July 16th - Boardmaker Plus

I have used Boardmaker for several years now, generally to make PECS (Picture Exchange Comunication Systems) for non verbal children and students with a range of disabilities. Visual symbols, schedules and social stories have also become essential for the support of students with Autism and for those who find it difficult to focus on what is required of them in the here and now.

Armed with this experience I expected to be able to develop a project that met the requirements of the assignment.

Boardmaker Plus is so much more than Boardmaker!

Making books and interactive communication boards in different layers is an amazing way to expand the effective use of this program.

About 15 years ago, I worked with a completely non verbal student with Cerebral Palsy who enetered school for the first time when he was in Grade 3. We had to develop a communication system for him so that he could interact with us and we would be able to discover what he knew, what he could do and what his strengths were. It was a long process of learning for us all. Using Layers of Communication Boards his responses to us were made using eye movement. He was completely dependent on the Adults who worked with him to follow his train of thought and ensure the correct board of choices was in front of him and that they read his eye movement correctly. It was frustrating for him much of the time.

Can you imagine how well Boardmaker Plus could have supported him? How much more quickly and easily he would have been able to communicate his messages - and to be able to do so independently! We really have moved on.

No matter how hard the technology is to master - this is the reason we must keep trying!