Help Preschoolers With Communication Delays Find Their Voice

Funded Nov 28, 2023

I have had the privilege of being gifted an ipad and accompanying case to use with my preschool aged students. As a speech language pathologist I work with many students who have emergent language skills. Some of these student do not yet use verbal speech, although they may have comprehension of receptive language. I also have many students who are on the autism spectrum, many whom struggle with communication challenges including expressing their basic wants and needs known. Some of my other preschool aged students have verbal language skills, but benefit greatly from the use of visual aids, such as pictures or photos, to help them learn and string together longer sentences.

The provided ipad has helped my students already in such a short time! One way in which they've helped is by allowing me to create customizable communication boards with voice output. I am able to use google image or real photos of the students, their classmates, their favorite toys, etc. For example, I have one non speaking 4 year old who is now able to call his peers by name at school by pressing a photo and having his/her name spoken aloud. It is amazing to see the smile on his face when this happens! It truly gives the children the power of communication, and for that we cannot be more grateful!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Loperena