This presentation will describe how a communication group was set up for students in Key Stages 2 & 3 using eye-gaze and head-mouse controls; the subsequent progress of the students; and how the communication group benefited support assistants, increasing their skills to enable them to support students more successfully in class.
The communication group was supported by a classroom assistant, a speech and language technical assistant and a teacher. Each term had a specfic theme, e.g. social conversation, environmental control. Group aims and individual targets were set for the students on a half-termly basis.
As the students' confidence increased and their skills developed in the group, there were positive changes back in class. These included increased speed, accuracy and diversity of use of communication aids.
This group has been a major breakthrough for students' communication and social well-being across the curriculum. They have found their voices and also have seen beyond the communicative benefits of their devices. As a result, the school is looking into how this can be developed into an ongoing rolling programme for current and future students.