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Getting Started with Tangible Symbol Communication Systems for Students with Visual Impairments Who Have Complex Communication Needs

Added Feb 20, 2024 •

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Presented by Monique Bird (TSB) and Emily Sullivan (TSB) on 02/16/2024 TN VIVA 2023-2024 Session Description: In this session hear from TSB’s Speech & Language Pathologists as they talk about how to collaboratively develop and implement tangible symbol systems for students with VI and complex communication needs. Discussion will include strategies for identifying appropriate tangible symbols and prioritizing what tangible symbols to begin with given each student’s individual needs.

Show Transcript

okay I think we recording good morning everybody good afternoon I guess really and welcome to today's Tien Viva visual impairment Virtual Academy training my name is Alan Wong and the director of the resource center for the visually impaired and Outreach Services here at the Tennessee School for the Blind so excited to be kind of your host today for really exciting training that we're going to be doing on Facebook symbols or kids with complex communication needs we are so fortunate and privileged to be going by tsp is very own Super what team is Emily Sullivan and Snowbird but I could not be more excited to have known them for a couple hours of on on this topic how do I get things started with kids prioritization of your words to to be working on with our students and share the wealth and they've gathered over the past several years of working are are very unique population here tsp which you have very similar kids out in the district's either as a tvi a special ed teacher could be a parent if you're watching this video down the line or whatnot and so are you alive if you are watching this at the recording we sincerely hope that you'll find this information useful just keep us in mind if you ever have questions and we will gladly support you along that Journey your niece might be so let me stop rambling and just let everyone get started please introduce yourself in the chat if you like it so that we can know where you're coming from but otherwise but I only feel free to introduce yourselves get this thing started and I'll do another thing in the chat as we can so feel free to raise your hand ask a question and we will stop and you know bring it up because we we want these to be you know as personally relevant to you as possible to give specific cases to the burning question ask it and we will make sure that we get that bracelet so thank you I'm in Lee Sullivan I'm in a tsp this is my sixth year here at tsp and it is one of my favorite places in the world so I am mogard and I am give a speech therapist are very fortunate to have miss Emily they were getting my co Hartley threatened off of each other and it has been wonderful I've been here 12 years and we're still learning we're still growing and two if you have ideas or strategies that you're using that you would love to share with us please I'm I'm always a lifelong learner as I would love to learn from you all as well too so primarily today our topic is complex communication can using tangible symbols and will delve more into that as we go across our presentation injector wrong if you don't mind monitoring chat we cannot see it so please questions on and we're going to have plenty of time at the end for specific kid questions if you have it or just where you start kind of questions we're going to cover a lot of Basics here so we're going to start with a couple of quotes cuz this is really kind of what I have based my whole career off of is the population of students and not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say we know that a lot of our kids who are not speaking or non-verbal are they still have stuff to say and a lot of it you know what they're trying to say and a lot of it you know is you know would be funny if they could tell you what they were really thinking about you so that's what I kind of Base everything off of is I know you have something to say get it out of you however it may be this next quote is from one of our educational assistance here at tsp who has become a very dear human to us so she said the symbols are so important to me because it gives so many students an opportunity to communicate voiceless people can now speak and say this was said by Sarah Lawrence Sarah Lawrence has graciously and wonderfully taken on the tag of categorizing and cataloging all of our symbols we use here and it's going to be ready to be used online here shortly within the next couple of months we are going to have an online catalog for all of our symbols that we use here are core words even are some of our more frequently used French words with we'll talk about later in our presentation and it's going to be on our website and available to anyone who needs it so this was all done by Sarah Lawrence it was her idea her project and so we give her all the credit for it it's just going to be such a good tool for you guys out in the community in the end across the state. so hopefully our objectives today are you'll take away from our presentation be implementing some tangible core words that your daily routines and activities that you can possibly take with in your classroom settings or 40 VIP route doing orientation Mobility or in the classroom using these tangible core words and symbols and things like that within those daily routine and activities also happily in bed communication within those daily routines and literacy activities and then being able to relies on different communication systems that we have for a lot of our complex Learners and it could be as simple as a single button all the way up to more of a complex high-tech system that we're traveling and we show you a few videos to your towards the end lots and lots of videos so feel free to ask to play them again and if you can't hear anything let us know but it's majority videos so beside some considerations to really think I think about your case loads and then your kiddos I really when I go to conferences I really like to have a couple kiddos and mine and like who can I really try to implement this information for Zorro I have that keto yes I'll be perfect for that I haven't thought about it let me send money try this but some things to consider for for our schooling for here and let me sit back and we're looking at children and developing language from the research that is Approximately 80% of information that children learn is through their vision how does that work with our guys who are blind or have visual impairments and that is a challenge as well as our language development and hear our school we have a variety of students who you know are small percentage of students they are half blind and they may have language delays of you know Earl Miranda Priestly yours but now they're typical and they are riding and then we have some of our students who you know how I have a lot of language impairments and have learning and language disabilities and things like that and how does that take into consideration how their learning needs are and what they need a majority of our students and that we love or I'd love to is working with our students who have complex needs who have intellectual disabilities autism other syndromes like charge through palsy all of those and how to at work with our kids with working on communication language and building in these Concepts and language development and over the course of working with such a small population of students who have who are blind or visually who have visual impairments in a lot of time for like well they're not talking it must be because I'm blind or they're not using language because they if they have a visual impairment or you know they're not learning this Concepts because of their blinds and things like that and generally that's a misconception that's not generally the case until we really need to take into consideration the child's cognitive levels their severity of their language deficit their processing time you know giving them the opportunity to listen to auditory information and giving or not time to pray I will talk about that little bit later on memory takes them to Flat considerations as well problem-solving how are they problem-solving about their environment how do they know that I can stack this on top or put this inside you know do they have those abilities and other such all things that we can observe and while we're just watching the child within the classroom or out in the community you're in letting me know in the end you're cafeterias and things like that so we really need to provide real-world experiences for our ties and how do we do that we really need to build on concept development hands on body and lotion really have to start from there really giving them to understanding about their world and getting their hands on Pacific activities specific object specific activities within their routines and things like that talk about that more extensively as we go through this presentation but these are some things that we need to think about when working with our kiddos lots of times just yakking or talk but generally we really need those hands on cities and or opportunities and Emmy try to use as Real World objects and I'll talk about that later on to as much as we can but you got to do with the best but you get what she has, so we'll talk about that too but just kind of take it those into consideration well is that you know we got to look at the whole picture of a child and and and move on from there this is kind of weird ER we recommend you guys start these are for our kids with you said with complex needs we really find a lot of language develops in predictable structures in routine there was a video mismo and I watched the other day of a mom that was opening the for every single day and she would say hi to her daughter and no daughter was maybe eight months old and she did it for months she would open the door and the daughter was in her car seat and finally in the video you see the daughter start saying hi back I mean even if it's at the beginning it's a that's the kind of things that you learned through vision that that we we find that our kids are missing there they're not seeing your facial expressions are not seeing that predictable structure they're not seeing that routine it is something as simple as hi is it sending our kids miss out on and so that's where we really recommend starting is adding Common Core language into those daily routine and I know that our change of routine is important especially in elementary school I worked in one for many years and loved it and there's constantly things happening but we see the most language come out in kids that do the same things every single day and the communication is the same in the same words are used everyday and so you know come in High backpack breakfast I mean and there's we're going to talk a lot about how to add in core words in the same language for those those moments in those communication opportunities we're going to talk a lot about modelling I mean I feel like I model all the time my sweet husband says that I model for him I'm at home now it's it's a what do you need you know I need instead of letting him speak for himself but we'll talk about tax will use of objects and communication being a good communication partner for those kids who do have Def he would verbal speech and then again consistent consistent consistent words throughout settings you can't call one object one named move it to a different environment and call it something else and that that student may not understand that that's insane object that's why we really introduce those core words and using them across different activities It's always important to know what the kids the students sensory preferences are for for teaching it you know they may not be ready for Hands-On yet my hands are not ready to touch things but my feet Maybe and so you know let's put our feet on things so it's just understanding what that child needs as far as sensory same word same activities is very very important and making sure we're adding the same way put on into those those really predictable routine activities I think so and so this was from David Brown presentation that we went to with the Sensi Duck Blind projects years ago and phenomenal speaker I believe he just passed away a few years ago but his phenomenal and this was a quote that pics of me and I continue to have to be reminded of this because I'm a speech language pathologist and I liked it but the code is start learning when we stop talking and so our kids especially our kids with complex needs we need to use less words and we need to use more consistent language miss Emily said if we're going to have a consistent name am I know an apple just give that as an example applesauce you know for a lot of our kids or whatever that we're having applesauce and they have it at breakfast and then we're going to make sure that we provide the same language applesauce or snack if that's what they want or something along those lines but they have to be consistent after you select language and and we really need to give them that I can talk about this processing time kids are bombarded with auditory information and auditory chatter from teachers from kids from you know all over info a lot of it is there they're listening to all that the when they're asked to have to perform something or say something back their verbal or having to respond they need that processing time but if were chattering and were talking and trying to get them to answer a question or do something or ever perform an activity and we're still chattering that processing time is going to take longer because I'm still hearing all of this this verbal information and so we need to really kind of be cognizant of providing with simple small words and to stop talking and wait and that is so hard for me because when you are using a verbal prompt over and over every time you say something that kid has to start a processing their process over it the processing of that language I have to understand what that means that you said it again so I'm moving to more of that taxable prom for that physical prompt is really important to really understand and give them that kids at time those words to get in that brain and and it'll melt with meeting so it's really hard to and we that's kind of our Mantra you'll hear about TSB is the main thing that we always say to people is useless words and you just stop talking for just a minute and let him do it so that's that's our Mantra we would really like to shirts if they use less words but I haven't done that yet. And then looking at her students again an understanding their environment and understanding what is happening in the world you know being able to interact with an object and indirect appropriate a lot of our kids have a lot of kids have a 20 year old man who you know again object interactionism I'd rather type it we rather bang it we rather now that cuz we're still at that sensory exploration phase and that's where he's at giving me the opportunity to do that but then we're going to go ahead and help a cyst inside okay let's turn this knob is push this button or let's flip it over again we haven't a book or something like that let's turn the page that was push this button for the device and things like that it's up to the top and we're providing those supports and that models that way but have in our hands after interacting is Susan with those objects and then looking at their sensory needs and a lot of times too if you can go ahead and if you have an occupational therapist we have a fantastic occupational therapist here at Tennessee School for the Blind and he is wonderful and just be able to collapse okay I had the charges of tapping and banging are mouthing how else can I you know what other things can support the child to interact with other objects without melting it so really try if you can try to work with your occupational therapist to work on those sorry help with those sensory needs and things like that as well but really that's going to tell you a lot in terms of how they're exploring and what their understanding of their environment lot of our kids just like the top and bang and tap and bang on an object or something like exploration but okay now running three to one of his let's touch the feel so long and so meaning of using our hands are being able to touch it and then you know they need to go back and stop it okay do that and then give them the opportunity to to give that sensory needs and then you provide that structure type of activity to explore I'm so it's kind of like more of a balance of give-and-take and we have a lot of kids the bottom bullet point there where we have a making fixing to stay within themselves they don't like other people in their space and so that's where you really got to kind of take what they're doing with their sensory you no tapping of objects get into their space model what they're doing before and then have them feel like they're feeling safe and it's okay for you to be in their world for a little bit oh I like you're doing the same thing I'm doing that's kind of cool and then you can interject yourself and say okay like that and then they start to back up on this. and you know so you have to kind of like initially get build a rapport and build that song and dance and kind of have that you're okay with you and their space and then over time because they are building more structure and more function to working with objects and attaching different textures and things like that a lot of our kids still don't like that but I will say okay we're going to touch when do it in three two one touch or you didn't reach out we're done and so and then move on in overtime hopefully we can get them to be able to touch Morgan we found two what's for dinner last year for preschool teacher and this one student who he you know doesn't like touching things and so she's just like what just happened just give him an auditory Q4 so he knows where to reach at rather you grabbing his hand and hand tapping and give me the address for a minute that sounds so you know really kind of taking that looking at the child and seeing what is motivating a lot of Ricans auditory there auditory Learners Olathe auditory sounds until giving him to Schnucks cap and then they feel it's okay to Tundra and then provide that hand underhand support you would be better rather than hand on top of underhand support the kind of help and giving them away a lot of people grabbing our kids and moving it and all right we're going to do 3 to 1 you do so it's really giving him that. That warning that something's about to happen and then I have some other older kids or whatever who have more verbal language per se but even still there chatting and they're talking about what they're hearing in their environment and so they're like in this one family we had over over a preschool program years ago and his family loves NASCAR and he where's NASCAR on the TV here's family talk about NASCAR and everything like that and so we're okay let's play with cars since we get out of Big Ben of cars and stuff like that I'm going to the pit crew and he's just taking his hand and he's just put it in the pan and just going back and forth in the in the in the Benicar and there's just no you know it's just a different out this what my world is in terms of what I'm thinking NASCAR is and I'm here and pit crew and I don't know what do you know I'm just going to call before it I don't know what the me that's where we stopped can we get a little like clothes and whatever fixing the tires are making a fun and engaging so really trying to have to explain and feel and touch all the different objects Exploration with those kids to do our verbal who willfully you to think that oh yeah talking about the one you're really watching their play and looking at them or like oh wait a minute wait for me to kind of meeting you need to take a step back and really try to teach them and then using those hands and buy a body in motion to work on those Concepts and working that will be there in that sense yep Noemi we we legitimately have to teach your kids how to play a lot of them have the language and you this happens a lot it's USB they think you know how old are there verbal they have a lot going on and then you get them into a a language play situation and they're just wrote speaking he's in the same phrases over and over and they don't aren't adding any meaning we're getting into our first video here this is one of my sweet friends here and he is but I this is our very much has challenged me into a very tactfully defensive I don't want to touch anything so we had to start from the very beginning of object forces this is where we're at we're making a is between two items this is too highly preferred activities so you're going to see me giving him a choice please excuse my classroom is under construction as you can see I have no ceiling and we can play water orphan water or fan water I want to play with them water okay sounds like a water and then when he chews I'm giving him those words of I want to play with the water and so it's it's giving him those words in modeling those words for him and this is me working with another preschool or he's totally blind he is also not speaking on verbal and very very early sensory play a lot of friends were mouthing a lot of times we're just grabbing were from the mat or just picking up a really just working on Concepts and terms do your feet keep kicking me if you have a ball and we going to kick it kick it kick you know and he's turn starting to even start to imitate some of those sounds when it doesn't feed her kicking and things like that you know providing that reinforcements are here again we're sitting in a chair and we're making a choice between two highly motivated activities and go ahead and be late elegant truck I want right right don't feel good. in thank you don't don't go but here again just very minimal just really Chinese even work on just some sound play reciprocal play he did for truck when he was reaching I have the fan on and the beginning blowing on him him and then also just kind of tapping or moving the truck back and forth just to give him the auditory to you as well as a century the fan and to wait and see which one he's going for and I did not I think I just sent truck or fan and then I waited I think these kids need spot that processing time and so really writing more of that auditory Hue of the the truck may be moving back and forth that he could be on his tray with the Wind of the fan and then waiting for him and then he's he reaches towards and baskets on the couch and that's object that you said so really just providing that assistant language processing time that weight I'm trying to use less words then again you know it just again this is how we play we're making sounds he likes me of the sound you know and it does haddock you can turn it on you know when does have musical sounds of things like that but for me it's more about that motion of going back and forth stop he pulled the little dump up and down he put his hands in so in this he hasn't had the ball we would put it in but I should have his hand after hand into getting work on the customer put it in feeling that in I think it was that later on we're playing with him but just against a simple activity that was using objects for choices yes but then how come you in bed and make it more meaningful and more tangible that way and seeing this video I always have to go back to when another David Brown is that the the student her when you're working with him has to be grounded and so I think about the chair when you're working with kids is complex sensory needs have to be met first order for language to really be worked on so finding whatever position that kid is comfortable in like the student right before in this video not this video but the video before he doesn't like to sit so that was a very odd play sent for him he says he stands against all the services and rocks back and forth and we do all of our speech therapy standing because that's where his sensory needs are met so that's that's I just thought of that when I was looking at this that's it awesome chair it's a rifton chair they really hurts if you hit your shin on it very heavy support and things like that but that's another more hands on it Siri answers again we talked about that getting our hands on different opportunities Within These are more based on our classroom experiences and things like that to the the slide to the left the picture to the left was we had a science fair on the side of the building on our complex Nephi the building and so every want all the teachers have different stations and so this was the planet station and so they use different balls or different actual factual systems in words to represent each of the planets and so this one happens to be Saturn I guess with the Rings and he's a child is feeling now obviously we can't take Saturn but is this again providing some sort of support to prevent Hands-On to give the understanding of when we're learning about the planets that Saturn has rings and this is what we're touching and then on the bottom of the table towards the bottom of the slide there's a two Choice button I guess either answer a question about Santander he's your facts about Saturn or something along those lines I'm obviously cooking is a fantastic way to have hands experiences and things like that against really trying to work with two hands using two hands and stirring and everything like that I'm working with our booties to get orchids to use both hands the same plates and then again providing real-world experiences we are lucky here to have at least fall and I know where summer programs we are able to have a local farm that comes and they bring their animals and so we have actual opportunities where the kids can go and they can feed the animals different in the context of the animals and everything like that a lot of times to let for his talked about earlier use the objects key to with what you have and a lot of our stories on something that will read stories will have manipulative as well object will have a horse or alarm or something like that but it's plastic you know when it is one of those things plastic is we really can get real life Real World experience as a child can feel that you know a horse has the nose of the fur and and it does smell and all the different sounds and the textures and and and everything like that versus is having a plastic horse in The Odyssey can a horse in the room but just build that nut references giving us how many hands-on experience as we can the best of our abilities now you know we'll have to use a plastic horse and will explain you know horses will count the legs will touch the tailing us sometimes we have horses that have died text means and things like that attacks your tail to give him a different different things that they can touch and feel but really and truly the more Hands-On approach obviously has the best but some examples are so this is an experience a couple of years ago that we didn't do a long time ago now if ya is the last winter Olympics and I love the bobsled in the Olympics and I was trying to explain it to some of our kids and it it just wasn't wouldn't register I just want to let you know it was so hard for them to grasp the concept of a bobsled so we decided we were going to make one and so here is our bobsled and so you'll see it's a mat and we tied it to scooters and that it was a simple as that and the kid had a great time and it was a great experience a lot of them still talk about they liked it a lot of them didn't like it but it's a great experience and great opportunity for language so we repeat it we haven't repeated it since but we do obstacle course every year and that's always a big hit and lots of times to do with our Concepts and things like that were talking about you know pushing and everyone getting the opportunity to help push the bobsled first and then you sit on it and then I'll spool and then maybe a friend would pull blizzard this concept that we can work on during this bobsled activity and things like that too and so really it's a hard concept for our kids to understand even that face of push and pull like for my door and opens on the inside so I could turn down the handle and then the how to pull it back and and they're struggling and so just even like working on concepts of push and pull and how do we do that how come you do with the Bob so I can we do it the door opening how come some provide as many opportunities as we can throw it all environments picture of our bobsled in one of our fabulous teachers so just Hands-On add some language get your kids hands on things and get their body in motion and then here and I'm this is from can take another a presentation I went two years ago and again we talked about this earlier but in order to have successful communication you have to have bills every for first and foremost and really conversations are in short-term taking 4 we engage in the actions the bobsled I pushed I pulled the app again I understand there are lots of standards and I think that we have to buy 2 in I got to but we also need to make it as fun as we can and model the communication and things like that and not only for requesting but also for building more commenting describing different activities and requesting information so a lot of times I get stuck on okay let's just make a choice but there is more to communication then just requesting and so building on that imp expanding their their functional communication and so we need to give the kids trying to be the conversation so you know with little Mabel with his old truck or whatever and just going back and forth and you know make the sounds and or go go go you know maybe I'll make it stop and you see if he smiles and moves his gestures or whatever to make and sell building in those actions that way and make it as playful you can so those were going back to you or using objects is of course where we always start with a kid to really put their hands on an object and understand that this is an object and disa but it does it's it's it's very important for us to teach objects their names and what they do so a cup is for us to drink a spoon is for us to eat and then he do it typically get a lot of our kids are not toilet trained so we know that we our hands on a pull up in this represents that I I'm going to go to the bathroom and I'm going to get some assistance and I'm going to get changed it really helps your kid understand what's coming and it's not just an adult shoving me through this routine it's not everything needs to be done for me it's it's giving them the opportunity to understand and understand that language that's going around with it in their their daily routine so that's of course where we start with students is making sure that their hands on our on objects like you saw making choices eventually you'll see where we moved to putting real objects in a row and that's how they know this is their routine in the day and we work on the concept of next send it this finished and this is what I can't do this until this one is finish that first then concept so then when you do get some understanding you see some object development and object functional use you can move to what we call actual representations and this is when can build in those types of representation into their routine so it takes it down from having to use the real object to maybe something that represents that object so for example I have a student who really does not like to be touched until you find him until for the longest time we were having such a hard time getting him into his Mobility wagon that would carry him to go to your PT and so one day we just started putting his hand on it as like time to go he easily got up and got in the wagon but it was that I touch that real object I understand that that object means I'm going to go somewhere okay I got that we can do this now so now they've moved on to just using some sort of wheel to understand I'm going to get in my wagon okay great same student would get really really upset and so his calm down activity was to lean against the rocking chair that has really smooth velvet fabric so you know if you wanted chair we took the cushion off the chair that actual chair and handed it to him and you can see him immediately, because he knew he was going to get that chair so now we've moved on to just a fabric covered button he knows that that means that I get to go and sit with my chair so those are actual representations and if you ever feel like you need help coming up with taxol representations for things mismo and I would be happy to help you if there's any kind of student that has some sort of you know it's specific item we can we can help you come up with with different types of representations to the most popular thing we see is cuz our kids really like to be an ocean who use lots of ropes a lot of teachers over here actually have chains that they have bought from Home Depot and it's it's their tax representation of the swing and I know that the swing I go outside it makes any sound so I know that that got object in that representation means I'm going outside to go swing so it's really it's really important for us to to let kids do with what's coming you know and and I also like really helping the child I understand that they're they're in control of their own life and nobody's just going to hold their hand through it we do a lot of hands off you figure it out kind of opportunities here and tax representation do you know helps with that it it lets them know and he's coming and if they don't want to do it right you got to let us know so and you have and then you get into the to the first then of okay I know that you won't want to do this we're going to do this first and then you can have your chair so text Asians really have to be fitted for that child's preferences if they don't like the texture or something you never going to get him to touch it so if you're finding something that they are defensive to try something else to lot of trial-and-error you should see the amount of objects and stuff we have in our classrooms that are just you know we were hoarders we don't want to get rid of anything cuz it's maybe one day we'll need that for a student and and but we like that I truly enjoy coming up with things like protector work patience and and sometimes kids like some funny things and you have to come up with some really fun next actual representation this is just another way to and I'm sure y'all do this and y'all turn some things like that but working on daily schedules and everything so this is a combination of real objects with the fork and the spoon I think the fourth one or fifth one over is that chain them is only so I can have for the swing and other tax representations I believe there's the penguin I think that little beat is is a break and so just being able to lay it out on your daily schedule and daily schedule that way and also to our teacher he has older High School boys in his class and I'm a lot of them are not speaking and so he'll use the objects and also to that middle talking break one with the green that is a communication device where they push it and it may stay or something like that so you can just see where you can use a variety of different systems and support that way on one side happy just one size if you know what I know this is a really long but this is for his morning meeting and he goes through the schedule of what's Happening throughout the day so and that little sore red circle next to the talking brick one is that mean speaker three he's in devices so that's our nation of real object and Court work so that's what you'll see is that sometimes we just don't have a core word that matches that activity and we and for things like snack and music we really we really hope for tax representation to be used cuz these are what you call Friends words they're they're outside where the core words so we use every body in the school uses about for music everybody uses this Peg for work so it's very consistent for our kids and I and this year the symbols are in the schedules have become even more important because tsp move to an A and B Day schedule so everyday is a different schedule and that's very important for our kids to understand that today is going to be different than it was yesterday and so they are kids have done a phenomenal and it's it's actually been very beneficial to get a little change in routine especially for those kids who are so strict and then this is another just check your texts or presentation for younger preschool classroom we are each day of the week was a different instruments so today's okay so it would be the Rings Chickasha curing sick Friday and so the kids will know you know maybe all these symbols will be off because it's Friday and so you know she would go and every every one of y'all down to that the Friday symbol know it's raining I'm working refer back to you yesterday was drum day yesterday was a you know it's just an answer Thursday or yesterday was Thursday was drums today is you know so we can work on different representation so that way she do that during her Circle time and then this again was another way that our teachers use during that science fair again working on those core common standards standards and work and Science and so working on how can we make children help them understand in terms of different states of matter and so using that's all objects as well as The Voice output device down at the bottom or each of the different states of matter and went all the way to the right I believe the power yes and it's connected to one of those diffusers yes so they can feel that gas of the diffuser coming out in the field of the air or the steam coming out of it and they said they're talking bricks they are very call a typically easy to use their little loud will admit so if you ever come in contact with them you have to whisper when she recorded them because they will blow you away so talk a lot about objects and tangible and textual core symbols and so basically as our core vocabulary and basically what is that mean so research has been shown that over several years like I don't have the exact but that's basically the number words that we use throughout our normal conversation or normal communication it's a 80% of what we say throughout the day is 4 I'll give you an example want to go do like have can you itch he she in out all of those words we use all the time throughout all activities throughout the day those are cool I don't know if y'all are privy to seeing a lot of on-board maker symbols as a symbol picture symbols and things like that or communicate hiretech communication devices for some kids who have visions you know where they are symbols on there in the primarily based on poor and so being able to use all those words and all activities I want I want to go I like I don't like can I have can you do so you're using all of those words within snacks within our morning meeting within our English language arts within you know specials and things like that all of us words that can be used across all settings and then there is fringe vocabulary which are more words that are based on you're either your preference is whether it's applesauce putting I like black coffee miss Emily likes her I like creamer and so we put in a different time different vocabulary that way and so you know that constitutes for a very small portion of communication we can get away with a lot of verbs and a lot of describing words and a lot of pronoun and I'm a lot of what we call spatial Concepts in out on off within our activities and a small portion are now and lots of times you know when I know when I started I'll be at all these now and all these other people that's great but you're only going to use that within that one activity where would you score words you can use them throughout all activities and throughout all environments are really get your point across and and where I'm betting The Fringe vocabulary embedding the those specific vocabulary during those with the objects maybe with some tangible symbol or with some symbols are with communication devices and things like that are primarily the main system that were using are these these four words and it's basically the fastest and most effective results when using on these four words on especially when they're on a communication device or so this is the boy that we have there are 40 this is the 40 most typical for words that we used there I think over 500 words but we start off with 40 and then we may 40 I should text you when you get back we meet me at 44 words and every classroom especially on our complex needs side of the building they all have the scoreboard and they're all the same they're all the same textures they're all the same and regards to orientation they're all the same and that's where I'm at somebody's house Sarah Lawrence educational assistant she's creating a catalog catalog a dictionary of and she'll have in Social indicate you know need is you know the spiral ring in so you can just click on that and see what we use when that is all said and done and if you have questions or whatever you can email us but but this is the this is the board finished we started off when we first started getting it before and this was eight years ago maybe give or take him to sign remember but started off with using maybe they like the 1st 15th and we started with a program called me build a weevil from ablenet they no longer manufacturing evil to rebuild but the concept was is starting off with a student's name symbol and tell Oliver your students have a name symbol Miss Emily's board hers is the top left-hand corner and hers is the eat and it could be different textures for different students whether they like to feel it or not or maybe it's a characteristic of a student like I mean oh this one little girl she likes for Brett so she's a rat you know this my little girl she likes little flowers occurs in the flower you have another girl she likes balloons or hers is like Little Gems and things like that so so those are so it just depends upon what you want to do we start off with name symbols for students and then were using the name symbols were referring to do with Miss Emily or take off her name symbol to generate is the sentence she would say the word I she's not going to say miss Emily she's going to use the word the pronoun by because she's talking a person talking about her so we started off with with all the names animals and then we started off with like and don't like y'all see can I see can I see us I think so again we we want to get past if we can choices as a lot of fun he's coming for you to have that but start with choices that they haven't and their name symbol and then we use like and don't like we started with once we started with go I was huge for our guys and then more in Spanish and then we slowly built over time silver tube and bedding the 44 words in that respect us that and then we'll talk to you with more support and things like that and how you can utilize these different tangible symbols and things like that but this was like the starting point and maybe give you guys some ideas you know where you can start I mean it's overwhelming I'm going to have to make all 14 start off small and I was set up with name symbols because they're all everyone has a name and everyone needs a name symbol and maybe started off with morning meeting maybe find your name in your logging in for its attendance or maybe you're going to choose a friend so you workout name symbols that way or maybe your Factor find your cubby in your cubby has your name some want it that way or you know maybe you're taking your name symbol over to another teacher him to say that I am here or just noticed the missing conversation with starting off small is overwhelming right now but start off little by little and then hopefully you can blow off from their butt and we also did it was also when we were working on for building that the Forbes symbol board it was we working on social emotional learning and that goes all of those apps emotions are so abstract but it's still so important to be able to teach them and provide those so we made symbols with the from Pappy and sad and mad and really and truly it's really helped a lot with a lot of our kids who get frustrated who are angry or have trouble I'm transitioning because we're so in and out of our routine so really teaching our concept of mad and everything like that yes I see that you're mad and acknowledging on the touching it and then you don't work on that first then or we're going to be finished building so for speciality classrooms they have pictures to represent the the language for communication well our guys are blinds and have visual impairment so we made basically we took that same philosophy of those pictures that are ready pre boardmaker or whenever and meet them or sexual and I will say there are other commercially available and it will send us out there those are great but we have found here that having different text has really made all the difference a lot of them are either plastic and abrielle on them but they're all plastic pieces and everything like that and end so that's great I have not used them personally we kind of just started creating the tangible symbols and so we made them with what we had and so we had all of the vph boxes from a pH with a different on materials which we started there and then we got grants to be able to purchase and write a different things through you know dollar free and find whatever you have at your house and I'm going to find a rings of old books and things like that Wiki sticks you don't go to your teachers and your morning like I said earlier but really trying to find things that can help to make it more textual and have dinner textures that the child can discern the difference between do this is why I want to say I like it where oh wait no this wrote means I don't like it and I really like that one that's what I want to say so so that's how we kind of got started here and that's where all the board are in our classrooms here at our school and this is Encore phone like my full square but we have the pool rectangle but we have learned that if we're getting plastic is better and then we moved on to each individual card these are gift cards like they're the plastic gift cards that we've cut in half and covered in duct tape but we've since even moved from their mismo found blank blank gift cards on Amazon 2025 look like a hundred something like that and then your night and then you just have to cut the corners off cuz they can get a little sharp but you also can cut them to where they Orion the student if they are able to consciously process orientation of assemble but we definitely found that you know it's definitely need a different textures and then for those more abstract to have and that can and it's very hard to come up with concepts for that and so those are actually the Braille contractions put with beads so it's just in our kids they will shock you at at being able to notice that that means have can I have that that's that is something that we use and our kids are very very good at these and so you'll see me going to go is there is a real key so anytime you move keep those to death and so those family members get those people to collect those gift cards I put out an email to the TSB staff you would not believe the amount of Starbucks gift cards that we have that are really what these cards are put on so it would business cuz it's go out of his yes yes yes please R Us going out of business I think I'm really sorry I just you and you know we even use symbols for different classes of that that goes back to that French vocabulary what you come up with the craziest things for them but it's really fun coming up with them so in this video here we have a student and she's in a wheelchair Mobility still struggle some days are able to move our our our head to activate the switch which I don't know if you can really tell but it looks a little orange kind of white switch over to the left side and my hand is on I'm not touching you activate Voice output device which is that little red button down there to the bottom right by the screen and it is so sometimes she's able to use that successfully sometimes really in so I'm just using a we're taking I gave you for taking gestures whether she has a really good sometimes a head shake for yes I'm a big smile she's really expressive with her facial expression is so really trying to take it all all those communication behaviors and really kind of repairing it if we can with the tangible symbols and on the communication device and so this is just a individual therapy session with me and my room we were playing with this adaptive train and I'm having her choose who wants to go on this rain because going back to the name symbols every classroom every student in that classroom has memorized everyone else is named symbol so they know who's there so when you see in this video you'll see she's picking between Brands and classrooms and she's very very aware of whom is most talking about just from those symbols hey Natalie who do you want to ride on the train you have Mary music to write on your train Oakland yeah telephone tomorrow would you like Mary do you like Isaac yeah I saw that head shapes very subtle to the right I meant left is it gon rain do you ride the bus with we cannot be great having her help me put Isaac on her train you say about this train on the train should we do can you tell me can I help you with it you need some help Annabelle are not to be expressed enjoy some stop it instead of trying to not talk so much and then again this is the same sweet Natalie in this fantastic teacher's classroom I'm working on English language arts and so she miss Laura's also using the tangible symbols and with this activity I will say there are other students who are verbal but they were having difficulty working on our understanding pronounce he in so she made a whole entire lesson with all of the students in her class including Natalie in terms of understanding how to use a pronoun he and she and using these tangible symbols for building sentences to work Jonah what does like to work change Jonas changed is Jonah a boy I am sorry a girl so now we're going to change he Civil War yes doesn't like the word I want later on But there again just another way that she is embedding in implementing the tangible Corps symbol is like doesn't like friend's name symbols and then those pronouns he and she still working on that in her language language arts on their last time somebody should have been so creative where they're like matching the different symbols will have multiple symbols and they're trying to match or what we'll do is we'll take the symbols and they'll rearrange them into I'm so where the sentence doesn't make sense like it doesn't like work Jonah and so they'll feel it and read it and then they know to go ahead and switch it to make it make sense and it's it's just wonderful yes so this student right here is one of my students and she is very much we talked about earlier actually has a ton of verbal language but when you really get down to asking her about Concepts and understanding of things that's where you really see her language deficit coming through she may be a chatterbox but when it comes to really putting meeting with words she struggles so this is a we're doing a summary of a story that we read and it's about these different monsters in the snow and I adapted the book The Monsters were color the green monster to read monster so we turned them into using I think those are a pH change door locks and it there textured Monsters the bumpy monster the smooth monster the scary monster and so that's what she's doing and then the story the monsters are packing their backpack for the first day of school so she's summarizing what the different monsters are put in their backpacks and if you see we have the tax or representation of the monster we have a mixture of real object what is the book and these are three core words that you'll see Scooby-Doo 2 good books k put game and in the backpack if you see we don't even have anything for backpack because this sentence right here every single time we set it and put it in the backpack so that became so routined into that language activities and we didn't even need anything because it was by the language have been modeled enough to where she was using it independently the objects they did change with what clearly the books and then the different monsters and everything else stayed exactly the same which really at home that meaning and understanding of those Concepts and then also to when where and I think you saw that Miss Laura's video and it swells Miss Emily's video we will add in those little word yet will provide the language models of how it's supposed to properly say so John and doesn't like to work we don't have the little word for represent two again I'll be too many tangible symbols and you know it's going to be so we will still model all those articles all those little words and things like that again make sense of how we would provide the correct language model that way and if we were talking in the past tense we would have changed this get to got the bummy monster got the books and put it in their backpack so we add in a lot of that those extra words what type of velcro board are you using for the language arts activity actual large print textbooks is that what she says I think that's what you're referring to there was that one then I'm not sure I think it might have been this one that Miss Laura had in the classroom I thought it was a pH I could be wrong this is felt yeah this is large print textbook covers that doctor Wong actually gave us and this is ginormous velcro that we got from Home Depot so like when I was plastic file folders and I was a little bit flimsy do you have a throw or though these are the best cuz I don't hurt as much when you get hit with them just use whatever you guys use the you guys use the only one board definitely been our favorite thing we've ever used so but you can definitely use whatever A lot of people put symbols in binder and he's outside of the binder so they can easily access they can open the binder get a symbol and put it on the outside we're like an hour into this what we're almost done so this is my friend Joel he is so funny he is actually an e l student so we're we're still learning a lot of English so we're starting with the beginning of this one and if you could see him now good grief and language he has now this is commenting on sound so we're talking about sounds we like and sounds we don't like and he will let you know what's our other word we could use it is about working right here alright so let's listen to some sounds I don't like Canada by chance the first give me a sentence I like the same thing as a bird good Mustang let me see this is just a simple activity you can do YouTube is your friend so you can there's pleasure of sound effects on YouTube so very easy so I came up with some some actual phrases that some of our friends have said to us or whatever and and trying to interpret the meaning of what they are trying to say and use the core words for the appropriate yes so the first one we had a student where he's getting frustrated and again totally blind auditory learner and so he's hearing everyone talked about him he's he's he's doing this so he's eating a cookie so he's doing this he is referring to himself as he know he's a wanting something and it's really kind of getting frustrated he doesn't want whatever the activity is there were giving him the tangible symbols of oh I want to be finished though I want a different choice and so overtime I'm teaching him and give him or he doesn't want something I want a different choices melkor I'm I'm finished I want something different let's do something different and so having him feel that that this the tangible symbol that way and that that appropriate language the next one one of my students in that again she would just wrote script things to order to get your attention so she she just desperate for you to talk to her and so it was a slime with it was her phrase instead of hello I need something or what are you doing that was her way of getting your attention the next one is also my student he really wanted to work he desperately wanted to have a conversation so he's since way ahead of this now but he she would ask you what did I do in the cottage last night and really he was wanting to talk to you about what he did and the only no way he knew is because so many people had asked him what did you do in the cottage last night instead of let me tell you at the cottage so it was you know these were replacing these phrases with those were words the next one is a 1-2-3 this was a she wanted high-fives so she can count them and then you would even know that that's what she wanted and you with Mom I want a high five you know then you have your kids but just use the single words then you would get it back I want to eat Cheetos and this is one of my my sweet sweet friends and she was she gets so frustrated in when she does she would say do you want to try again but it's really I'm finished I want to be done with this so it's replacing those wrote phrases of what they've heard with core words and meaningful language so we pretty much gone over all of this with videos taking a vote social interactions and we have videos for all of these are pictures so we'll move on from them so this is former employees of she used name symbols in PE name symbols and different actions and she was so good about using them most of most of what she used was telling peers directing other peers I'm so like it would be somebody else's turn so their turn to be finished and they would pick a friend and say that friend you do until the. Was really great to see our current PE teacher is great about using these he's using them with a schedule it's for seeing them across the board and we have and I'm going to scrap it saying my turn your turn yes that's great we primarily are using core words that you and the do direct appear because over time what we can do is that we can start changing the forwards to ask a question do you like they're ready familiar with the you and the duper directing you know let's see who's Emily you do you know things like that but then over time we can also do you like you know to do that or not like that activity and so we're working on those core but thinking about other ways that we can change it to it's his but still using that same vocabulary that way if that makes sense I'm another way I'm here is a teacher had a has everyday a written promise you as the auditory recording on that talking brakes the red there and her niece she has a tangibles of like or don't like in this was the Thanksgiving meal did you like mistake about did you like the Thanksgiving meal and so you guys are all such great development as well you're going to find the top top is like go to the right don't like okay which one did you like the Thanksgiving meal you don't like good things give me a binder named take your name off fine like oh it's up at the top now we have to put your name under so all of these steps in all this development that is great for for building that language and building just different concepts and every week and I have a theme so we pick a theme a week so like next week for Presidents Day arthena so we will do this across the board like it'll be like versus don't like and then you have like and you don't like it so they have to put their name whether they agree or disagree like our concepts are going to be do you like cheeseburgers or are cheeseburgers are better than ice cream and they'll have to agree like or disagree it don't like we're not adding a new words were using the same concepts of light versus don't like because that's what they know and that's not a New Concept to them and they can really put meaning behind it and then they're going to ask a friend what do you think so it's it's we can incorporate like and don't like it's my favorite place to start with kids it's my favorite place for kids to put their control over there I don't like this and it's going to immediately stop and then further down the line once language is more development I see that you don't like it but we really need to do this right so and then also to like it. It's such an abstract you know rather than just getting some that you want to know so tangible when I say I'm going to get Cheetos I'm so much more than friends requesting and so understanding that you know yes your comments also matters I'm so you know let's try to put a boat to it like I do you know I see you don't like it okay. You know things like that so this is directing and some of our students who are more verbal the symbol really useful with getting their thoughts organized so it's really important that you know you often see that they're just spitting out words rather I know what I want to say but I just can't get them organized this was a theme that we we did a packing a suitcase because it was going to be spring break the next week so we decided we're going to do unit I'll pack in the suitcases and we really wanted to work on things that you need versus things that you don't need this was a higher-order kind of thing you'll see in a video he's telling us what we need on a trip but also what we don't need go you need the park a jacket for they keishin you don't need 2Pac empty box for they kh3 really want to be the weatherman and hold my crown so we let him do it this is a very high order this one of my students I have them in a social group and we do a lot of activities where she has to ask a question because that Pierre is extremely dominating in conversations and this dude it is very passive so that other student will never let her talk if she doesn't ask for herself or ask the questions herself what cute so she's asking about music we do a lot of music activities she wants to know what she liked about that song so it's a it's a very very easy activity to do with a set of students so now we're Switching gears and we're going to talk about more of our communication devices I'm not sure if y'all have access to and low-tech communication devices we have some here that we use with our students the Rouge General an inexpensive super adorable easy to record they can add horrible cabbie Larry directly onto the communication device or you can have Mom to bail Pro and then you just put them on the velcro that is on a communication device and we have no check devices that are single message to Choice messages will show pictures and things like that all the way up to I would had a student here where he was using 23 core symbols on a communication device can be able to have those textures to be able to feel and generally orient's to the device and science finding those on tangible symbols on that device as well as from as well as hearing that. prompt and being able to provide a message in that way so but again considerations when using communication eyes of a lot of times you want to make sure that we are modeling the Bison that we're not handing the device over to a child to leave it to them to just push and push and push because then it becomes another toy a toy that make sounds with our using the communication devices with the child and we're providing those prompts in those models and you're right so then we're working on for voting next week and so we'll have yes I like it I agree with that are now and so will provide those models and gently what we'll do is okay we'll have the tick and underhand have them push paper talking of buildings you think she liked music better or do you like are you like music or do you like walking walking and maybe this childlike music more fun than walking cuz she doesn't like to walk begin this one student that provide that initial sound models and then follow and follow where her hand will push and I'm late and so again we're not just putting in front of them and then they're just pushing Remodeling and we're using it with them and providing both the auditory as well as a tangible symbols help provide more meaningful communication and you'll see what this is that students when we talked about these devices and for those who would not a speech background these are a tasty alternative augmentative communication they are the research has proven there a bridge between nonverbal and verbal communication so like we have used this so much that our students I had a student that came to me completely non-verbal and only likely Lely Adelaide echolalia and now she she's quoting me from using this so much I don't like it and so she's using it super effectively so like we used to she loves to walk in the hallway and so she would say she would navigate on heard communication device to go and so now she's the saying go hallway so she wants to get out in the hallway and go she loves she's nosy she wants to know about everybody and what everybody's doing it so she's she wants to go hallway and so now she'll go kick his hallway and so that's that's what a bridge these these devices provide and again we're using those tangible KO words across all environments and all activities watch about. Go and get and do commenting again modeling and using wanting don't want and then also to another great ways directing have them to rescue you do it or who director. I'm asking a friend do you want do you want do you want to have us on my way to station devices are called The Creek Soccer and this isn't student uses this year again we have I have some for him and I'll talk about him in a little bit so these are some examples are you know a lot of speech therapist you'll see really work on the yes and no and that's where you'll find Mo and I to be very different very strong feelings on yes and no because it's so I can't tell you what guess means other than yes but I can tell you that you like this because you're smiling and you're laughing and this is fun I can tell when you don't like it cuz your face is it and that you stopping your feet on the ground it's so easier it's so much easier to teach preferences over that abstract concept of yes versus know I was a yes versus no before I got to see on TV and then I got here and I said these kids don't know but yes and no means so it's like versus don't like and you can use it I thought it first you couldn't use it as yes or no but you can I will I like these chips or I don't like these chips there is anything that you can do more and finish that is the Kool-Aid in your environment and that is something that is so powerful in the hands of a student is being able to manipulate their environment because then they need you to come into their world to manipulate whatever they're wanting to do so that you'll see a little bit are those videos coming out these are some other tangible cores that are actually had hair down to her knees Haitian student communication device has a lot of them have them here and then they also have some at home that will continue work on they all have the same book Valeri so they can use again throughout all different ROM activities this is one of my students who she's very tactfully defensive she doesn't really like touching things and so we're trying to give her control of her environment she loves Disney musics if you see we're playing along with the two choice and Alexa I think it's by Google OK Google but a different song OK Google and so it's going to talk to our Eagle now it starts off really quiet as you can see the Google does change Google understands all synthesized voices and recorded voices this is super easy if you are a student in a regular classroom be in charge of setting all timers have a device and have you record how many minutes do you need on that timer and you let that kid be to be in charge of the timer so it really puts power in their hands with really motivate kids to want to control their environment which really leads to communicating my found with her to the auditorium and getting her to feel comfortable knowing her to reach towards and she has more empowered and she's doing it more so then yeah that was just it was just a discovery one day that one kid that came through this is an old video of the student she is extremely bright but nonverbal and has some severe haters so she she loves music it's like her Kryptonite and so she is controlling her environment and you'll see she is these are all tangible symbols on a quick talker and she is extremely good at using can you do the whole thing start at the top do you want more of the same song for a so that is on is definitely an easy way to manipulate her environment of different purses same and then that's a way later skill but she was she's very good at it and that's how we start with our guys always putting their are named symbol top left-hand corner of the communication device if you have like a quick talk or whatever or go talk whatever starting up at the top and generally for me I'll always have a more at the bottom left and then finish at the bottom right yes they're always in this but they're always in a they're not going to move there is the same motor plant pattern and everything like that and then with this student here he's you know he's a twenty-year-old man and he is so sensory seeking he is such high sensory need so we need to sit in the swing to your door speech therapy sessions and you can do a little bit of work but then I need to be quickly finished and so we work more for like motivator is whether it's his rank or whether he wants scratches and you know yes or worried that he is so sensory seeking and in order to meet his need I thought that was important to put on his communication device because we are still at the very early sensory exploratory communication function function in cells I need to have it on there you know so for him is on the third Corps word but I also know that I can work for a head scratches and Xanax and stuff like that after I do an activity in my classroom it's a core inside this is a video of him requesting that some more more The Wire fingers I can't see from the video you scratched and he still needs some support under the arm going to help him and I'll give him tell him and will push through and I'm following his leaving so I can give him the choice you want to go for a walk if you want to eat do you want to drink and then I'll feel his finger push in stock Troy said he wants to hear and he just is that kind of guy where he's going to need some support and so he has a one-on-one Aid and so the 118 also helps in the system things like that Guides Through using the difference system different communication device to another kiddo again English language arts and fabulous Miss Laura and another student who is nonverbal and he is using the tangible symbols and their building sentences base on him just touching and feeling and knowing a and he has to tell us what the sentence says Mary likes to go Natalie we got to read first let's look Barry wants to go Natalie likes to go marry blacks to go of girl or is Mary a full alright let's change it all right absolutely here we go now you got to read it to me he likes to go she likes to go alright it's okay he likes to. He likes chicken he likes to go all right now does it say he likes to burrow so we can say she likes to go to and she says building sentences and maneuvering the tangible symbols in different orders and he'll have to put it in order and everything like that and and and then she'll ask him what he says and and sometimes he's laughing cuz he's like you know I'm being silly that's the answer but I'm going to trick you or whatever so and he is actually I think we're going to the next part of China use them or higher teksystems and it's really challenging to find the some system higher-tech communication devices to support our guys with we're totally blind or have visual impairments but we're trying our best so and this is another pic pictures of this fantastic mom in the student actually um alumni he was here and he graduated last year and he's and using a Isis with me and his classroom and then their other two pictures she sent in with him using a variety of different support from textiles symbols to objects to Motech communication devices to a shortening has a whole entire body Prince and her home you know where he is able to communicate I think the middle one is there he's playing a game with her and there's a look some dice game there you could see in the Middle with the red and there's some Braille with are asking me some action with a different numbers and things like that they're taking turns mattress at home she has an engineer's or after he does his job with working are helping in the kitchen then he makes a choice of the different snacks that he wants and he has a button to say I want a snack and then she gives in the objects that way so just some ideas to the building communication and change the environment in your home anything like that to her in the classroom and then we're using a more of a Hi-Tech communication app on our phone or iPad and it's called go talk and it's a scanning system so this one of my student and she is extremely tight actually defensive so we honestly had to skip right over symbols cuz girl wasn't going to touch him so she will touch these buttons so what you're going to hear is is a male voice into that red switch is called a mover so it's a mover and the yellow switch is our Chooser of a mover and a Chooser and so that mover switch is going to move through all of her choice and what you'll hear it the core words go and so then she'll choose which core word typically right now it's talk to someone and then you'll hear her choose what she wants to do you think that Chooser switch don't like what I want something what I want to go for a walk and you can hear this is my hallway girl go hallway and I'm not female voice will be her voice to the male voice is that auditory scanning source hearing a choice unless you want to know me somebody just said that the female voice will be her boyfriend and I have another child if he has an emptiness in this family has Indian and so they have an Indian accent and so we the communication app has where they can have for some of them how do you can have he has an Indian accent with his voice if it's that the scanning is the female voice but then it's a male Indian accent and it's really sweet and then this is that other sorry this other student at the one that wears Mama's engineering book the house and everything like that with it objects and supports for use when using a communication app as well and I took he had a 23 forward quick soccer and I just use the same symbols are the same and kept them in the same location but he's scanning through each row until he was the one that he wants to stay and then he'll choose the the word that he wants to say he was making in Valentine card or Mother's Day card for Mom in Stow we have a feeling he'll skin to his feelings and then he'll tell most who he wants to make the card for this video we're going to move my computer and its way but are you happy to have just go back to the beginning happy to have Mom I love it its Origins trialling some Hi-Tech communication apps with those mover and Chooser in the auditory scanning with several of their kiddos one Kido where he was generating The Simpsons Laura using the two choice with him in a few other students and it seems to be very successful but also to get having their hands on different activities in a different objects and things like that but that is our presentation for this afternoon and we appreciate listening and there any questions that we might get an answer you answer for you you may have yeah well let me first thanks though and Emily fantastic force all I am team cheeseburger versus ice cream on when the switch told Google to bed that was really really cool and so kudos to you guys for realizing and you think that you know what their kids are doing what I do with you know my stuff at home which is so cool here I live could you guys ask questions you might have I hope this really speaks to what is possible from our end of Educators to help you guys get those creative juices going and bring these systems together and determining parties for these core words and how to go about that instruction but also just a picture of what is possible for our kids on Jim's at the progress they can make when they're giving you know quality tools systems to communicate what they know they want to say so again just really really really neat so I'm going to back up anybody have questions they want to ask of Miss Mel miss Emily the Google part I had to step out for a minute so where do I go for the 2 to get the students to interact with that so if you use a voice access to these so if you record I can demonstrate really quick well it's not if you record on here OK Google play Disney music on Spotify your Spotify account needs to be linked it will play it like it's playing in my class right now behind me I'm we're connected and if it's the student hits the switch they can control Google it Google respond to a recorded voice and it's it's awesome the kids kids will love it especially if you have a Google. Connect to lights if you have a Google that connects to your phone system that your student at home can control Google as well or Siri Siri or Alexa whatever. We're at we're always here the resource for you guys we love getting emails we're going to do a presentation for another District just for some speech therapist and special ed teachers that just don't know where to start with kids like ours in the end they are at are hard it's not like they're it's if you're not going to find it in text book it all comes through experience I'm in a good Friday afternoon before a long weekend too so we can get you if you're on the road wherever you're going stop this recording thanks everyone for being here hang on real quick for me

1:00:31 Bioptic Driving – Adult Perspectives & Tennessee Requirements (Panel Discussion)
Participants: Dr. Joshua Robinson (Vanderbilt University Medical Center), Arthur Humphrey, Joshua Harper
Date: 2/23/2024
TN VIVA 2022-2023
Session Description:
This session will present an overview of considerations of bioptic driving for teens and young adults with low vision. Panelists include a low vision specialist and adults with low vision sharing why they decided bioptic driving was or was not a good fit for them. This session is geared towards teens with low vision and their families, as well as TVIs, O&M specialists, VR counselors, and other transition specialists looking for a background knowledge of how to talk about bioptic driving with students and clients.
Uploaded Feb 24, 2023
56:27 Social Emotional Learning & Crisis Support for Visually Impaired Students
Presented by Andrea Word, MSW (TSB) on 9/1/2021
Unity Virtual Academy 2021-2022
Session Description:
This session is designed for TVIs to learn more about SEL (social emotional learning) for students with VI, learn signs of when a student is in a mental health crisis, and discuss appropriate resources in and out of school to support students.
Uploaded Sep 07, 2021
1:46:30 Essential Assessments (FVA) Strategies for Students with Visual Impairments and Complex Profiles Featured
Presented by Suzanne Dinwiddie (TN Deaf-Blind Project) on 2/18/2022
Unity Virtual Academy 2021-2022
Session Description:
Project will share tips and
Hear about strategies that TVIs and O&M specialists can use when conducting functional vision, learning media and expanded core curriculum assessments with students with VI and complex profiles, including students with CVI.
Uploaded Feb 22, 2022
51:27 Lightbox Stories & Literacy Programming for Students with Complex Profiles Featured
Presented by Dr. Adam Wilson on 2/17/2021
Unity Virtual Academy 2020-2021
Session Description:
Looking for ways to integrate literacy and lightboxes? In this session we will take a deep dive into the creation of lightbox stories and digital books, adapted so they are accessible for students with more complex profiles that include VI. We will also look at opportunities for meaningful engagement for learners so they become part of the story!
Uploaded Oct 14, 2021
1:48:17 Essential Vision Assessment: Tips for TVIs in a Virtual World
Presented by Dr. Karen Blankenship (TSB) on 12/4/2020
Unity Virtual Academy 2020-2021
Session Description:
This presentation will talk about the latest resources to conduct functional vision, learning media, and expanded core curriculum assessments on-site or in a virtual world.
Uploaded Oct 14, 2021

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