Communication

This is not a traditional lesson because I do not have a traditional classroom. My classroom is for children with moderate to severe disabilities. This is a lesson to teach two of my students who are non- verbal the power of communication. The first student is autistic, has ceberal palsy, and has a severe seizure disorder. The second student is non- verbal, has spina bifida, is in a wheel chair, and is autistic.
Lesson:Communicating choice.
Materials needed: IPAD mini with griffin survivor case, communication app. toys.
Procedure: The communication app for the IPAD has a two square grid and a four square grid. At first I will use a two square grid. With the IPAD I will take pictures of two toys, one that is "desired" and one that isn't. I will ask my student to touch the toy that he wishes to use. The app will say in a child's voice "I want the truck", the student gets the truck even if it is not really the toy he wants. Every 5 minutes I will ask the student to choose and we will play with his choice. If he chooses the picture of the toy he really loves he will quickly he learn the power of paying attention, making a choice and communication. The grid can be easily expanded to 4 items thus giving my student a more complex set of choices for mealtimes or art where he may be selecting foods or color crayons. The exciting part is that the IPAD mini is so user friendly, My students will no longer have to wait for me to bring my camera, print my pictures and laminate them and hunt down a boy who's voice I can use to record "I want" messages. It all available right now, as the lesson is unfolding. This gives such rich oppurtunities for my students to learn to communicate!
My second lesson is called "Task Completion"
Materials needed: IPAD mini, griffin survivor case, task apps.
Procedure: The IPAD mini has an app where you can take pictures of steps required to complete a task.
Task: Unpacking backpack upon arrival to school. The student completes the task by following pictures which you take ahead of time showing each step necessary to complete the task. When the task is completed, the step is checked off. You can use this procedure to teach independence skills to students who are not able to do anything independently. Again, it can be done quickly, in "real time" and with clear pictures of what is required. The two most important goals for a student in a moderate to severe classroom are to learn to communicate and to learn independence. The IPAD mini does both effeciently,. I can't wait to share it with my students!