When I returned from my month away, Joey had all sorts of new words added to his device. At first I was surprised to see so many new words had been added in such a short period of time, but as I watched him maneuver around his screen I was excited by his growth. He seemed to quickly understand that these new words gave him a greater capacity to communicate with us. [Read more…]
Fire Engines A Lot
I held up two books and ask Joey which one he wanted to read. He said “fire engine” with his eye gaze device, and then looked at Curious George and the Fire Fighters that was hiding behind my chair and NOT one of the choices I offered. OK. Here’s the thing. When Joey and I read Curious George and the Fire Fighters we never actually get through the whole book. Sometimes I have a compulsion to finish a book, and so this pattern drives me a bit crazy. So I don’t always offer Curious George and the Fire Fighters as an option. “Fire engine” Joey said again. [Read more…]
Reconnecting
Unfortunately, Joey and I were apart for almost a full month in April because I broke my ankle and couldn’t drive. It was wonderful to finally get back to see him last week. In just a month it seemed that he’d grown multiple inches! I was hoping that we’d easily get right back into our familiar pattern, and I hadn’t planned to do anything different or out of the ordinary during our sessions. I was excited to read Harry the Dirty Dog with him, so I dove right in with my plans. [Read more…]
Preparing Harry the Dirty Dog to read with Joey
I’m very excited about introducing Joey to anothe
r of my favorite books – Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion. For those of you not familiar with the story, Harry is a white dog with black spots who hates baths. One day he runs away from home and becomes so dirty that when he finally returns home his family no longer recognizes him, even when he does all his tricks. Finally, he runs into the bathtub and begs for the family to give him a bath. Once he’s clean, the family realizes that the dog in their tub is actually Harry and Harry learns that baths aren’t so bad after all. [Read more…]
Prompting Hierarchy for Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Before I became a special education teacher I hadn’t put much thought into prompting, different types of prompts, or how important it is to be aware of the prompts we give our students. Yet now, I think of a strong understanding of prompts with wait time to be one of the most important gifts we can give our students. So of course, I was thrilled when I came across this prompting hierarchy chart made specifically for students using Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices, by Kate Ahmed and Shelane Nielson.*
Using this prompting hierarchy communicates respect and high expectation to the student, encouraging him to do his best. We start at the top, creating motivation and opportunities for the child to express himself. Only after the child is unresponsive do we move down the chart. [Read more…]
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