I can...open the door to adulthood.

Our children grow up in the blink of an eye... before you know it they are going to high school and then it's only a few short years before they enter into the adult world. Skills needed to negotiate that adult world need to be introduced and practiced long before they will be used. Our students need lots of time (and help) to learn about how things change when you become an adult. This month we will consider some of the supports that we can put in place to help our students take on this challenge.

Keeping Communication Relevant - Reviewing and Updating Vocabulary- Personal communication displays and devices need frequent review to determine whether all the vocabulary required by an individual is available. When changes are made to vocabulary, we need to ensure that our students know where to find their new words. Our vocabulary needs change as we get older - often our students need help to learn new words ("What is a budget?", "I need to book an appointment.") and to find out how to use them appropriately. 

Consider including generic vocabulary for people and places:

• 'support worker' vs. 'Julie'  (support teams sometimes change frequently)
• adding 'person' if not already included on a display
• 'someone else'

Remove immature vocabulary, and change language to better reflect the age of the person using the system.

• "Yo!" to "Good afternoon"  

Expand topics to include those for self-advocacy and directing others.

• directing personal care routines 
• participating in meetings
• maintaining communication device or writing system
• changing or repairing seating
• arranging and using transportation
• discussing politics
• organizing banking and finances
• community-based events such as grocery shopping, eating out
• safety and emergency situations
• legal issues

Include young-adult/adult appropriate topics like:

• death and bereavement
• intimacy and sexuality

Here are a couple of great resources related to vocabulary around adult communication topics. 



Institute on Disabilities at Temple University  This website contains vocabulary (graphic symbols and icon sequences) needed to participate in 8 socially-valued adult roles: 

• College Life 
• Emergency Preparedness
• Employment
• Sexuality, Intimacy, and Sex
• Reporting Crime and Abuse
• Managing Personal Assistance Services
• Managing Health Care, and
• Using Transportation

Widgit Health provides a range of symbol-based information sheets to help facilitate clear communication in an emergency situation. 

What are soft skills, why does my teen/young adult need to learn them and how can I teach them? Visit the Special Learning blog to read about considerations for learning social skills needed in the workplace.

Community Connections

Talk with families who also have children who are transitioning into adulthood to find out what resources they are using. Your local children's treatment centre may have groups, supports or information that can be explored before your child leaves school. At TVCC in London, Youth Discovery Services offers workshops, drop-in conversations and resources, and individual consultation and coaching as needed. 

 

Hutton House in London, Ontario is an example of an organization that offers an array of activities and resources for people with disabilities moving into adulthood. Hutton House promotes and supports persons with disabilities through learning and life enhancing programs that focus on each individual's strengths, abilities and interests.

Teaching & Training others: 
Individuals who have complex communication needs may come into contact with many more people once they are adults. New environments bring new people into the picture. Appointments in the community also involve new people. It can be helpful to have some strategies in place for sharing information quickly and easily around communication strategies and personal preferences. 
 - Have photographs available to show others quickly how you like things done or set up (e.g. mounting of a speech generating device, location for charging device).
 - Use scripts to give directions to unfamiliar communication partners about how they can communicate with you.
- Look for apps that can be helpful in sharing information. Here's one that can be used to explain what's needed for a particular event or process. For example, you can create a short presentation on how to set up the mounting components for a speech generating device, focusing attention on the most important details.  Explain Everything Whiteboard app  is an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere.

It's a great idea to update a Communication Passport when high school is done. The Call Centre in Scotland has a template specifically for adults.  


Don't forget to add contact information to all of the pieces of your communication system. Being out in the community more often means there are lots more opportunities for things to get lost. 


Finding meaningful activities:

Hutton House promotes and supports persons with disabilities through learning and life enhancing programs that focus on each individual's strengths, abilities and interests. - See more at: http://www.huttonhouse.com/about-us#sthash.Ls38Xlpg.dpuf

Hutton House promotes and supports persons with disabilities through learning and life enhancing programs that focus on each individual's strengths, abilities and interests. - See more at: http://www.huttonhouse.com/about-us#sthash.Ls38Xlpg.dpuf

Hutton House promotes and supports persons with disabilities through learning and life enhancing programs that focus on each individual's strengths, abilities and interests. - See more at: http://www.huttonhouse.com/about-us#sthash.Ls38Xlpg.dpuf

AAC Leadership Course Communication Disabilities Access Canada (CDAC) offers this online course for adults over 18 years of age who use AAC. The course is designed to assist adults who use AAC to learn skills to support:

• Other adults who use AAC
• Clinicians working with children who use AAC and their families
• Students in disability fields
• Organizations to improve communication access to goods and services

The course contains lessons and assignments about:

• Effective communication
• Collaborative problem-solving
• Disability services and resources
• Communication rights
• Participating on committees
• Making presentations

Reach out and be inspired by those who have lead the way:

John Draper draws on his life experiences to help inspire accessible and inclusive communities.  He has won many awards recognizing his efforts to promote equality for all citizens through his presentations and resource development. John founded Together We Rock where they inspire learning and champion leadership to create accessible and inclusive communities.

 

Kevin is a university student, an author, and an athlete.  See his story  at I Am Able - Kevin Enners. 


Colin Philips is a young man who uses AAC.  He speaks about his experiences with transitioning into adulthood and realizing that he is gay. 

Check in with manufacturers for ideas and resources pertaining to adults.
Many of the companies that develop and produce AAC resources have information on their websites that is specific for certain age groups or topics. 

I can ...colour my world!!!

Why not nurture our budding artists by exploring different ways for our children to express themselves and create their very own masterpieces???  This month, we'll talk about some ways that your artists might become the next Picasso! 






Easy & Free Painting/Colouring Programs Online
 
ABCya Paint is a free online painting, colouring and drawing activity for students. Fun tools and accessories such as stickers, coloring pages, spray paint, stamps, typing, rainbow brushes and much more allow kids to be creative. Paint is a great app for kids to engage in digital storytelling. The pictures your students create can be saved to the computer and printed out to showcase to everyone!!!


Tux Paint is free computer art software for children.  It combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides children as they use the program.

 





The Escape Motions Flame Painter is a website where students create flame type swirls as they hold the left click button on the mouse and move the cursor of the mouse around. They can create multiple layers of flame and change the colour and other variables of the flame.  The creative piece can be shaved and shared via email or social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter).

Hello Kids has a simplified online drawing tool for beginners.  It works best in Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox web browsers (free and also available online).  This program allows students to try out different drawing effects with a single line and either save their work, or clear it off and start again.

At Online Colouring, you can choose from a library of hundreds of pictures that you would like to colour. Then, just pick a colour from the palette, then click on the section of the picture that you want to colour in.  You can erase your last action or clear your whole picture.  The pictures can also be printed as a paper copy.
 

How do I make these activities work? 
Although all of these activities require mouse input, you should be able to use any alternative access that behaves like a mouse (i.e. that using your access method, you can move a cursor on the computer and perform a click function). Some examples of this are using Mouse Keys that can be setup in the operating systems of your computer, or mouse controls on your high tech speech-generating device.  If you are unsure of how to make this work for your student, speak to your TVCC ACS clinicians.  

Using Eye Gaze?
Most of these activities should be accessible using eye tracking technology as well.  By having a switch, or another mode for the 'left mouse button' to depress, the paint brush will follow the path of the eyes and 'paint' when the mouse button (or switch, or software equivalent) is depressed. Talk with your ACS clinicians if you need some support around using this feature. 
Tip - For some colouring activities, students may find it useful if you 'magnify' the page so that the targets of the paintbrushes, colours, stickers etc. are bigger and easier to select. Check out the Display options in the Control Panel on your computer's operating system to make these changes. 

Say Cheese!!!
Another form of artistic expression can be through photography and/or videography.  Some companies have created digital cameras and video cameras that are accessible via switch for those who cannot manipulate the small buttons on an un-adapted camera. What a way to capture memories forever and to be able to dabble in the artistry of portraits, candid shots, lines, shadows, lighting, or the abstract!

Visit RJ Cooper's site to see a camera that has been adapted so that it can be controlled using switches.  You can set it up to use one switch to turn the camera or videocamera on/off,  and another switch to snap the photo or start the camera rolling! 

Many of the high tech speech generating devices that are available now have their own digital cameras built right into the device. Often, they can be setup so that the camera can be accessed in the same way that the communication messages are selected. Talk to your ACS clinicians for more information about this. 

Embellish Those Photos! 
There are lots of apps that will allow you to add personalized artistic touch to your photography.  You can get bright and crazy or go for a softer look.

Photo Booth for Windows and PhotoPad are two Windows-based versions of Photo Editors that can be downloaded for free.

Other tools for the Artist...
Paint n Swirl and Swirl Art are 2 products that are similar to each other and can help bring out your child's artistic expression! Paint colours are applied to a spinning blank card and using a switch to spin the card, your child can create a kaleidoscope of colorful designs. 


A Picture is worth a thousand words....but let's chat!
Remember that your artist needs to talk about the activity (give directions, make choices, comment, etc) as they are creating their masterpiece. Depending on the activity, a paper-based display may be a little more practical that having a high tech device in the mix (i.e. if it's a wet, messy project).  You may find communication boards that fit your activity on Boardmaker.    


There are no end of art activities happening in classrooms and at home every day. Try a quick Google or Pinterest search for art activities - the amount of ideas you will find is mind boggling!  Art activities provide a great opportunity to practice using some core vocabulary words and to model using some short phrases. Creating a new piece of art allows for repetition with variation. "Make it blue!", "Put it on", "more!", "stop", "look at that!", "Help me", "I like it!". The words and phrases that are modeled and used may be the same, but the "artistic" outcome will always be different!


Need some help?
Therapeutic Recreation support is available to TVCC clients if they wish to explore art in the community or at school to make it a successful experience.  Recreational therapists can look at the environment and opportunities and can help identify what barriers exist and what supports are needed for successful participation. Contact them directly (link above) or talk to one of your other TVCC clinicians.

I Can Share my love of AAC!

October is here and it is one of our favorite months. Outside, Fall is starting to look quite spectacular, we're feeling those cooler nights that are just right for snuggling under a blanket and, October is AAC Awareness month! Let's share our passion for AAC. Spread the word and encourage others to explore  activities that can open up the world of communication. This month we are sharing resources, ideas and words of inspiration, all related to sharing our message: AAC rocks!

Sometimes you just have to try it...
We often encourage others to try using a communication display or speech generating device, for all kinds of reasons. Those of us who are used to opening our mouths and letting the words come effortlessly can be brought to an abrupt halt when given a device to try. "How do I turn this on?", "I don't know where any of the vocabulary is", "It takes a long time to say something with this device".

Trying out an AAC strategy for even a few minutes can be eye opening and helps us all to understand a little bit more about how we can support our students who rely on these strategies every day.


Here are some ideas for activities for friends, family, the classroom and beyond!

In the classroom, there are lots of different activities that can allow everyone to learn about symbols, practice finding their locations and putting them together to make phrases and sentences. A couple of examples...

Core Word Bingo
Help students learn the locations of the core words on boards that are used in the classroom. Bingo games are quick and easy to set up, and can be played over and over. Make laminated copies of the core boards, with individual symbol cards for matching the called bingo item.You can find an example of a Core Word Board that we've used before in Boardmaker Share.

Making pizza
Everyone gets to choose what to put on their pizza when using their individual communication board. Create a masterpiece paper pizza or take it into the kitchen and make the real thing! You can find an example of a Pizza Activity that we've used before in Boardmaker.

Pull up a chair...
In the classroom, provide everyone with a symbol based place-mat and chat while you chew!

Come on in, grab a board! 
Have extra laminated communication displays available just inside the doorway of your classroom. Encourage your guests, other teachers, and the Principal to grab a board when they come in to see what's happening in your classroom and encourage them to give it a try. Peers or buddies are often very interested in trying to use communication displays.


AAC Awareness sessions for TVCC Augmentative Communication Service clients 
If your child or student currently receives services from ACS at TVCC, you can talk to your SLP or OT to arrange an AAC Awareness session in the classroom. Clinicians will customize the content for the grade level of the student who uses AAC and will bring along activities for students to practice what they have learned during the session. Just give your clinician a call to set a date.


Quiet coffee
A great way to encourage family members, school staff, grandparents groups and others to think about what's involved in using a symbol board, quick messaging device or more robust speech generating device in order to get their morning brew! Start this month's staff meeting with a 'quiet coffee'. You provide the coffee, snacks, and the experience. You can find an example of a Coffee Board to use in Boardmaker.

Talking with your mouth full...

Trying out some AAC strategies over a coffee is a great start. Why not make it more of an experience and extend it over lunch? Go to a local restaurant with a group of friends or colleagues and find out what it's like to use AAC in the community. Share some resources and help others understand how they can communicate more effectively with individuals who use AAC.



Make a day of it...
For those of us who use speech, keeping quiet for 15 minutes over a coffee break can be challenging. Using a communication display, facial expression and gestures to get what we need at lunchtime can be eye-opening. How about taking it to the next level, and trying to communicate using only AAC strategies for 24 hours?
In 2013, Ann McKenzie  (Communicative Disorders Assistant from Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham Kent) did just that. Ann took on the challenge of communicating only through gestures, writing and using an augmentative device, to get a better understanding of the struggles non-verbal children have when communicating with others on a daily basis. 

So? How did it feel? 

You tried using the personal communication symbol board. You ordered lunch with a Tobii, using your eyes to select the words. You played Snakes and Ladders using an iPad with a head pointer. How did it feel? What did you find out?  Maybe something like this......



"I didn't know how to turn the device on"
Our students need to take ownership of their AAC systems. They need their systems to be reliable, available when they have something that they want to say (which could be any time at all) and ready to go when they are.We can help our students by showing them how to turn on their device when they want to talk, or by giving them a way to indicate when they need their AAC system.
"I just didn't know where to find the words I needed"
It really is just like learning a new language. You need help to learn what those symbols represent (especially if someone took the written word away from the top of the symbol!). You need to know which words are stored on your device and where to go to find them. You need strategies to let people know when they haven't understood your message. Or, when you haven't got quite the right word to say what you wanted. It takes time, practice and learning. 
"The words I needed weren't on the device"
Perhaps you were able to use a strategy to get your point across. Apple = green fruit, good. Cabbage = green vegetable, bad. Or maybe you just got frustrated and went straight to your spelling page. Fortunately for you, you have great spelling skills and can easily point to those letters. Our students may be relying just on the symbol set in front of them. 
"Using your eyes is really tiring"
Some of our kids make using eye gaze look really easy. It's not. Trust me. It's hard on your eyes and makes you crazy! You just have to try it to find out for yourself. 
"I was kind of embarrassed to use the device in the restaurant"
Many of our students, particularly teens, are keenly aware that you may look a little different when you use something other than your voice to communicate. For some, device acceptance may take time.

"It was too hard. So I just stayed quiet."
It is hard. Particularly when you are just starting out. And that is why we all need a little help now and again. 

Join #AACfamily Friday with the Neider family! Check out the Uncommon Sense blog entry that swells with pride to be a part of such a special AAC family. Celebrate International AAC Awareness Month with them as they post a month of daily AAC related posts. Share your photographs and check back again every Friday in October to help spread the word with Maya and her family.



Help shape the future of AAC...
Ted Talks bring us unique viewpoints and compelling stories on a wide variety of different topics. Here's a wonderful talk related to changing the face, or rather voice, of speech generating technology as we know it.
"Many of those with severe speech disorders use a computerized device to communicate. Yet they choose between only a few voice options. That's why Stephen Hawking has an American accent, and why many people end up with the same voice, often to incongruous effect. Speech scientist Rupal Patel wanted to do something about this, and in this wonderful talk she shares her work to engineer unique voices for the voiceless." If you are interested in being part of this amazing initiative, find more information here: The Human Voicebank Initiative

I Can... Speak Up and Be Heard!

All too often, we take daily activities like ordering a coffee, shopping for groceries, reserving a taxi or calling to make a doctor's appointment for granted.  For the thousands of Canadians with communication disabilities, these are all tasks that may present significant barriers that need to be overcome.  There is a campaign across Canada to promote communication accessibility for those who have speech and language disabilities. In this issue, we will highlight some of the work that is being done by Communication Access Now (CAN) and how you can get involved. 

People who use AAC have the right to access goods and services (including essential services like police, health care and legal) in the same way as everyone else.  CAN's goal is to improve accessibility to goods and services, and to open up opportunities for all people who have speech and language disabilities.  It is operated by Communication Disabilities Access Canada (CDAC).

What are some of the barriers?
Too often, people who have speech and language disabilities experience major challenges in receiving appropriate goods and services because those who are providing the services:   

• May be afraid to talk to them
• May think they are hard of hearing
• May underestimate their abilities
• May not know how to communicate with them
• May not do simple things to provide access to services 

CAN provides information, education and resources related to communication access for: 

- Government, accessibility legislators and policy makers.
- Businesses, organizations and community services.
- People who have speech and language disabilities and their families.




Communication Access Symbol 
Have you seen this symbol around? Do you want to know what it is all about? 
The communication access symbol highlights the features of effective communication. Everyone benefits from effective communication, including people who have speech and language disabilities. The communication access symbol shows that communication:

• Involves two people 
• Is about interaction
• Is about giving as well as receiving information
• Is about listening and watching

Communication access means that people can:

• Understand what you are saying 
• Have you understand their messages 
• Use the communication methods that work best for them such as speech, gestures, writing, pointing to objects or pictures, spelling words, typing on a communication device or human assistance
• Read and understand your written information
• Sign documents and complete forms in ways that are accessible for them

Six Things to Know about Communication Access:

1. Communication access is good for everyone, including people who have speech and language disabilities.
2. Organizations are legally obliged to provide accessible services including accessible communication.
3. Access is more than getting into a building or having documents in alternate formats. It is also about how people interact, understand and express their thoughts. 
4. Businesses and organizations can do simple things so that customers, patients and clients can communicate effectively with them.
5. Lack of effective communication can result in serious consequences, especially in essential health, legal and justice services.
6. In critical communication services, communication access means having protocols, staff training, communication assistance services and communication tools.

Join the discussion on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Communication-Disabilities-Access-Canada/167031386664276 


I Can.....Move on to New Challenges!

 
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” 

Leo Buscaglia

We would like to extend our gratitude and heartfelt thanks to someone who has touched the lives of many of our children and families in the Augmentative Communication Service here at Thames Valley Children's Centre. Kristel Pallant is an Occupational Therapist who worked in ACS for many years. Kristel was one of the original team who started the I Can Blog (back then a humble newsletter!) back in May 2007, and worked tirelessly to move it into a blog format. This June, Kristel decided to take on some new challenges in another position at the Centre. We miss her in Augmentative Communication, but wish Kristel the best of luck in her new adventures! 

Lights, Camera, Action!!!

On August 29 2014, a dynamic group of actors hit the stage and performed 6 different plays at the Spriet Family Theatre in London, Ontario. The TVCC actors, together with volunteers from Original Kids Theatre Company, performed the plays they had been rehearsing all week, using their speech generating devices to deliver their lines. Everybody was very excited to show his or her skills in acting and performing. It was an amazing show!!! 

 

I can...say thank you!

The African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child" rings especially true for the amazing people who support kids who use augmentative communication .  Supportive families, educators and community members are instrumental in the successful use of AC. This month, we'd like to recognize some of the dedicated people who try things out when there isn't certainty, who share their creative ideas, and who look for opportunities for their students to improve their active participation by using augmentative communication. We are so grateful to all those who support people who use AC. Have a great summer and we'll see you back in September!


There are so many people who we could feature in this month's blog!  We asked TVCC ACS clinicians to share some of the success stories that they see every day.  If you want to share your success stories, please contact us.

Mary & Sophie

Mary is an Educational Assistant at Ryerson Public School in London, ON who supports Sophie's communication using a variety of means including a communication dictionary, low tech symbol use and use of a speech generating device.  Sophie has difficulty with her vision and movement which makes touching symbols or a device tricky.  Mary is helping Sophie learn how to use switches that connect to a computer or device.  Mary is also helping Sophie learn how to use automatic and  step scanning to be able to make choices.  Mary has a great connection with Sophie and is dedicated to helping her discover how using augmentative communication can help her learn new things and develop friendships with her classmates and community.     

 Janet & Ethan
Janet Lyle is an Educational Assistant at Mitchell Hepburn Public School in St. Thomas, ON who supports Ethan's use of his voice recognition software in combination with a voice amplifier to help him meet his writing needs.  Janet has helped Ethan to learn the voice recognition commands that he needs to use with this specialized software.  Janet also sets up his laptop, microphone and amplifier so that he can be successful.  Janet has encouraged Ethan to increase his independence in writing using this system and as a result he is now producing a larger volume of work on his own.  Way to go Janet and Ethan!

 

Sabrina, Carrie & Ali
Sabrina is a Teacher and Carrie is an Educational Assistant at Mitchell Hepburn Public School in St. Thomas, ON.  They both work with Ali to help him discover how he can use low tech and high tech ways to engage in writing. For example, they use a carpet square with Velcro letters and sight words to let Ali explore words and letters.  This allows Ali the ability to interact with the letters and words on his own.

Graham, Roseann, Nancy & Jorja

Graham is a Teacher and Rosann and Nancy are Educational Assistants at Fairmont Public School in London, ON.  They support Jorja's communication using a variety of means including use of a communication dictionary, use of an encoded core vocabulary on an eye gaze frame and use of a speech generating device. This team excels because they provide opportunities for communication throughout the day and model core vocabulary.  Graham has incorporated all Jorja's communication goals with her curriculum goals to help use core vocabulary to meet her educational needs.

Shelley & Jackson

Shelley is Jackson's Educational Assistant at John Wise Public School in St. Thomas, ON. Shelley is helping Jackson to gain more independence when using the computer.  He is currently using automatic scanning in Clicker 5 to participate in writing activities.  Shelley has learned how to use the software and customize new activities for Jackson.  Way to go!

Ms. Fredericks, Mrs. Pawlak, 

Noah & Hunter 

Mrs. Fredrick and Mrs. Pawlak at Knollwood Park Public school have done a fantastic job of helping Noah to learn how to use his new speech generating device in the classroom.  They have set up a communication station with many tools for Noah's peers to learn about his communication system so peers can help him use it throughout the day.  Noah's friends like Hunter offer great support to Noah and remind his to use his device when he is not understood and also encourage him to create full sentences.  Mrs Fredrick finds creative ways to encourage Noah to communicate and use his device within the curriculum in the classroom.  Way to go team!

Kelly & William

Ms. Kelly Austin, classroom teacher at FD Roosevelt in London, ON, has been supportive of her student Will from the moment we started exploring Augmentative Communication strategies last fall. Ms. Austin, along with educational assistants Mrs. Hutter and Mrs. Bradford, have learned how to add words, symbols and pictures that meet William’s needs.  More importantly, they have helped him use it in a natural way throughout the school day, reminding him to “have your voice ready” so he can use it whenever he needs it.  The school team has been teaching William new vocabulary to help expand his language, but also to give him a way to joke with others, tell peers what he thinks, and express his good-natured self.  Ms. Austin and her team are always thinking of creative ways they can support students like Will in using AAC. They are using the strategies they’ve learned to incorporate a variety of symbols with other students in their class.  In her own words, Ms. Austin has been surprised and excited by how quickly Will has learned to use his device “to communicate new things, or use the symbols in new ways, all on his own.”

Ava & Lili, Sherry, Laura & Sue

A full-day kindergarten class at St. Jude’s Separate School is a busy place with lots of little voices exploring the world around them.  Among those voices is Ava’s; she uses the Touch Chat communication app to help her peers and school staff hear and understand what she wants or thinks.  Ava is able to talk about the weather and calendar at circle time, say her prayers, ask for help, participate in reading stories, and talk about her favourite activities just like her peers.  In addition to her own willingness to try new things, her success has been due to the wonderful team that supports her: Her mother, Lili, her teacher, Ms. Comiskey, and educational assistants, Ms. Boyce and Ms. McManus. In Lili’s own words, “As a parent, I try to do as much as I can for her but I recognize that it takes a dedicated team to make it all come together. The school team has been wonderful and are more than willing to do what it takes for Ava to succeed.”

Teachers and Educational Assistants at Ashley Oaks Public School

Teachers and Educational assistants in the Developmental Centre at Ashley Oaks Public School in London, ON, made communication a primary focus over this school year. They dedicated professional development time to learning more about Core vocabulary and partner assisted scanning, recognizing that putting these strategies in place could benefit all of the students under their care. Their enthusiasm and drive to learn more about what they could do to support students with complex communication needs was evident during the after school workshops. Now they are putting that knowledge into practice by creating core vocabulary boards for their classrooms and modeling language for the students throughout the day. Kudos to all of the team, the teachers in other classes at the school and the administrators who put their support behind the training, and  - thanks for going the extra mile for your students!