Communication is a key focus for our school in 2021. We will be explicitly teaching visual communication across our school through a focus Core Word of the week. Each week a new focus core word will be introduced. Each core word will be explicitly taught and modelled daily using a variety of multimodal resources such as the Core Word poster, PODD books, individual symbols, key sign and communication systems on the iPad.  Our first 10 Core Words will be:

1. Go
2. Stop
3. Look
4. Where
5. see
6. want
7. when
8. In/out
9. On/off
10. Up/down

Another incentive will be the ‘I have something to say’ wrist band. How do you get someone’s attention if you can’t call out? How can you tell someone that you don’t just want to smile, or that you aren’t just stretching, but that you actually raising your hand on purpose because you want to start chatting?  Whether you use a PODD, Proloquo2go on the iPad or another AAC system (communication device), the wristbands mean you can move or raise your arm to tell someone that you ‘have something to say’ and that you need your communication system.

As a parent, teacher, carer or therapist, you can teach initiating communication by wearing a band and modelling when you “have something to say” too. If your child comes home with a wrist band on you know why and how to support their communication.

Kind regards,

Shellie