I work with high school students with severe to profound disabilities. The majority of my students are non-verbal and use alternative methods of communication such as sign language, high and low tech speech generating devices, picture symbols, eye gazing and more.
My students take the lead in their speech therapy sessions, showing me how to unlock their communication potential!
Some students have learned to program their own speech devices, choose their own voices, and select their preferred picture symbols or photos.
There is never a dull moment in my speech office, from telling jokes on their devices to only wanting to talk about the prom and nothing else. I am in awe at what finally giving them a voice can do!
My Project
Students who are non-verbal finally have a voice with the amazing communication apps available on their classroom iPads; however, my students with severe physical, visual, and motor challenges struggle to access their words on the smaller screen of the standard iPads, even with proper positioning, specialized styluses, glasses and wheelchair mounting systems.
All students deserve the best chance at "speaking up" in their classrooms.
Let's bring their voices to life with an easier to access screen so that they can use their communication apps to talk just like their peers.
With a larger screen iPad, my students can have greater accuracy with message selection with more surface area to meet their vision and physical access needs. This will allow them to say what they want to say without the frustration of hitting the wrong messages.
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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. Erin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
