Communication Systems
A toddler learns to take turns playing an instrument in music class. A student in Perkins Lower School reviews his schedule for the day by touching the tangible object symbols representing each activity. In the Deafblind Program a student uses picture cards to practice forming simple sentences.
At any given moment on Perkins campus students who are blind, visually impaired, deafblind and with or without other disabilities are practicing the fundamental and yet infinitely profound skill of communication. In every class and activity they are learning to express themselves and interact with others.
“All of our interactions with students use a conversational approach … I think the way we converse with our students is very unique,” says Marianne Riggio, co-editor of the Perkins Publication, Remarkable Conversations.
Continued from Perkins Insight eNews...
In Perkins Early Learning Center, Elizabeth Torrey introduces preschoolers to communication skills through turn taking and social interaction. During morning circle time students sing songs, taking turns introducing themselves and greeting their classmates.
Before going home, teachers help the students record messages about what they did that day using large round button switches. The toddlers hit the switch to play the recordings at home. To continue the back and forth communication, parents will record messages with the children at night so the toddlers can share what they did with their families with classmates at the next morning circle.
“Some students can vocalize and record some of their own messages. Sometimes the more verbal students will help others,” Torrey explains.
In a preschool classroom, Torrey places two tangible object symbols in front of a student named Jenny. The symbols, made in Perkins Assistive Device Center, have objects embedded into rectangles made from triwall with printed words and sometimes braille labels. Jenny touches the symbol with the small toy bus, letting Torrey know she wants to sing “Wheels on the Bus.” Torrey holds onto the toy bus with Jenny moving it together as they sing the line, “The windows on the bus go up and down.”
At other times during the class, Jenny hits the appropriate button switch for “yes” or “no” when Torrey asks if she wants to do a certain activity. She decides to play with the keyboard, relishing in the different sounds she can make – from car horns to jingle bells – as she explores the keys. After a couple minutes, Torrey lets Jenny know it’s her turn to play.
“A lot is about learning to appropriately express themselves and make choices,” Torrey says, explaining that students who have trouble communicating what they want can resort to acting out.
During an early literacy activity in Karen Brody’s Lower School speech and language therapy class, teachers work with two students to read the book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” Nicholas, 9, uses a communication device with four different recorded messages. He hits the button with his own picture and name when he wants to say “my turn.” When he hits the button with a picture symbol representing the word “pass,” the device’s message announces, “here you go,” and Nicholas hands the book to his classmate.
“Books provide a wonderful structure for communication and language development,” says Brody, who takes out a box filled with the actual objects referenced in the story. A student named Edy holds a pretend cookie while Nicholas pretends to drink from the cup in his hand as Daisy Lee, a clinical aid, reads about the mouse asking for a glass of milk.
Story boxes filled with objects to go along with stories help students to more fully grasp language concepts. Brody also uses category boxes for this purpose. For example, a kitchen box might include dishes, silverware, and bowls. A student learns to identify the named object by touch and talks about what the object is used for, where it goes, and what other items you might use with it. The goal, Brody says, is slowly building language concepts and communication abilities.
“We want our students to be able to initiate letting you know what they want - not only respond when you ask them a question,” Brody says.
Structured routines and activities provide the context for teaching language concepts and communication. At Perkins, many students use calendar systems outlining the days schedule incorporating tangible objects, pictures, and print or braille words.
In preschool, each student has a calendar box with tangible object symbols – such as a cup embedded into triwall to represent snack time. The symbols are attached to the front of the box with Velcro and once each activity is completed, the student takes the symbol off and puts it in the box to acknowledge that part of the day is finished. Students learn many critical language and cognitive skills through the use of calendar systems, including helping them to anticipate what is about to happen which reduces anxiety and helps address behavioral problems.
“Once they understand there’s a schedule there is a sense of control … they might be hungry but when they understand snack is the next class they're much calmer,” Brody explains.
“What we’re always trying to do is make sure we are exposing the child to the next higher language level,” says Marianne Riggio, co-editor of Remarkable Conversations – A Guide to Developing Meaningful Communication with Children and Young Adults Who Are Deafblind. Maintaining a strong partnership between educators and families is a critical element of developing a child’s communication, Riggio stresses. This collaboration is looked at more closely in the Perkins on-demand webcast, “The Communication Portfolio,” presented by Susan DeCaluwe.
A communication portfolio is a book developed jointly by families and care providers to explain how a child is communicating in every activity throughout the day and offer background on the child’s education, interests, medical issues, etc. Portfolios often include “bio poems” written by families and educational team members. The poems introduce the individual child listing his or her personality traits, favorite things to do, fears, and dreams.
“We need to listen to families. They’ve watched their children since the time they were born,” DeCaluwe says. “If we can join forces with the family to create an educational program that will meet their child’s needs, I think that’s what this whole process is about.”
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