There are 2 discussions listed. Please respond to each discussion. I added the scenario’s (presymbolic) so you know what the discussion is about along with reference material.

(Shae) As I was reading through the scenario I saw multiple different opportunities where Julie tried to communicate with her peers. The two that stood out to me were; first when Julie laughs about the car crashing in the sand box, and second would be where she helps put her boots on. When Julie laughs about the car crashing she is vocalizing that she is enjoying playing with her peers. When she helps put her boots on she is showing everyone that she is ready to go outside for recess.

Some strategies that could be used to expand presymbolic communication would be to ask Julie questions and wait for a response rather than tell her what is going to happen. For instance, instead of telling her she is finished with the calendar, the teacher could have asked her if she was finished or not. Then she could have also asked what comes after calendar time. This allows for Julie to be more interactive with her peers and use communication skills. Another strategy that they could use to help her elicit more communication skills would be to establish certain gestures to mean certain things. Such as touching her arms to mean she wants to put her coat on, or using excitement cues to mean she is ready to go outside. In this particular routine it did not mention a ton of different sounds or facial expressions, however, if the staff were to pick up on those types of things in relation to an activity then they would be able to use those to communicate with Julie.

(Renee)Hey everyone!

this was really hard for me! I kept reading it and reading it, where other than her being impatient to go outside, and she was crying because it was time to go in, was she communicating? So I looked at it some more and I thought, “what if she didn’t want to put her boots on?” or “what if she needed to say that she was not close enough to the calendar”? also what does “the boot hung on her foot” mean? was it not on the entire way and she needed to be able to say that it was not properly on?

if any of these are the case then I would say that if there was a simple switch wand on her chair with a variety of sounds that meet a certain function, then she would be able to say that she needed to be closer to the calendar with a specific sound meant for movement. If she didn’t want to put her boots on then she would also have a sound that reflect a “no” or “stop” which would then begin a dialog where her friends could then communicate the need for boots to her and allow her to make the decision.

I wanted to add that it is difficult to ask for water/food; how do we communicate that we want a drink if there is no cup or drinking fountain close by that we can point to or touch. It is difficult for Julie throughout the events from classroom to going outside to playing to going inside to communicate her choices. She cries when she is going back in, but is that because she doesn’t want to go in? a bug just bit her? there are a number of perceptions that one who doesn’t know her would/could come to.

I do not know if I am anywhere near the ball park on this, guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Reference Material:

https://www.unr.edu/ndsip/english/resources/tips/u…

https://www.unr.edu/ndsip/english/resources/tips/h…