Help My Preschoolers With Autism Find Their Voices!
I need to attend the PROMPT conference in order to use the highly effective technique with the children on my caseload.
$1,081 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My caseload is mainly made up of preschoolers with autism ranging from 3 to 5 years of age. They are amazing tiny humans who view the world in such a special way, and I would love to help them share their thoughts and needs with other people. Most of the children I work with are preverbal, meaning they do not yet speak, but we work hard daily to help them communicate effectively. Seeing each child find their voice is truly one of the most gratifying and fulfilling things I have ever experienced!
My Project
PROMPT is a highly researched therapy technique used by speech pathologists to help individuals learn how to move their lips, jaw, and tongue in order to correctly make the sounds needed to speak. It is the "gold standard" of therapy for children with speech production disorders, especially a disorder called apraxia. Apraxia is a motor panning disorder, meaning that the individual's brain does not send the correct signals to their mouth in order to form words.
Many children with autism also have apraxia of speech, which makes it difficult for them to produce understandable words or phrases.
As a result, these children are often very difficult to understand, or are completely unable to make any sounds. This tends to lead to frustration and problem behaviors because the individuals are unable to effectively communicate their wants, needs, and thoughts. The good news is that intensive early intervention has been proven to help children overcome these difficulties and learn to speak more clearly!
Your donation will help me get the training I need to help children with apraxia and other speech production disorders find their voices!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Russo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
