Starting with Sounds Our starting point was to assign sounds to switches. To assign sounds to the two switches, we used two recordable, single message switches (e.g., BIGmack by AbleNet) and the Garage Band App. Our team used a drum sound for one switch and a cymbal sound for the other (see Image 2). Any sound combina- tion will do; however, it’s essential that the sounds be distinctly different. We then plugged the head switches into the single message switches for Corinne to explore. Alternatively, with the right Bluetooth equipment, this can also be done by creating a recipe for an Apple device and having the head switches play directly in the app. For all of our students, once the switches have been assigned the sound, the students spend time playing with the switches and sounds without demands. It gives them a chance to explore and create music with the sounds. This is one of our students’ favorite activities. After they have had free time for exploration with the sounds, they get an opportunity to repeat a given sound. For example, the communication partner might play a drum beat and ask the student to play the drum beat with their switch. As the student becomes more proficient with repeating single sounds, the communication partner will
it would help address some of the challenges the student was facing with the new device. With the support of the entire educational team, we selected consistent terminology for her equipment. The scan switch was called “the mover,” and the select switch was called “the chooser.” We then assigned each switch with a unique sound. Once we had the sounds, we brainstormed ways we could teach the patterns for words using those sounds, and finally how we could use the sounds and patterns to create songs and activities to show where words lived and to give meaning to the language within the device. With CoreScanner, the words are separated into eight colored blocks each consisting of nine icons. Our team called them blocks and identified them both by cornerstone word and color. For example, the more block and the blue block both refer to the first cornerstone word in CoreScanner. Multiple songs were created for each of the blocks. Our team created three types of songs, creatively named: “Name That Tune,”“Instructional” and “MadLib” songs.
Image 3: CoreScanner Legacy layout with customization for Corinne
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