Taking Communication on the Road!

Taking Communication on the Road!
Taking Communication on the Road! On the last day of school, I was talking to one of my student’s mother and she was discussing their plans to go on summer vacation. It was a fun trip to the beach, which is a good 6 hour drive from where she lives. They had been very careful when planning “to think of everything, “including a beach wheelchair. She also asked me to help her make some “beach overlays” so her daughter would have appropriate vocabulary while they were there. We had fun for the next hour creating overlays for the beach, shopping, restaurants, and hotel. With the Smart Series Communicator’s capability to have limitless levels we were able to add overlays for every situation. Using Overlay Designer Pro software, we were able to make the overlays and record the sound files on the spot and add some fun sound effects like sea gulls and the sound of the waves. We even used images found on the internet of the actual hotel, beach and shopping centers they would be visiting to use as visual scenes. With the overlays completed on the computer, we printed out the overlays and burned the flash memory card. I provided the mom with a small organizer (meant for organizing coupons) to keep the flash cards for each overlay that easily fit in her purse. On my way home I realized that we had left out one crucial location…the car! 6 hours with nothing to say! No way! So I set out to create activities. The example show in this article is the I Spy activity. If you activate the car window in the scene it cues the partner that the object spied is outside the car. It’s a wonderful idea even for everyday travel. Why not practice communication in the car too! I also came up with an overlay for the radio because that conversation often comes up in a car as well. When making car activities think back to your days as a child. What games did you play? Was it the license plate game or maybe “punch bug”? Playing car games on trips as a child is for some, a family tradition. So make sure to ask the parents what games they used to play during road trips in the car and incorporate them as well. The car is a great place for reinforcing socialization skills and focusing on communication interaction. I dropped the overlays for the Smart Series and the flash card off with the mother who was eager to try them before the trip. I received a phone call two days later from her to happily tell me how much they both are enjoying the overlays and how much she appreciated having “typical car moments” such as answering 50 times “Are we there yet!”
Stimulating Conversation With opportunities for school districts to purchase new equipment and materials using stimulus money during the next two years it is important to invest wisely. Please visit www.amdi.net or call and request a catalog to view all the wonderful communication options available from AMDi. Including the pre-made, pre-recorded, national content standard, grade level expectation aligned Smart Ease activities. These activities address general curricular content and increase communication skills. Many come with resource CDs complete with worksheets and activities. The Smart Ease activities fit both the Smart series and Tech series of AMDi devices.