Day 2: AT is the superhero of learning!

Today was another eye-opener day. We started the day watching a phenomenal video of Tyler Roy going through school. His story is very inspiring and makes me realize the following three things:

1. Support systems are essential. You need a family who will advocate for the child. This is really the first step. Parents/Guardians are the first intervention for children with different learning abilities. Other key players to help a child are circle of friends, OT, the school community, AT specialists, TA, SLP, and many many more. As a teacher I am very impressed with the supports in place, the ease of everyone to go from one thing to another, and understanding the technology.

2. Assistive technology is paramount to a students learning and ability to demonstrate their understanding. AT opened up so many venues for his life, not just academic, but games, and fun. It was really impressive to see the AT evolve with him as he grew up and learning what worked for him. It was also very nice to see that his AT evolved with the times. As more technology became readily available, having the team work with Tyler and the OT to make his life easier and to make his ability to complete a task much more efficient.

3. My biggest takeaway of all of this is that there are no such things as limitations. If you have the right support group in place and the right AT, the right tools, and the right motivation you can accomplish any goal you set. Perceived limitations are no longer limitations.

 Reflecting on my own practice I am glad that I have made the switch to Google Classroom. I now post all worksheets, all notes, all assignments, and all discussions on the classroom. When Barb said that digitizing texts makes it immediately accessible to all students will various types of learning, I realized that I have started to give access to all students no matter their learning abilities or adaptations.

If you haven't set up your GNSPES account I definitely recommend it. It has completely transformed how I teach and I have barely scratched the surface. It's super easy to log in -- just go here and use your same username and password that you would for Outlook Email.

Go here if you want to watch an excellent tutorial on how to set up and use Google Classroom: Tutorial Video

Here are 15 ways to communicate:

1. Speaking

2. Pictures

3. Writing

4. Gestures

5. Facial gestures

6. Pointing

7. Eye contact

8. Reading

9. Listening

10. Touch

11. Sounds (not speaking)

12. Symbols

13. Manipulatives (blocs, etc.)

14. Technology (AT)

15. Music or song

We've started looking at Proloquo in class today and it is an amazing tool to help students of various cognitive levels communicate. I am very much looking forward to developing this activity for our student! It was amazing to watch Enrique, Nick, and Ruby learn to communicate with people around them. The testimonies from families and support workers (SLP, Teachers, etc.) was very inspiring.

My current level of excitement!!

My three main takeaways for the day:

1. Communication is key. Communicating is the most important step in the education of a child. It is also important to know that all people will not communicate in traditional ways, especially when students are non verbal, or if they have any other type of disability.

2. With the right supports, tools, and motivation there is no such thing as a limitation. Anyone can do anything they set their mind to.

3. So far Proloquo seems to be an amazing tool for communication and has enhanced the lives dramatically of the three children I saw on the website (Enrique, Nick, and Ruby).