7 ר‡ל ˘ - י ˜ ון ‡ייז ˙ נ ˘ 2023 Gestures have a significant communica�on role in typical development allowing toddlers to expand their expressive communica�on at a �me when their spoken vocabulary is rela�vely limited (Goldin-Meadow, 2015). As such, the use of gestures creates many opportuni�es for communica�ve interac�ons. This fact is especially significant to toddlers with complex communica�on needs and as such, in our early interven�on programs, we expose our children to mul�-channel communica�on that includes, spoken words, symbols, and gestures in order to provide more opportuni�es for communica�on and language acquisi�on. We developed IssieSign because we needed an efficient and easy-to-use tool that would allow the children, their families, and the educa�onal and therapeu�c staff access to a large number of signs and gestures. The app is useful as a clinician’s tool, can easily be used by the family and supports users’ independent learning of signs. The app was developed with considera�on to inclusive design principles and is designed to be used by toddlers, children, and adults. The ar�cle presents IssieSign: Arabic and discusses specific adapta�ons – both in language and content, that were necessary when transla�ng the app for Arabic speakers in Israel. The ar�cle introduces the new features that are included in both versions (Hebrew and Arabic) of the app and shares ideas for using the app in the therapy and educa�onal environments. Personalize Grid sets in no �me using D-bur Smart Templates Sharon Shaham If you are a member of groups for people who support AAC users, you may have used the group to search for various materials such as social stories, sequences, games, learning materials, communica�on vocabularies, etc. Generous group members gladly share materials but those may or may not be accessible for your users on the Grid so�ware, or you realize you need to make so many changes to make it appropriate for your child, student, or client that you end up crea�ng it from scratch anyway. During the past year, we at D-bur, have placed an emphasis on designing a variety of professional gridsets that serve as "smart templates". They enable very quick and simple edi�ng to produce elaborate gridsets for a variety of purposes. This ar�cle describes our guidelines for crea�ng effec�ve templates and the challenges we encountered in designing effec�ve templates. We also describe the type of templates that we have designed for our users along with the various pre-made examples of each type of template that we created and have made available for our community through the Online Grids interface. AAC in Arabic – Awareness month ac�vi�es Samah Eid There is currently a significant need to raise awareness of Augmenta�ve and Alterna�ve Communica�on (AAC) in Arab communi�es in Israel. To meet this need, an extensive ini�a�ve was held by Samah Eid, SLP, during October 2022, that included radio and television interviews. Exposure to AAC as well as explana�ons of AAC benefits were provided. In addi�on, 6 videos were released to social media providing answers to the following ques�ons: What is Augmenta�ve and Alterna�ve Communica�on? Who are the target audiences? What is the ra�onale in using AAC? How does one choose Augmenta�ve and Alterna�ve communica�on strategies and devices? The fi�h video highlighted important features and issues of AAC. In addi�on, workshops and ac�vi�es were held in Arab communi�es all over the country throughout the AAC awareness month. The ar�cle presented here is presented both in Hebrew and Arabic, in order to enhance Arab speakers' par�cipa�on in the Isaac Israel community.
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