Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP. Over 36 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
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
I received yet another e-mail from The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in their Better Hearing & Speech Month attack on technology. I’ve been a SLP for over 25 years and I have never been as disappointed in ASHA as I am right now.
I totally get that too much technology for young kids is not a good idea but I worry that this assault on it by ASHA during BHSM is going to cause parents & SLPs to want to banish all use of iPads or other similar technology.
What about the good side of technology?
The era of iPads, tablets & smartphones has caused AAC to become affordable & therefore accessible to those who need it. Those who use augmentative communication need unrestricted access to it in all settings without judgement or misconceptions from others.
This technology has also given SLPs powerful new tools in their therapy toolbox to help kids make progress who hadn’t responded to traditional materials, toys or techniques. I have had numerous patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder or similar diagnoses who just stimmed or had meltdowns with traditional speechie materials, toys & techniques but made jaw-dropping progress when I incorporated my iPad with high-quality apps as a tool and then gradually expanded from there into off iPad activities. Wish I had been part of a research study. I would not have believed it if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes. Truly life-changing for those kids.
So far none of ASHA’s media blitz on this has contained info about use of technology for these purposes. In my opinion ASHA is running the risk of causing harm and further strengthening the myths that we all battle against in trying to get appropriate AAC in place for our kids and may discourage SLPs from using new technology in therapy sessions.
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
I am loving these two new additions to my personal stash of great kids picture books! I made symbols to use with them to use in OMazing Kids speech therapy and am sharing them here as free printables….
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
I am a huge fan of all the Bear books by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman…. so I was thrilled to see two new ones targeting colors & counting. I made symbols to go with the book “Bear Sees Colors” to use in OMazing Kids speech therapy and am sharing them here as free printables.
Looking for in-depth AAC feature matching resources? See this blog post: https://bit.ly/5aacFeatureMatchingResources. That post also includes videos comparing the best AAC apps on various devices on various platforms.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
A very dedicated SLP is raising funds to provide AAC for students in need. I invite everyone to take a look and to help if you are able. Here are more details:
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“Friends and Family- Please donate $5, $10 or $20 to my GoFundMe Campaign to raise money for iPads and apps for my students. The apps are usually $200 each but will be half price on Thursday for Autism Awareness Day. Apple will give me a half price discount if I raise enough money to buy 20 applications. My goal is to raise $4000 by next Thursday April 2nd, so I can buy 20 apps and 6 iPads. Give the gift of communication to a student for the price of a box of Girl Scout cookies. I’ll give a shout out to everyone who donates, and we’ll share pictures of the kids who are helped (with parent permission). Who will be first? Who would stand up for you if you had no voice?”
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
{GoTalk Now AAC App Giveaway ~ worth $99.98} 10 winners will each get a code for two IAPs within the most current GoTalk Now Lite iOS iPad app to “Upgrade to NOW Features”(worth $79.99) and the “Ready-Set-Communicate” pre-made communication book (worth $19.99).
Anyone who works with children with special needs or has a child with special needs will not want to miss this amazing opportunity! Even if your child uses other forms of AAC, the GoTalk Now app has lots of features that are helpful for adapted literacy & learning. The app is very easy to program and I have had several patients where the features of this AAC app were the best match for their needs.
Entry details on this post on the OMazing Kids Facebook Page:
{ ELSB – Early Literacy Skills Builder App Giveaway ~ worth $79.99} 10 winners will each get a code for this fabulous adapted literacy iOS iPad app specifically designed for kids with special needs by Attainment!
The ELSB app is a multi-year preliteracy curriculum for students who have not acquired print and phonemic awareness. The software brings to life Levels 1—7; daily lessons and level assessments. The program narrator and main character Moe the frog, take students through lessons that are built to shape mastery of 14 objectives following an easy-to-hard sequence. Objectives include sight word vocabulary with flashcards, syllable segmentation with a tapping game, and print awareness with pointing to text as it is read. Collaborate with each student to create their own unique avatar. Five years of solid research have been completed through the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, proving ELSB to be a highly effective literacy program and more effective than a sight-word only program. ELSB is based upon the principles of systematic and direct instruction. It incorporates scripted lessons, least-prompt strategies, teachable objectives, built-in lesson repetition, and ongoing assessments. The seven ELSB levels contain five structured lessons each. All students begin at Level 1. Teach scripted lessons daily in two 30-minute sessions. On the completion of each level, formal assessments are given. ELSB includes everything you need to implement a multi-year literacy curriculum.
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
Product Description: Featuring a mix of jazz, blues, new age and folk, In Stillness: Lullabies and Meditations for All Ages takes us on a progressive journey to relaxation. Blending the calm of lullabies with creative guided imagery, Heidi Siegell fashions a world filled with vivid word pictures of the ocean, the wind, the stars, the seasons, deeply soothing the listener while conveying a reverence and respect for life, for the earth, for family.
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Here’s what I LOVE about this CD:
lovely calming vocals & music
the lyrics of each song convey a positive message
unique folksy/jazzy/blues feel
I love using very unique Kindie music in my work as a speech-language pathologist & kids yoga teacher. I have had many patients respond to the unique qualities of this type of music when they haven’t to any other. I’m thrilled to have this album added to my ever growing collection of Kindie faves. In case you are new to the term “Kindie”, it’s kids music made by independent artists. It’s totally unlike the mass marketed stuff you find in the kids CD section at large retailers 🙂
Heidi has an underlying philosophy that there is always a way to connect peacefully, and that music and the arts are deeply effective mediums for nurturing emotional growth and empathic connection.
She lives in New York City with her husband, composer and producer Rolando Gori, and her daughter Océane, who has been the inspiration and muse for Tiny World.
Disclaimer:I received a free sample of this product to facilitate my review. Opinions expressed are my own. Starting in 2013, a new component of reviews & giveaways hosted on OMazing Kids is that a review will be added on Amazon.com (for products sold on that site). See my Amazon profile at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1JKVLELLSX7FD?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_aya_bb_pdp.
Only USA entries allowed for this giveaway.
This giveaway is now CLOSED. Congratulations to the winners: Piper Scott & Kym MacNeil 🙂
Only entries with all required information will be valid.The info comes to me directly via e-mail & is ONLY used for the purposes of selecting winners and distributing prizes.
Helpful Info & Tips: Folks had requested a simpler entry option. I tried Rafflecopter but most folks did not enter an address so now I’m trying this online contact form instead. I will be hand selecting winners to insure products end up in the hands of folks who will put them to the best use. Briefly tell me how winning this would help you & the kids. I take the time to read each entry so details count. It doesn’t have to be lengthy…. just heart-felt.
If you experience any problems with the entry form in this blog post, please e-mail me specific details so I can attempt to fix it. E-mail to: amoorad1@juno.com . The entry deadline may be extended at the sole discretion of OMazing Kids in the event of prolonged entry problems.
Each “giveaway” is handled separately on OMazing Kids. So there are no rules prohibiting previous winners from entering this or future giveaways. I really do read every entry in every giveaway carefully to insure that the products end up in the best hands to impact kids lives.
Entry Deadline:11:59pm CST on March 10, 2015.
Rules of Participation:
Must be 18 years or older with a valid e-mail address.
One entry per person.
Only USA entries are allowed for this particular giveaway (due to shipping costs).
Employees or family members of OMazing Kids, LLC or the product’s company are not eligible.
No purchase required.
Comments submitted via entries may be copied & pasted into the blog post.
Odds of winning will depend on the number of eligible entries received.
Only entries with all required information will be valid.
The winners will be chosen from valid entries on March 11, 2015.
2 winners will each receive one copy of the CD.
The winner will be notified via e-mail, their name will be posted on the blog post & will be posted on the OMazing Kids Facebook page. The company offering the prize may also post the winner’s name on their website, blog, Facebook page and/or other social media sites at their discretion.
The prize will be mailed to the winner using the address submitted in the entry form. OMazing Kids is not responsible for items lost in the mail or for inaccuracies in the mailing address. I copy & paste the info directly from what you submit << so PLEASE proof read your entry for accuracy before submitting it…. in the era of iPhone auto correction these errors happen pretty frequently>>
The winner’s address will be forwarded to the company and they will be mailing the prizes directly to the winners. After I e-mail the winner’s info to the company, it is their responsibility to mail out prizes. Please contact them first if you are concerned about not receiving a prize. If that does not resolve the problem, then feel free to e-mail me and I will glad to assist in whatever way I can.
Prize Value: $15.00
Other Legal Stuff: I know it’s just a kids CD download but just to be safe here is all the legal stuff…
This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You are providing your information to OMazing Kids, LLC and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for our internal purposes in relation to the administration of the giveaway. Your information will NOT be sold to any outside parties.
Indemnification/Hold Harmless: By participating, entrants agree: (a) to the decisions of OMazing Kids, LLC, which shall be final in all respects; (b) to release, discharge, and hold harmless OMazing Kids, LLC and its respective representatives and agents from all liability, injuries, losses or damages of any kind to persons or property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, misuse or use of a prize, or from participation in and/or entry into the Contest or any Contest-related activity and for acceptance, delivery, or use of any prize; (c) that the foregoing parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guaranty, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relating to any prize.
Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP, IAYT, RCYP-2
Speech-Language Pathologist
Founder of OMazing Kids, LLC – inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the crayons divider bar or any ads or unusual hyperlinks that may appear above. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
Look whoo will be joining the fun in OMazing Kids yoga….. the new Twinkle Twinkle Owl & Star plush characters from Super Simple Learning! I love how soft they are, the adorable facial features & the beads in the base of each (nice soothing sensory feature). Be watching for them to make guest appearances in OMazing Kids 🙂
I bought the instrumental version of this song from Super Simple Learning on iTunes to add to my relaxation playlist at the end of my kids yoga classes:
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the gingerbread men divider bar. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
The Animals’ Santa by Jan Brett is definitely a new fave in OMazing Kids! Her illustrations are a feast for the eyes and include amazing details on the sides that give clues about what else is going on in the story.
The book has the following opportunities for kids yoga activities:
Bunny Breaths
Snowy Tree
Forest of Snowy Trees
Lemming (mouse)
Heart-Shaped Mudra (for the heart-shaped wishing stone)
Bell Mindful Walking
Raven (bird)
Squirrel (use brown pom-poms as acorns to stretch and pick or do Toe-ga to pick up with toes)
Arctic Fox (cat pose + sign for “fox”)
Badger (big steps pretending to walk on snowshoes)
Polar Bear (extended Child Pose)
Moose (Seated Twist + hands on head as big antlers)
Porcupine (Lotus Mudra – fingers look like the quills)
OMazing Kids LLC is an organization that promotes inclusive wellness activities for kids of all abilities. The blog and social media pages share information about books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and other products specifically designed for kids wellness, mindfulness and relaxation, product reviews & giveaways, lesson plan & activity ideas, research, kids wellness in the news and a connection corner with listings of individuals doing adapted yoga and those offering trainings.
NOTE: Please ignore any ads that appear below the gingerbread men divider bar. This is a free blog site & I have no control over ads appearing here.
What’s the best AAC app? What’s the best dedicated speech generating device? What’s the best case? What’s the best ______…..
Several times a week I am either asked this question or I see it posted in one of the many AAC Facebook groups I follow.
Occasionally it seems to end up in a rather heated debate of ______ vs. ________.
This is counterproductive. Although there are key best practices when considering AAC options, there is not any one best AAC option (or one best therapy approach, or one best anything) when it comes to best meeting individual needs.
I have added a lot of tools to my toolbox over my 25+ year career as a speech-language pathologist. There have been pivotal moments where new tools were added that forever changed my perspective. Although shiny new tools may be exciting they did not replace the old tried & true tools. The exciting thing about tools is that you can use them together to build & repair. Would it make sense to ask “What’s better…. a hammer or a drill? a saw or a tape measure? a wrench or a flashlight? Of course not. Each tool has it’s specific purpose. You select the tool based on what job you need to accomplish.
The show Handy Manny comes to mind. The tools don’t compete with each other. They work together.
Handy Manny: We Work Together
Okay Tools we’ve got a job to do
Let’s get going and fix it right
Twist and turn, make it tight
Trabajamos juntos
We work together now
Cut it
Measure it
Tap it flat
Bend and twist
Just like that
Each of us has a special job
We work together
Todos juntos
We can fix it right
All states in the USA are supposed to have an Assistive Technology Lending Library program where parents & professionals can borrow AAC devices, iPads with AAC apps & other AT for short-term trial. It’s a great way to try various options out before making purchasing decisions. There are lots of great AAC devices & lots of great AAC apps…. but like anything there is no magical solution that meets every child’s specific needs. That’s why doing a good feature-match and trial of options is critical.
Below the green divider is an update on 11/15/25: I wrote this blog post over a decade ago and it still rings true. I’ve added even more tools (many creative and unconventional) to my AAC Toolbox and continue to embrace using a variety of creative combinations of them to meet individual needs. And some of the best “tools” are taking time to “just be with” the individuals you are supporting, getting to know and honoring all the ways they communicate, and presuming that everyone communicates in some way and has the potential to learn to use additional options that are meaningful to them.
Looking for in-depth AAC feature matching resources? See this blog post: https://bit.ly/5aacFeatureMatchingResources. That post also includes videos comparing the best AAC apps on various devices on various platforms.
