Kayla is a very energetic high school aged student who attends a small community high school in southeastern British Columbia. She has difficulty communicating and so her school and community team requested a technology solution that would help her communicate with both adults and peers. Additionally, they were looking for ways to support her modified educational program.
Just before Christmas, Kayla and her team received a new AAC device called the Springboard. This entry level dynamic display device allows Kayla’s team to set up communication boards that very specifically meet her communication needs for a wide variety of situations throughout her day.
Kayla took to her new device with great enthusiasm and her team reports that she uses the Springboard daily to set behavioural expectations, to choose activities throughout the day, to share news with others, to take messages to places around the school and to communicate with others in the community.
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A particularly exciting moment occurred when Kayla first used her Springboard spontaneously to communicate over the telephone.
Her team is also trying Intellitools with the Intellikeys alternate keyboard to help support Kayla’s educational program. She uses activities and overlays created by her Teaching Assistant, Colleen, to write letters, practice concepts (like colours) and read accessible books.
Both the Springboard and Intellitools package have proved to be very successful in helping Kayla integrate into her high school. Previously her program was delivered in a home setting as she experienced difficulty attending school. As a result of using her assistive technology, she is now attending school for a good part of every day. Her team couldn’t be more pleased. Their biggest challenge, according to Colleen, is keeping up with her progress and giving her enough choices on her communication boards and overlays!