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With the theme of this year's Better Hearing and Speech Month being "Building a Strong Foundation," Washakie County School District No. 1 Speech Language Pathologist Sally Hamer is doing exactly that by implementing Alternative Augmentative Communication boards at playgrounds.

Hamer, with the district's Educational Resource Center, announced that boards were installed at the playgrounds of all three of Worland's elementary schools that would benefit students with difficulties communicating while at recess.

The boards were designed by Hamer as well as Speech Language Pathology Assistant Elise Washington. They then had the boards produced by Signs of Sutherland, and they were installed on May 3.

Hamer described these AAC signs as having a grid of words and symbols that students can point to in order to indicate their wants and needs. She said, "On the boards there are 'core words' and symbols to indicate if they need to go to the bathroom, or if they want to comment on the weather, if they feel hot or cold, if they are hurt or not feeling well; signs for different kinds of playground equipment that they might want to play with, several action words like play, go, up, down, those types of things. These boards can help them communicate to a para-professional they might be working with, or even other students just to indicate their wants and needs a little bit better."

Many resources are already available to students who struggle with speech and language in the classroom, but they aren't as practical for kids to take with them outside. The communication boards will serve as a solution to this problem. Hamer said, "Most of them already have many tools to help them. We have a couple who use high-tech speech generating devices where they use symbols to communicate. These boards will function as a convenience while they are at recess so that they aren't burdened by all this other stuff while they are supposed to just be playing."

Hamer envisions many students benefitting from these boards in a number of ways. She believes that students with difficulties verbalizing will be more likely to interact with their peers because of them and make them more confident in expressing themselves. She also thinks that children who are learning English as a second language can make use of these boards.

She thinks that regardless of whether a student has difficulties, these boards will naturally encourage literacy by presenting words and concepts that are all relevant to recess. She added, "At younger ages, it can really enhance literacy because each symbol has words alongside it with things that they are all doing at recess."

Hamer said that she is interested in installing more communication boards in public spaces in Worland, and is open to sponsorship to aid in that cause. To inquire about how to help, you can contact Sally Hamer at 307-202-2285 or [email protected].