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PLAY Pen Article
Developing a Career Makes Life Satisfying
Temple Grandin, on of the formost voices in the field of autism, shares her thoughts on developing a satisfying work life and making sense of the social world. From the inside. A must read.
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Adapting Signs for pre-verbal communication
By: Renata Bursten, Dragonfly Staff
Many hearing children use Sign instead of or before verbal communication. But what do you do if traditional Signs are physically difficult to master? Adapt them!
For example, the traditional Sign used to indicate "I need to go to the washroom" involves putting the thumb between the third and fourth fingers in a fist and waving the fist. If the child can't manage the hand position you could try using a plain closed fist waving instead.
Sign-based communication can help improve communication skills, lower frustration, improve manual dexterity, and teach children that hands can be used for meaningful activities.
You will find a good group of Sign resources in Dragonfly's book section.
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PLAY Tip
Speech Language Therapy: Beginning Assentive Communication Tip
Here is a tip for children with Cerebral Palsy and other conditions that can affect speech. Try placing two pictures of the two toys that are attached to the switch tops. By pairing the real object with the two dimensional picture, you help your child learn that flat pictures are symbols of the real thing. This is fun way to master an important first step towards using assentive communication and computers.