Table 6. How Sidney Says DIFFERENT
What I Do FORM (CONTEXT)
What It Means FUNCTION MESSAGE
What YOU should do (PARTNERS) List 3 choices, saying... A is ___ B is ___ C is ___ D for “different choice” or “don’t know” Don’t ask her to look at choices that are far away, visually com- plex, unfamiliar, or when there is a lot of background noise.
What you should SAY and MODEL (PARTNERS) Encourage her to look at her choices when items are within 12”, familiar and/or not visually complex.
Confirmation signal of her choice from a list
Listens to and responds to choices. Using her voice to say “yeah,” she indicates which letter choice she wants: A, B, C or D when she hears it. If she is using her device to indicate choice, she activates switches which are positioned on her wheelchair headrest. She turns her head to activate the switches. Sometimes she quietly says “yeah” as she selects the first part of a longer sequence (self talk/affirmation).
When she says “D” ask if she needs more information.
Describe visually salient features to help her use her vision to see the difference(s) between her choices.
TEACH STUDENTS TO ASK FOR HELP OR CLARIFICATION Learning to ask for help provides students with opportunities for self-determination at a young age. Once we know that stu- dents have a way of asking for help, we can encourage them to make an attempt before asking for help. Understanding that visual novelty can impact a students comfort level, knowing that they can ask for help can also reduce stress. Asking for clarifica- tion is a complex social (pragmatic) skill that needs to start when students are young. This is particularly important for students whose visual systems are not the same as their typically sighted peers. Asking for clarification is not the same as answering/ask- ing a true/false question. Clarification statements are naturally offered to comfort young children (e.g., “You said you want some cake, but I don’t know which kind you want if you don’t tell me. I have chocolate and vanilla.”) Frequently students just need more information before making a choice. See examples in Table 7 below. Victor and Rachel have Phase I CVI. Sidney has Phase II CVI. See Table 7.
Table 7. Examples of How Students Ask for HELP
What I Do FORM (CONTEXT)
What It Means FUNCTION MESSAGE
What YOU should do (PARTNERS)
What you should SAY and MODEL (PARTNERS) You can raise your hand when you need help. Helper connects it to activity: “Do you want help to turn the pages?” If you can’t decide, you can tell me “I don’t know” and I’ll give you more information. MODEL saying “I don’t know” by touch- ing the red button on her tray to activate the message.
During shared reading, Victor says “mama” loudly
Request for help
Re-assure him that you are nearby. Quietly and gently touch his arm. Recognize that she did not accept the choices being offered after 3 repetitions.
Request for clarification
During independent writing, Rachel is choosing topic to write about. Rachel puts her head down when listening to the choices. To say “yes,” Rachael usually picks her head up when she hears what she wants. Sometimes Rachael doesn’t pick up her head which is her way of communicating “I don’t know.” During Predictable Chart Writing, Sidney repeatedly activates her switches without making a selec- tion on her device. Her face starts to look tight and flushed.
Waiting for more information
Looking for help
Ask her if she needs help finding a word. Offer to give a sugges- tion or show her how to find a word another student used.
Provide her with an example/ idea, using the Word Finder tool (in her device) to show the loca- tion of a word choice.
She can’t find the word she is looking for to add to the predict- able chart
For more information on Communication Partner Training, go to: • Angelman Syndrome Foundation Communication Series Training Webinar, link here. Maureen Nevers (2015) shares how our interactional style impacts the communication opportunities of our students.
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