Self expression made easier at Ladd Lane Elementary

With the addition of two donated communication boards on playgrounds at Ladd Lane Elementary School, students with special needs will have an easier time expressing their thoughts to staff members and peers. 

One of the boards—for TK through first-grade students—arrived in early November with the other one on the way for second- through fifth-grade students. The boards include a variety of icons that allow nonverbal—and other students in the moderate to severe program—to communicate needs and requests to staff members. 

It is common for the students to use communication boards in classrooms, but these will extend those opportunities to the playground where they regularly interact with the general education population. 

The idea came about when former Ladd Lane teacher Gemma Castello broached the idea. Parent Allison Garcia, who has two students who previously attended, approached the school last year and obtained grant funding from the Robert Postigo Family Fund. Garcia credited Castello and educator Barbara Stillwell for collaborating on the project to make it happen.

“The purpose of the project was to provide a means of communication between students with special needs and general education students,” Garcia said. 

She noted how the Robert Postigo Family Fund was established after his passing to help students with special needs to improve their educational access. 

Ladd Lane mounted the first communication board on a wall near the play equipment for younger students while awaiting delivery of the second one that will be mounted at the playground for older students. 

Ladd Lane Assistant Principal Jeff Aguirre is excited to improve the communication flow for students with special needs and interactions with the general ed population. 

“Oftentimes, that’s part of their mainstreaming opportunities—to be out there with their general education peers, out on the playground,” Aguirre said. 

Aguirre pointed to icons on the board mounted for younger Ladd Lane students, noting how it provides messages such as students expressing they are hungry, thirsty, wanting to go down a slide or having to use the bathroom. He said there is at least one student in each mod-severe class who is nonverbal, but the boards can be useful for others as well. 

Aguirre mentioned that paraprofessionals will use cards and lanyards in their communications with students, but this blows it up on a larger scale. 

He said special day class teachers along with speech and language pathologists collaborated on what to include on the boards before getting a quote from the sign shop and a check from the foundation. 

“It really just helps bridge that gap of communication,” said Aguirre, who expressed gratitude to Garcia, the foundation and everyone involved in making it happen. “It’s just been really a nice resource, already, for adults and students.”