In my virtual Friday read aloud group that Joey participates in I read the book “The Day You Begin” by Jacqueline Woodson. It’s a beautiful book – in both the poetry of the words as well as the pictures. As an adult, I’d read it to myself when it arrived from Amazon and thought “This is perfect.” Of course, reading it silently to your adult self in your head is very different than reading it aloud to a group of energetic kindergarten and first graders on a hot June afternoon. Sometimes beauty gets lost in those moments.
And yet – Joey surprised me. He appeared attentive and alert throughout the story. Of course, it is always hard to tell over zoom, but over the last few months I’ve become more adept at reading the body language of bored children through the computer screen.
One of my favorite books to encourage children to discuss discrimination and racism is 
As our virtual learning school year has wrapped up in Northern Virginia, we are all left wondering what will be waiting for our students at the end of this summer “break”. The public schools are trying to figure out exactly how to walk the fine line between addressing a public health crisis while also maintaining high levels of instruction for children, and attempting to achieve programs that provide equity for all students. Truthfully, I am thankful I am not making the decisions. In the end, the decision made will inevitably leave many people frustrated. The truth is, there are no “right” decisions. 
This picture from AAC Coach says so much about the nature of success with communication when using AAC. A few years ago I chatted with a college student who was able to fluidly answer my questions while typing on her iPad. It seemed impossible the story she was sharing was true – that until middle school she had been treated as though she had a significant intellectual disability, denied access to inclusive classrooms, and overheard teachers making comments that her parents “should just institutionalize her”. Yet here was this put together, bright college student who only stuck out because she typed her replies to me instead of speaking them aloud. It would be easy to assume from that conversation that all she needed was typing lessons and an iPad – but it is so much more than that.
A few weeks ago I was able to watch a webinar from Lauren Enders in regards to fun activities to jumpstart AAC learning. Last week I shared how much the need for making our lessons fun and connecting with our students resonated with me, particularly as we begin to meet with our students in person and may feel pressured to make up for lost time.
