A group of fourth grade students at Baggaley Elementary School now have a better understanding of alternative communication methods.

Students in Elizabeth Frescura’s class are reading the novel “Out of My Mind” by Sharon M. Draper. The story centers around a girl with cerebral palsy who uses word cards and then a computer to communicate with others.

To give students a better understanding of what the main character experienced in the novel, Baggaley’s speech language pathologist, Annie Brandt, spoke to the class about alternative forms of communication and had students participate in activities involving different communication methods.

In the first activity, students were charged with creating a list of 75 words that they thought were the most important. For the rest of the activity, they were allowed to use only that list to communicate.

“Communicating is more than asking for a glass of water,” Brandt said. “It’s saying, ‘I love you,’ and being able to express your emotions. They weren’t able to do that with the word cards that they created.”

Brandt said the goal of the activities was to give students a better sense of how frustrating it can be when people are not able to communicate to their fullest ability. Students have attended multiple presentations throughout the school year where they have watched Brandt demonstrate different communication devices.

“There are many different reasons that individuals might need to use a communication device,” Brandt said. “Spreading awareness is a big step to building acceptance for people who communicate differently.”

Students also participated in a demonstration of an eye-gaze communication device brought in by Mark Sauka, a Tobii Dynavox senior solutions consultant. The global company specializes in assistive technology for communication. One of their products is the eye-gaze device that tracks the user’s eye movements and generates speech for them.

“Each student had a few minutes to sit in front of the eye-tracking device that I had brought in and try it for themselves,” Sauka said. “By the time we had worked through the entire class, students were asking the student that was behind the device specific questions. The person using the device would answer the questions as if they needed the device, as if they didn’t have their own voice.”

Sauka said, as a consultant, he normally visits with specific students who will be trying new speech equipment. The demonstration was the first time he was involved in a classroom with “normally functioning” children.

“That presentation was a one-of-a-kind thing,” Sauka said. “It was an interesting dynamic between the teacher and the speech therapist collaborating in the classroom to supplement what the students were reading with a presentation by myself with our equipment.”

Sauka said he and other Tobii Dynavox team members often discuss how a lack of awareness is the biggest roadblock in the industry.

“(The presentation) was a great opportunity to raise awareness,” Sauka said. “In today’s world, it seems that kids are on the forefront of technology. Oftentimes, they’re the ones teaching their parents and grandparents about technology. They can be the ones bringing that awareness when a device is needed and that this type of technology is available to the folks that need it.”

Brandt said the students initiated the special lesson when they began reading the book. They asked Frescura multiple times why the character was not using a device like “Mrs. Brandt had shown (them).”

“We want to show our kids that we accept differences and that differences are just that,” Brandt said. “I think these exposures are so important because they are now asking these questions, and they were able to use a device directly and really empathize with someone who needs that help to be successful.”

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