May 5, 2015
SPED 3006 Students Present at Exceptional Children Directors’ Meeting
On Friday, May 1st, students in SPED 3006 (Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Students with Disabilities) presented their communication projects to the quarterly meeting of Exceptional Children (EC) Directors held at the Sadie Saulter Center in Greenville. Approximately 40 EC directors were in attendance for the day-long meeting. Students worked throughout the semester to create a multimodal communication device for a learner with complex communication needs ranging in age from 4 years to 18 years.
In collaboration with the learner’s teacher or parents, students assessed the learner’s communication needs, and then developed an individualized communication device for them. The communication devices ranged from high tech apps for the iPad to low tech eye gaze boards and a gesture dictionary. All students agreed that a poster presentation of their work to the EC Directors was a good place to demonstrate what they had learned this semester. For their part, the EC Directors were enthusiastic about the students’ work and in the professional demeanor in which the students conducted themselves.