Engineering the Classroom:
Deep Within the Trenches

SET-BC, Coquitlam and Central Okanagan School Districts
recently hosted presentations by Dr. Carol Goossens on engineering the classroom for non-speaking students. Carol is a speech language pathologist and special educator who has extensive experience working with non-speaking children in the classroom. She is a classroom consultant to New York City Schools, the United Cerebral Palsy Association, and the Birch Early Childhood Center. She has co-authored 11 clinical books and is known for her ability to provide practical and proven AAC strategies.

Carol focused on students who are in the process of acquiring language and are functioning below a four year old level. She showed slides and videotapes to illustrate classroom intervention strategies and demonstrated a wide range of techniques and ideas for creating and storing AAC materials. Over 150 people attended Carol's presentations and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

"Amazing presentation. A wonderful demonstration of AAC possibilities."

"Carol Goossens is wonderful - thank you for all your creative, concrete activities."

"Superb - knowledge, organization, all round information."

"Intelligent, entertaining. It was a brilliant presentation."

"Thank you so much. You really encouraged me. I wish you could visit some of my children."

"Carol is brilliant! Best presentation I've been to in years!"

Anna Krueger, a speech-language pathologist, has been using symbols for songs and other activities. She writes about her experiences in engineering communication environments both before and after Carol's workshop.