Help me give my students the chance and ability to do what comes naturally to most. The iPads will be used to put a communication device that my nonverbal and partially verbal students can use to express themselves.
I currently teach at a separate setting school that educates children from the ages of 3-22 with severe and profound special needs. I get the pleasure of teaching my littles that are newly diagnosed at age 3 and I keep them until they go to kindergarten. A lot of children have never been in any school setting and are coming straight from home. For the most part, my students are nonverbal and need intensive specific help to gain the academics and functional skills in order to go to kindergarten. I get my students when they may not be able to feed themselves, may not know how to play, sit, and learn. What amazes me year after year, is how my students grow and develop with the love and guidance of their teaching staff and their families. You don't understand the wonderful things you are doing until you see a child walk for the very first time at the age of 3, watch a child eat with utensils independently at the age of 4, say their first word or watch a child respond to their name.
My Project
My students are nonverbal and cannot communicate their wants and needs adequately. The iPads will be used in conjunction with our Core vocabulary to give our students the chance and ability to communicate with their families, teachers, and peers. We use a communication app that is installed on the iPads that match our core words. When the students are using the iPad it becomes their voice. They are able to express their wants, needs, respond and ask questions, and become "verbal." Some of my students may never speak verbally but having these iPads coupled with our communication app gives them the ability to speak.
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