Communication

It is always fascinating to me to analyze a task that we do automatically, without conscious thought, and to realize it's complexity. Breaking it down and then enabling someone who is challenged in that area, to be able to accomplish it is the exciting science of teaching.
Last week's class on communcation was an example of this. It was exciting to see the possibilities that Assistive Technology can provide in enabling individuals with communication challenges to convey their needs, their ideas, feelings and any other information to others., for example, the story of Ben's blossomming through interactions with his peers using the I Phone.

I have been wondering how we can use this very cool tool for the many students who have a challenge in written communication. If we can find a way to clear away some of the hurdles these students face to create written products and share their uniques ideas with others, it would be awesome. I recall one of my students who had received and I Touch phonefor Christmas, and although his written output was almost nil, in a very short time he could text message volumes! Being phonologically challenged, not needing to use vowels, this new written language was ideal! Could he do his written communication on his I Phone to be translated into text which can then be edited? I would like to hear from others how severely ADHD students who cannot do written work or work on the computer without being totally distracted, could use this engaging medium.

The video, "In My Language" by the young women with very involved Autism, changed my paradigm on stimming behaviour from seeing it as a mindless sensory activity to their way of interacting and communicating with their environment. It is a different way of interacting with the environment than I have, but as valid. I think this is a very important video for people to experience . I believe when we see things differently, from another's perspective, our behaviour changes. To truly be an inclusive society, where we embrace differences, care for one another and appreciate the contribution of each individual, we need to share these kinds of communications.

Playing with Choose It!

I was really fun to create the Choose It program, especially knowing the delight Bailey, our recipient, would have playing it and learning from it. It reminded me of preparing Christmas parcels for my neices and nephews, carefully choosing what would be tantalizing, yet educational for the particular child, keeping in mind his or her interests, development and needs and wrapping it up as appealing as possible! It's as delightful for me as it is for the child.
It was neat to see what the other group came up with; you could see the possiblities for many subject areas. I like the idea of using the visual mode to develop phonological awareness. Very creative!

Thanks for the Inspiration!

At last week's class, I appreciated seeing an example of a case study. It gave me encouragement and a springboard for activties to create and try with my student. I know that the recommended technology for the students with learning disabilities that I work with is usually under-utilized. My goal is to be able to share my case study with their teachers and to be able to offer them the support to provide the technology for the students on a more consistent basis.

I really enjoyed the process of creating the learning activities with Choose-It Maker for a student that both Denise and I know. Having her savvy with the technology, awareness of the scope and sequence of learning goals for a child with autism and her personal concern for the child, made it a very enriching experience! Thanks, Denise!