I can't help but think back to all the students that I saw when I was a young learner. I feel that had we access to all of this technology, maybe these students would be better accepted in the classroom and the school society. I know that students were often not inclusive of these kids because they didn't understand how they were different or how to communicate with them.
Something that I have struggled with these past couple days is the fact that all this technology and all these resources exist, and yet I have never seen any of it in my schools. Granted, I do teach immersion classes at the high school level and these typically do not come with a lot of high needs students, but I feel that there are a lot of other learners in my school. I few years ago I did have a student who was on the Autism spectrum, but he definitely did not have access to any of this technology. He was able to speak a bit, but not in complete sentences, and definitely not always able to. I feel that had he had access to these tools, especially Proloquo2go, he would have been able to communicate much more effectively. (Maybe he did have access to all of this technology, but there was no evidence of it.) I also feel that my school board is woefully behind the times when it comes to AT and AAC. But again, I don't work often in the resource room, or the learning centre and may not see everything that does happen.
Watching the video on Aided Language made me realize that teaching and working with students who use AAC is very similar to teaching students in an immersion program or a second language program. For anyone who has taught Core French, you definitely understand how important it is to use visual aids to form those neurological pathways in the brain. Our primary goal is to operate in that second language always and to build an innate/natural vocabulary. I can directly associate this to what the video was talking about. It is important to always work in that second language, just like it is important to always work with the pictures and/or the technology.
As I have been going through this class, I can't help but reflect on the first time I had encountered someone on the Autism Spectrum. Sadly it wasn't in person, but it was in a book written by a teenager with Aspergers. I definitely recommend this book to anyone! It's a really interesting insight into his mind and how he thinks and processes things. He has a great style for writing and investigative mind :)
My three main takeaways for today:
1. All the activities presented today are very much inclusive and can be presented in a variety of classrooms and at a variety of levels. It is good to see that students who use AAC can very much be included in activities. The inclusion model definitely works like this. I feel that if all school boards and districts were up to par and up to date with AAC there would be much less discussion and comments about how "inclusion doesn't work".
2. A student who uses AAC and AT should be treated similarly to students who are learning a second language. Immersion into the program/language, pictures to show understanding and building vocabulary are all very important components to competencies and abilities.
3. After the first week of classes, I have realized that it is important to me to learn more about AAC and AT, especially in my school and my school board. It is truly amazing how much I don't know and how much I have to learn. I am a person who likes to be prepared, and taking this class has shown me that there is a lot to learn, and a lot more questions to ask. I am looking forward to learning more over the next couple weeks!
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