Technology Tuesday!

This week’s Technology Tuesday comes to you from Suzanne Phillips, a Communication Teacher at Imagine!’s Longmont CORE/Labor Source hub. Today Suzanne gives updates on how Imagine! is using technology to teach individuals who are non-verbal, who do not have communication devices, who do not use body language cues to indicate their preferences, and who have very limited mobility to express choices and interact intentionally with the world around them through “cause and effect” methods. 

Exciting things are happening in the world of Imagine! Tech.

Our new cause and effect class has hit the ground running! If you are new to our blog, this is a computer-based class designed for four students who do not have a formal system of communication in place. These individuals are non-verbal, do not have communication devices, do not use body language cues to indicate preferences, and have very limited mobility. Despite these challenges, these amazing individuals have been learning and mastering new skills faster than I would have ever thought possible! I have been working hard to keep up with the lightning pace that they have set for me. Here’s some of the progress that I have already seen in a few short weeks:

• All four students have learned to press switches to turn on various reinforcers. These reinforcers include music, short videos, colorful spinning lights, and shoulder massage pillows.
• Some students who I had never seen use their hands intentionally, even to eat or drink, have been pressing switches to activate sensory devices at an incredible rate. One of these students has pressed a switch up to 20 times per minute to turn on lights or a shoulder massage pillow. 
• One student has mastered pressing switches and he’s moved on to using an adaptive touch-screen computer to play games, turn on music and watch movie clips. 

I am excited to introduce new concepts and games to these students as we move forward. We have purchased several new sensory switches and I am creating new educational computer games with Boardmaker Studio software. I can’t wait to see what these students will master next as they build on these basic skills. I will share their future successes with you soon – stay tuned!

Bonus Tech Tuesday info! Check out this short video of Imagine!’s own Chris Baumgart explaining one cause and effect system used by Imagine! clients.


Can’t see the video? Click here.