December 1, 2009
Cool Communicators Holiday Gathering
KELOWNA, BC: At just .08% of the student population, Cool Communicators (students who use communication devices) still manage to throw one great holiday party. On December 2, 13 students from across School District No. 23 will take part in a gift exchange and other fun activities geared to help them gain greater independence and confidence using communication devices. This will be the first time at the event for nearly half of the participants. Also for the first time at this event, a student will be using new eye gaze technology.
“Tomorrow’s gathering is special for these students since it is one of the few opportunities they have to interact with others who reply on communication devices,” says Susan Rampone, a Registered Speech-Language Pathologist. In this District, 18 children in a student population of 21,000 use the devices. “It’s also good for their peers to see their friends in a very different milleu. They may be surprised by what their friends can do. The feedback from parents at previous events was very positive and supportive.”
Rampone and Heather MacNaughton each have worked in the District as Registered Speech-Language Pathologists for close to three decades. They have seen incredible advances in technology and an increase in accessibility. Rampone notes that just 10 years ago, there was “maybe one student using a communication device. The technology has significantly improved to allow more access.” There are many other students who require speech pathology services but do not use communication devices.
Guests at this event include 13 peers, parents, CEAs and four elves who are Grade 12 students at Kelowna Secondary School. Sarah MacDonald and Josh Rampone helped out at last year’s holiday gathering and Robyn Losch and Ashley Yarrow volunteered at the BC Lion’s Easter Seal Camp during the Cool Communicators’ week in the summer.
Another highlight of the event will be the opportunity for participants to see new eye gaze technology being used. “There are might be five students in the entire province who use this technology from DynaVox,” says Susan. “It’s very exciting to see how 12-year-old Taylor has learned to use it so quickly. There is a camera mounted on the device that is calibrated to track his eye movements. When he lingers on one area of the screen, it activates that particular word or command. The device includes two components: non-language such as wack-a-mole and other games, and language, which involves a larger cognitive load. He was able to access the non-language components very quickly. He’s done amazingly well.”
This event takes place in the gymnasium at the Hollywood Road Education Centre from approximately 9:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Activities
9:45 a.m.: Students, peers and parents begin arriving. They will receive photos of other participants then find the people and ask them (or their peer, adult or elves) novel questions to help them get to know each other.
10:45 a.m.: Students introduce their friends and themselves to the three new people. Rampone and MacNaughton have programmed specific vocabulary into each student’s device based on personal information provided prior to the event.
11:00 a.m.: Lunch
12:00 noon: Students always enjoy the piñata activity. Instead of candy, the piñata is full of Christmas cards and the name of the book they will receive as a gift.
12:30 p.m: This version of the gift exchange involves a guessing game to increase the communication opportunities and help the students get to know each other. Each student is asked to describe the person they bought a gift for and others will guess the receipient based on what they heard during the morning introductions.
All of the students at this event, with the exception of two, have received their speech generating devices through Special Education Technology BC (SETBC), which develops and provides assistive technologies to BC school districts to assist students with disabilities. Operating the devices may involve touching a screen or accessing a switch to produce an audible message. Some also have wireless internet and email capabilities. Two students obtained their devices through Sunny Hill Hospital’s “I Can Talk Too” program.
Information on speech generating devices can be found on these websites: www.setbc.org, www.dynavoxtech.com and www.prentrom.com
Approved by the Superintendent and Susan Rampone on December 1, 2009
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For comments, please contact:
Sue Rampone, Registered Speech-Language Pathologist, (250) 979-0029 ext. 111
Heather MacNaughton, Registered Speech-Language Pathologist, (250) 860-9729 ext. 6869
Hugh Gloster, Superintendent of Schools, (250) 860-8888
For background information, please contact Lisa Harrison lharriso@sd23.bc.ca or 470-3284.