Today's presentation was about communication, and how much we take it for granted. In order to communicate we all need 3 things:
1. communicator
2. partner- plan joint attention
3. common language
These are all very important, and you really do need all 3 to be an effective communicator; as my group found out when we thought about being non- verbal and ordering coffee and a donut from the Tim Horton's drive thru window!
We decided to get our partner to record our usual order into my blackberry, and then play it back- text to speech when we got up to the Tim Horton's window. Our back up plan- yes we felt you needed a back up plan- was to go to apps on my blackberry, then write the order on memo pad to be passed to the drive thru window attendant.
The difficulty with communicating effectively is when your main mode of communicating has problems, and you need to find an alternate mode quickly. For example, imagine Susan, from " Autism is a World", without her hand held communication system. Not only do you need back- up, but many people become too dependent on one device, and need exposure and experience with an alternative. ( esp. children on the spectrum who are very routine driven)
Please see my gadget attempts for alternate augmentative means of communication.
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