porter Handout by Linda J. Burkhart and Gayle Porter (Pre-conference Instructional course â ISAAC 2006): https://bit.ly/2BvPI7y
Update 1/8/23: The PODD CD was available again on the Tobii Dynavox website
Update 2/24/23: And it’s sold out again.
Options for purchasing premade PODD books (you have to sign a confirmation that you own both the Boardmaker and PODD software). A big shout out to Rachael Langley & Kelly Fonner for helping me find the first two options! The third one was seen in a Facebook group:
So Iâve been frustrated that Iâm always fumbling through this patientâs PODD book in sessions. I wish there was a âword finderâ for PODD (one of the downsides of a no tech system). Iâm pretty âat homeâ with most AAC devices and apps since I have had lots of time to look through them and use them. I wanted to have this same level of ease in using PODD so I decided that I needed a copy of the same style of PODD book that she is using.
Unfortunately I canât use the Tobii Dynavox PODD pageset in the Compass app to model since it doesnât look anything like my patientâs PODD book. Since I am only 14 weeks away from retirement it did not make sense to spend about $80 to order a premade PODD book for me. I had seen comments online of folks saving a PODD book as a PDF so thatâs what I decided to do. I saved the PDF in iBooks on my iPad. Now I have a way to look through it to get a feel for what vocabulary is in it and the pragmatic branching.
Be forewarned âŠ.. itâs a VERY tedious & time consuming process to save a PODD book into one PDF if you are using Boardmaker 6 on a CD. It took me about 3 hours for a 123 pages of PODD. Itâs not hard but time consuming.
Open the first page of your PODD book in Boardmaker.
Go to File â Print Set Up â Print Set Up â selected âMicrosoft Print to PDFâ â OK â Remember Board Settings for New Boards – OK
Go to File â Print (make sure it says âMicrosoft Print to PDFâ as the printer) â OK
You have to repeat the process for every single page that you want to include in the PDF of your PODD book. (I donât have access to Boardmaker Online so I donât know what the steps are there).
After you have all your pages saved as PDFs, then go to the Small PDF website (https://smallpdf.com/merge-pdf). This website lets you upload an unlimited number of PDFs. I uploaded all 123 of the PDF documents that I wanted included in this PODD book. After they are all uploaded then you hit âmergeâ. I was surprised how quickly this website handled merging 123 separate PDFs into one 123 page PDF document. I then uploaded the merged PDF from my computer into the media storage on my blog (a secured area that only I have access to). From there I was able to e-mail the link to the iPad that I use for AAC and opened the PDF in iBooks to save it on the device.
But I’m hearing that the solutions offered in the Quick Guides may not resolve the issues especiallyifyou are trying to do 2-sided printing. Contact yourlocal Boardmaker support team.
. More PODD tips: http://praacticalaac.org/?s=PODD
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Mary-Louise Bertram demonstrates how to make a portable stand for a PODD book, that could also work well for other kinds of communication books.
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How We Speak PODD makes their carrying rods:
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Here are some examples of PODD book stands made out of PVC. The amazing PT tech at our facility made some of the first style ones for us: PODD PVC stand examples
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Update 1/19/23: Nice short video with carrying strap ideas for two different styles of PODD books: https://youtu.be/PhM4LfPjBIo
See Facebook groups for each digital PODD app below.
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Gayle Porter has reportedly been working on an “alternative access” version of PODD for quite awhile but as of the time of this post it is still not available here in the USA.
So I made these very simple eye gaze boards with pragmaticbranching to use with a couple of other older patients. (Update: As of 1/13/21 the Alternative Access version of PODD is still not available in the USA and no info could be found regarding when it will be available. Update: As of 1/8/23 the Alternative Access version is still not commercially available in the USA. You could order it from Australia and get A4 paper to print it on but any binders would also need to be that size: https://cpec-store.myshopify.com/collections/podd-books/products/pragmatic-organisation-dynamic-display-podd-communication-book-alternative-access-templates. Or see the ordering info above for Alt+Shift (USA) and AAC Book Builders (Australia) for purchasing premade Alternative Access PODD books.
Digital PODD books are available on the iPad in four ways: simPODD, Grid for iPad, Snap Core First and PODD with Compass. This post is based on my personal experiences in trying all four options.
Update 7/22/21: Snap Core First has been re-branded as TD Snap AAC. The process of setting up a new user in the app has been improved. The other features remain the same.
Updated 9/25/22:
As of September 1st, 2022, PODD with Compass is no longer available for sale (http://downloads.tobiidynavox.com/Other/Legacy%20EOS/Compass%20EOS.pdf). They will continue to make effort to provide technical support for Compass on devices that have not surpassed their useful lifetime.
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3/12/23 For comprehensive and up to date info about all of the digital PODD options on the iPad and Windows devices, see this new resource. Like all of my feature matching resources it will be updated if features change in apps:
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, I did not have the opportunity to attend a formal PODD training. Iâm in Oklahoma and PODD trainings were always too far away and too expensive for the state agency to send us. There was finally one in Texas just a few months before I retired but I gave my spot to another SLP on the team since spending that much for me to attend did not make sense that close to retirement.
So in order to support the patients that I used PODD with I taught myself via all of the resources that I shared on this blog post: videos, webinars, handouts, reading everything included with the PODD CD, participating in several AAC Facebook groups, and being cross-trained by the two SLPs who did go to that PODD training in Texas, etc. Since then I have continued to remain active with AAC.
Iâm glad to answer questions or point you in the direction of who may be able to answer them đ
Want to suggest PODD resources or info to be added to this list? The best way to reach me is via Facebook messaging over on my OMazing Kids page: https://www.facebook.com/OMazingKidsAAC/. If you are an app developer and would like to have me review a new digital PODD app for the iPad or PODD that was added to an existing app via IAP, please send the link from the USA App Store so I can look at the info before you send a promo code. I want to make sure that one of my iPads is compatible in order to try it out.
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I’m retired from providing clinical services but am doing AAC consulting, creating AAC resources, actively posting about AAC and apps and using AAC in volunteer work.
New Articulation App: Apraximations – Mouth Cues by Alissa Holloway
I was thrilled to see that the full version of this app was finally released! I especially like the matching game and the free build option. It’s great to have another tool in my speechie toolkit to help kids who are at the very early stage of learning about production of speech sounds. I used the “free build” screen to show a patient side by side differences between his target sound vs. error sound. I saw him have an “ah ha” moment and get a couple of correct productions in imitation. Having the voice output paired with each visual was what helped. He kept tapping, looking and listening and then on his own imitated the target sound. He sustained attention much longer than I’ve ever gotten him to look at my mouth.
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Wishes for a future app update: It would be cool to have short video clips of each sound in addition to the pictures and then be able to select which you want to use on each activity screen.
Mindful Kids: 50 Mindfulness Activities for Kindness, Focus and Calm by Whitney Stewart and Mina Braun
Be still my heart! This is the best new kids mindfulness product that I’ve seen in a long time. The boxed card deck includes 50 creative mindfulness games, visualizations and exercises divided into 5 categories to help children feel grounded, find calm, improve focus, practice loving-kindness and relax. Whimsical full-color illustrations on both sides of the cards break down each practice into easy-to-follow steps. Tips on individual cards plus an 8-page instructional booklet show modifications that make these activities inclusive for children of all abilities.
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What I love about these cards:
* Large 5″ X 7″ sturdy cards with a protective coating. The size will be helpful in groups as well as 1-on-1 sessions and the two sided card format is easy to “grab and go”.
* Whimsical colorful illustrations depicting kids of diverse ethnic backgrounds and abilities participating in the activities. The color and style of illustrations are not childish. This makes this card set useable for a wide range of ages (says “ages 4-104” on the front of the storage box)
* The front of each card has a large illustration, activity category with color coded edge, activity title and brief description.
* The back of each card has illustrated step-by-step simple instructions. I love how simple the wording is. Some cards have additional tips or challenges.
* Many of the cards deal with a wide range of emotions…. this set is a perfect addition to any SEL (social emotional learning) program!
* A few cards address “dealing with change”…. this is often difficult for my patients with Autism, OCD and other special needs so I’m especially excited about these cards.
* There are no religious images, words or symbols. This will make this card set usable in a wide range of environments.
* The instructional booklet has simple kid-friendly explanations about mindfulness and the five categories of activities. Also includes tips for modifying activities.
* The cards come in a sturdy storage box with hinged lid covered in whimsical colorful illustrations.
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List of cards included in each category:
Start Your Day: Stay Grounded. Feel strong, focused and confident as you begin each day.
* Mindful Breaths
* Mindful Mood
* Mountain Rising
* Rooted Like a Tree
* Inhaling the Universe
* Cloud Burst
* Mindful Jungle Movement
* Reflection Pond
* Words to Yourself
* Rings of Light
Find Calm: Ride Your Waves. Learn to handle tricky or challenging emotions.
* Shake the Sillies Out
* Balanced Breathing
* Tummy Ride
* Mind Bubbles
* The Power of Blue
* Joyful Jellyfish
* Happy Hum
* Fist Squeeze
* Finding the Pause
* Peaceful Place
Focus: Strengthen Your Mind. Wake up your brain, build concentration and sharpen your sensory awareness.
* Tap and Wiggle
* Finger Fiddle
* Mind Castle
* Wise Old Owl
* Mental Snapshot
* Mind Magic
* Open Ears
* The Nose Knows
* Sharp Eyes
* Mindful Munch
Open Your Heart: Accept Life with Kindness. Feel a sense of self-acceptance and connection to the world.
* Sharing Friendship
* Everything Changes
* Sitting With It
* Name That Feeling
* Finding Feelings
* The Inner Me
* Cooking Up Connections
* Breath by Breath
* Loving-Kindness
* Heart Garden
Rest & Relax: Unwind Your Tangles. Reflect, relax and ease your busy mind.
* Animal Dance
* Swaying Trees
* Figure Eights
* Rain Shower
* Safekeeping
* Rock, Roll and Rest
* Squeeze and Release
* Floating Smiles
* I Am Thankful
* Folding Flower
{Book Review} “The Gingerbread Man and the Leprechaun Loose at School” by Laura Murray
Uh-Oh! This leprechaun is trouble!
After a mischievous leprechaun makes a mess in the school band room, the Gingerbread Man vows to catch him. He follows the leprechaun’s clues all around the building finding chaos everywhere–even in the library! But then he finds a clue that almost scares the buttons off of him. It says the leprechaun’s next target might be a house made of gingerbread! âšâšLuckily, the Gingerbread Man makes it to his classroom in time to set a trap for the leprechaun. He’ll show that mischief maker that he messed with the wrong cookie this time. âšâš”I’m on a mission! I’ve got a good plan.âšI can catch him! I’m the Gingerbread Man!”
. What I love about this book:
* wonderful rhyming text that is fun to read
* funny illustrations (many have speech bubbles)
* lots of great verbs & adjectives
* clues for where the leprechaun is going next
I can’t wait to use this book in March as part of a St. Patrick’s Day theme âđ.
{Book Review} My Pillow Keeps Moving by Laura Gehl
A clever pup ends up in a cozy home, and she’ll do anything to stay there. She impersonates everything the lonely homeowner needs–a pillow, a footstool, a jacket. But in the end, being herself works best. Laura Gehl’s spare, humorous text and New Yorker cartoonist Christopher Weyant’s expressive characters will leave young readers giggling and begging for more.
What I love about this book: Over half of the pages in this fun book are wordless…. great for sparking conversations about the comical illustrations. The pages that contain text have lots of adjectives. This book is a fun new addition to my speechie library đ.
OMazing Kids AAC Consulting 