Windows System Requirements
• Windows 2000 or higher • 512MB of RAM • 100 MB of free hard disk space
Macintosh System Requirements • PowerMac • System 7.6 - OS X Classic • 16 MB of RAM • 22 MB of hard disk space • Mac compatible printer • CD is required to run program
Who uses symbols?
You don't have to have a learning difficulty to benefit enormously from symbols.Symbols are used around us all the time in everyday life, from instructions in how to use a new appliance, to signs in foreign airports. The PCS library consists of over 10,000 simple line drawings designed to represent words and short phrases to support children and adults with communication challenges. PCS can be used to augment expressive communication and improve comprehension. Developed over the past 25 years and translated into 44 languages, PCS is the most widely used symbol set in the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). AAC systems range of paper-based communication boards to high-tech speech generating devices.
What are symbols?
Is it important to understand that symbols are different from pictures. Visual representation of vocabulary progresses from actual objects to photographs to picture symbols to traditional orthography (Mirenda & Locke, 1989). We use the word picture to describe an illustration in a book, or a drawing on the wall. A picture conveys a lot of information at once and its focus may be unclear, while a symbol focuses on a single concept. This means that symbols can be put together to build more precise information. Symbol based language and communication has been developed over many years and has a visual structure that supports different parts of speech.
Here is a list of just some of the other different groups of people who use symbols:
People learning English as a second language
People with memory difficulties, senile dementia or other brain damage
People with dyslexia, dyspraxia or spatial/time/organizational difficulties
People who are deaf or hearing impaired
Young children who have not yet started to read.
People with Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Source: www.mayer-johnson-symbols.com/aboutsymbols/pcs.htm
Needs addressed:
Non-verbal or speech handicapped/challenged.
Learning Goals:
*To develop receptive comprehension skills.
*To develop functional expressive skills.
*Communication of personal information
*Development of communication skills so students can express their wants and needs, interact socially, share information, express emotions and advocate for themselves should be a priority.
Strategies for use in inclusion:
Truthfully, I have never seen any of our included students use an Assistive Device in inclusion. Even though we have very smart nonverbal students, I only know of verbal students in inclusion. However, I think that Boardmaker could be used to in an inclusion setting to allow students to tell about a book or story, talk about feelings, make comments during class discussions, tell what they did over the weekend and to choose desired rewards for completing tasks.
Company and Pricing:
Mayer-Johnson- Mayer-Johnson's mission is to enhance learning and human expression for individuals with special needs through symbol-based products, training and services.
Macintosh version - $299. Windows Version- $299
Professional Development:
Comes with a resource guide. The speech teachers give workshops on use and there is a lot of online support and many tutorials available.
Michele Freeland
Assistive Instructional Technology Project
EDPC 610
Dr. Sarah McPherson, Instructor
NYIT
October 17, 2007
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