Proloquo2Go -- learning to create boards and use this technology

July 7th, 2016

Why not give kids assistive tools for speech? Why do we think this is a problem? Lots of people think that if kids are using tools such as Proloquo they will not learn to speak "normally", but among other things this denies the fact that there are many valid ways to communicate and not all involve oral communication. If the point is to get kids to communicate their needs and wants with us, does it matter in what way they do so?  

We expect all our neurotypical and abled students to learn greater and greater independence. That's the point of teaching. We are preparing them for life after school. We need to seek the same goals for our students who have disabilities, too! 

It feels like we're further along than Day 3. We're busy working on our Proloquo board, and while it's a great tool we're finding the set-up a bit frustrating. How do we move folders around the board? What actions and words are necessary,and which ones are superfluous? I can see why this should be a team set-up project; I could not imagine doing this effectively all on my own. It's great to have a partner to work with.

Ok. Gradually figuring out how this tech works. Again, while I think this is a fantastic tool, I can see why it should be collaborative rather than individual. There were so many ways of communicating -- different vocab words, sentence arrangements,etc -- that I would not have thought of had I been working on my own. However, I don't see this as a bad thing, given that collaboration with the student as well as the support of a strong team is so essential for student success. Having to work together is a great way to keep us from isolating ourselves. I think that proper training not just in the use of the technology but in the skills of working as a team would be essential -- otherwise I can see teachers, with our busy schedules, putting the Proloquo tool on the list of "Things I Need To Do", and neglecting it.
Sample board from Proloquo2Go