We start each of our staff meetings with celebrations, whether it’s a personal celebration, family celebration, or student/classroom celebration. In this meeting one teacher wanted to celebrate one of her students. It was his progress on his communication goal, and it was a big one! His accomplishment was celebrated with laughter, applause, exclamations of “wow”, and a reminder to always treat our students with ALL disabilities the respect they deserve. Especially in the area of “age appropriate.”
Communication for students with severe disabilities can be challenging. Especially for those students whose mode of communication is primarily vocalizations (cry, laugh, sounds, etc.), facial expressions (smile, frown, pout, etc.), and gestures (point, nod, nudge, etc.). These students are the reasons why we have communication devices, pictures, items, etc. With a lot of teaching, training, and practice, our students get it… and use it very effectively. So, needless to say, parents and educators alike are very excited when all the teaching, training, and practice leads to effective communication, which was the case with Mr. B, a middle schooler.
Everybody knew he could communicate. He was way too intentional with his vocalizations, facial expressions, and gestures. The task for his teacher, speech therapist, and family was to find a form of communication that Mr. B. could use to reliably communicate his needs, wants, desires, and feelings. Because Mr. B. could access and appropriately use an iPad for games, it was decided that an iPad would be the way to go.
The iPad was set-up with the home page, a core word page (I, I am, I want, no, stop, yes, go, etc.), and secondary pages for leisure, meals/food/drink, places to go, pictures pertinent to his home life and family (mom, dad, sister, baby, dog, etc.), and a keyboard to type. After much practice, here is the message Mr. B. independently relayed to his teacher and speech therapist, “I no baby!” Needless to say, they were shocked!
How many students, if they could do so, type the same message? How many of us forget to match our students age with age appropriate activities? Or, as close to age appropriate as possible. Or talk to them, and treat them as the tweens, teens, young adults, and adults that they are? Mr. B’s powerful statement, “I no baby,” is a reminder to us all that our students—no matter their communication style or ability—have voices, thoughts, and identities that deserve to be heard and respected.
When we begin with confidence in their abilities, approach with high expectations, provide the right tools, and honor their age and stage of life, we not only open doors to communication but also affirm their dignity. Let’s continue to celebrate every milestone while holding ourselves accountable to treat all students as the individuals they are—growing, capable, and deserving of age-appropriate respect and opportunities.
