My students need visual schedules and prompts, so a color printer and toner is needed in our classroom to provide these visual systems promptly and effectively.
Imagine how frustrating it may be to not have the capability to communicate your wants and needs. Children with severe language delays, such as my students, can often present with behavioral issues due to this very frustration. Thankfully, research has shown there are tools for communication.
This year, my students are between the ages of 3 and 4 years old.
They all have language delays, and most have cognitive delays as well. Some are severely impacted by their developmental delays, and some are less so -- but all have communication difficulties. The difficulties with communication range from not being able to understand simple, routine concepts such as "Sit down," or "Come here," and not being able to understand contextual concepts such as "Hands to self," or "I don't like that." As we are located on a general education campus, it is of utmost importance that my students are able to understand and follow basic instructions for safety purposes (e.g.. "Stop" or "Wait"). Furthermore, in order to participate in school-wide activities and events -- including lunch in the cafeteria -- students will need to understand, follow, and even expressively use directives such as "Follow me," "Quiet," and/or "I need help." Currently, my students have difficulty with these concepts.
My Project
I am requesting a color printer with cartridges to help off-set costs for printing (and thus make more readily available) visual communication tools. We are currently working with a monochrome laser printer that requires a makeshift paper tray and lots of patience to operate at a barely effective level. Because of the nature of early childhood special education, not only do we need to print out picture communication tools (i.e.. picture schedules, picture prompts), but we also use our printer to print out IEP documents during and after IEP meetings. We also print out monthly newsletters and other forms of communication, which is especially important for those families without easy access to the Internet. Because of our location on a general education campus, we are limited in our office supply resources. A new printer and plenty of toner to last us a school year will be helpful in our ability to be effective and professional in our teaching and other duties.
My students have great communication needs.
Visual prompts such as picture systems have been shown to be a highly effective tool for teaching and providing communication skills. I would like to provide the opportunity for my students to communicate their needs and wants in a way that will allow them to be successful in any environment. Not only will this be helpful in their ability to communicate, but will also decrease behavioral issues stemming from language delays.
More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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