Back to school: What’s on the agenda?

September 2, 2025 / grevstadg / 0 Comments

Welcome back to another school year, everyone!

A new year always brings about the opportunity for growth and learning for all: teachers, students, parents…everyone! Exposure to new things expands our thinking. It allows us to see different perspectives and possibilities, normalize differences, and challenge stereotypes, promoting greater understanding of ourselves and others. When we think about creating inclusive classrooms (or being a member of any space that feels inclusive for us!), often something that is a required support for one person has the potential to be a helpful support for all people once they get a chance to see it and try it themselves.

This year, Edmonds Community School has included a Communication Board in their school’s student agenda:

A Communication Board is a low-tech AAC (Alternative & Augmentative Communication) support that has frequently used vocabulary words. It can be used by an individual to point to what they want to communicate when oral speech is not coming easily. It can also support understanding in a conversation by adding visual information to what is being said. It can be especially useful for students who are non-speaking, who are learning a new language, who have difficulty with producing speech sounds accurately, or those who are experiencing big emotions and struggling to get their words out. It also can be an early literacy support by exposing pre-readers and early readers to the written form of words they know to hear and say but cannot yet read.

I encourage you to print a low-tech Communication Board for yourself or for your students to try as an extra support for communicating; what is necessary for some people can be helpful for many others too!

Happy learning and communicating this year!