Here's how it works. He gets an idea and then communicates it through signs or pointing to photos on his ipad. School staff then write his message on a card in all capital letters. They read each word to him as he points on the card and then finds the letter on the keyboard. The particular program that they are using says the name of the letter after each keystroke, each word when the space button is pushed and the whole sentence when a period is put in. Many times he includes a picture either from our photo library or an image search.
One of the things I really like about this new form of communication is that he can request to have it read multiple times. (Sometimes multiple times before we make it home from school, while we are waiting in the parking lot for Abby.) Since I know he used mostly signs to create the original message, I have him sign what he can while I read the message.
Here are a few of the messages I have gotten over the last few months:
DEAR mom
I want 5 sandbox toys.
I really want a new shovel.
Mom could drive to Target.
LOVE
Matthew
I want to play with my riding toys.
I want mom to drive and buy toys.
Abby wants to sleep. She wants a pink mat. Mom should drive to Target.
There does seem to be a common theme...a lot of Mom driving, particularly to Target and Mom buying things. He definitely seems to favor the genre of persuasive writing. And if you are wondering how effective his persuasive writing is...let's just say I spend A LOT of time at Target!
