Look2Talk: Guide Book. Making and using a communication book for eye-pointing communicators. Clare Latham and Katharine Buckley

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1 Look2Talk: Guide Book Making and using a communication book for eye-pointing communicators Clare Latham and Katharine Buckley

2 We would like to thank the families involved in the Look2Talk Project who were so giving of their time and ideas. Thanks also to the following people and organisations, without whose valuable funding the project would not have been possible. Elsevier Science Ltd Eranda Foundation Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Gatsby Charitable Foundation Good Neighbours Trust John Horniman Children s Trust Kirby Laing Foundation St James s Place Foundation Clare Latham and Katharine Buckley Copyright 2008 ACE Centre Advisory Trust All rights reserved First Edition Published by the ACE Centre Advisory Trust 92 Windmill Road Headington Oxford OX3 7DR Tel Registered Charity No No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the ACE Centre Advisory Trust. PCS symbols are used in this publication by kind permission of Mayer-Johnson Inc. Copyright is acknowledged on all company and product names mentioned in this publication.

3 Contents Introduction... 1 Fundamentals for success... 5 Stage One - Introduction... 9 Stage One - The first core words Stage Two - Introduction Stage Two - Moving on Encoding - The bridge to Stage Three Stage Three - Introduction Stage Three - Moving on Stage Four More core - The bridge to Stage Five Stage Five What next? Appendix 1 - Commonly asked questions Appendix 2 - How this all relates to the P-Levels Appendix 3 - Siblings Appendix 4 - Symbol systems and software Appendix 5 - Encoding Appendix 6 - Using tabs Bibliography... 57

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5 Eye-pointing introduction 1 Introduction This guide has been written to support the communication of children who find speech and movement difficult. When speech can t be understood and using hands or a finger to point is difficult, eyepointing to photos, symbols or text can be a fast and effective way of communicating a wide range of messages. Though we seldom think about it, we all make use of our eyes when communicating with others. We roll our eyes to express exasperation or amusement, point with our eyes to people or objects to draw others attention to them, and use them to express a wide range of emotions. This guide seeks to take this natural use of our eyes a step further to enable children to access and use a large visual language. There s no right or wrong way to develop communication through eyepointing, but following this guide will help you and your learner build a system of symbols and pictures, step by step, at a speed that suits you both. It will emphasise the importance of learning together in fun, relaxed activities where learners can take control and you can learn the value of being the responder. We know from experience that putting a communication book together can feel daunting. There are so many things to think about, such as: What vocabulary do I put in the book? How many pictures or symbols do I use on a page? Where and when do I start to use the book? How do I develop the book over time? What is reasonable to expect of my learner when he is using the book to communicate? Why isn t the learner using it?! Much of this guide is based on our experiences from Look2Talk, a two-year project run by the ACE Centre to support and learn from children who can only use their eyes to communicate. Through this project, we were able to work with six children for whom eye-pointing was the only reliable access to symbol communication. Each of the children progressed in different ways and, along with their families, taught us a range of approaches that were invaluable. All of the children and their families were filmed throughout the project and clips from these videos are used in the accompanying DVD.

6 2 Eye-pointing introduction About communication All learners, whatever their age and difficulties, can communicate. They ll have worked extremely hard to develop this communication, however limited it may seem to us. For example, a learner vocalises to attract your attention and then looks at the door. You take them to the door, and they then look at the kitchen. You take them to the kitchen, and they look at the fridge. When the fridge is opened, they look straight at the pot of chocolate mousse. Using their eyes, the learner has (very effectively!) communicated, I want chocolate mousse. Similarly, a learner may look away as you play to communicate that they have had enough of the game, thereby communicating stop. It s vital to respect and value these communication strategies. Act on them and praise them. Try to think of the symbols as adding to the learner s current system. Have fun learning symbol communication, and use it in stress-free situations. Don t try and force the use of the book before your learner is ready. We found that when the children in the project had built up confidence in using their communication book, they spontaneously asked for it to communicate their own personal thoughts. So, keep responding to their individual communication, whatever form it might take, have fun learning the pictures and symbols together, be patient, and keep the book available. Ideas rather than perfect sentences As speakers we re used to speaking quickly in perfect sentences that the listener understands. However, when you re in a foreign country using a different language you re likely to attempt just key words with lots of clues. For example, shrugging your shoulders and saying the word station to communicate where is the station? Using symbols is a bit like this. Although there are symbols for little words, expecting the learner to eyepoint to every little word in a spoken sentence would simply take too long. The learner would probably get bored, the listener would stop listening, and communication would fail. Communicating key ideas is much more motivating for both the learner and the listener, and tends to be much more successful. Speed helps to keep the relaxed rhythm of interaction flowing. Here are some examples of ideas that the children in the project spontaneously communicated using symbols. no, not more porridge The symbols above were used by one learner to say I don t want any more porridge.

7 Eye-pointing introduction 3 Another child (who was using the Stage Five vocabulary) used the following symbols to ask When is Katharine s baby due? when baby come k One step at a time This guide uses a step-by-step approach to developing communication skills. At each stage we ve tried to give you a flavour of what your learner s communication book might look like. There are topic pages and, on the left in blue, core vocabulary that can always be seen whatever the topic. The number of symbols increases as we move through the stages. From Stage Three there are also examples of top pages for each stage to help your learner to move efficiently through their book. We recognise that not all children will fit neatly into this developmental approach, and that not all will be starting at Stage One! Our aim is to provide an incremental structure for you to tailor and adapt for an individual. Those who are most familiar with the learner will be in the best position to decide where to start. A team approach A team approach involving a wide range of people is invaluable when developing a communication system. We found that the most important members of this team were the learner and their parents. As the parents in the project gained skills and knowledge about their child s communication system, they became the constant figures who could help others to talk with their child in this way. Thus the system was much less vulnerable to being lost or discarded as the child moved through school, and as the professionals involved with the child changed. Him or her For ease of writing, we ve referred to the learner as he or him throughout this guide.

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9 Stage Three Moving On 3Eye-pointing stage three: moving on Educational level P5 See Appendix 2 for details Readiness Your learner is successfully using twelve pictures on a page with the help of encoding. He s beginning to use the Turn page symbol. Aims for communication partner You re now going to increase the number of pictures on the page from twelve to twenty-four. This will allow for an increased core vocabulary. You re also going to begin to help the learner move through the book with the help of a Top page symbol. There are now eight core vocabulary words: help more I, me, mine you, your Core Vocabulary for Stage 3 (Moving On) The underlying core vocabulary for Stage Three (Moving On) no, not stop like go Begin by introducing and explaining the new core words. Show your learner that there are now four coloured dots and four border colours. Once a learner has understood encoding, increasing the number isn t too difficult, but allow time for him to explore the combinations. Often it was the parents in the project who found the extra eye movements difficult to read. Again, this is quite normal and does get easier with time. As before, when you select vocabulary, it can be tempting just to include the required objects or people (nouns). However, actions and describing

10 Eye-pointing stage three: moving on Clip 3.7 Introducing more core words An introduction to using the core words at Stage Three, Moving On. Clip 3.8 Tamsin and her Mum making toast Notice how Tamsin s Mum draws her attention to the new core words as they set out to play. words related to the topic will, like the core words, really enrich your learner s language. Including such words mean that instead of just saying Mum, your learner can say Kiss Mum, Play with Mum, Talk to Mum or Hug Mum. On the Doll s House page you ll see that the top left group of symbols are all actions. This might be a strategy that you might want to use when making your own pages. Begin to use the new core words yourself as you chat, and create opportunities for your learner to use them as well. For example, pause when you hit a difficulty, draw your his attention to the Help symbol and say, I think you need help. When things are going really well, pause, show the Like symbol and say I think you like this. See video clips 3.7 and 3.8 Clip 3.9 Tamsin giving information Tamsin now has quite a thick communication book and has learnt to move through it quickly to say what she wants to say. Notice how well her Mum chats with the symbols and explains to her how they put the situation right. Learning to change page to the top page A natural step forward from turning a page within an activity is to begin to allow your learner to choose the next activity. As you create new pages, change the top right symbol from Turn page to Top page. As you finish a game, point to the Top page symbol, then turn to the top page and allow the learner to choose the next activity. Gradually encourage him to take control of the book themselves by using the Top page symbol. See video clip 3.9 Aims for the learner To use encoding. Educational level P5 See Appendix 2 for details To link the new core vocabulary words with the other words in a range of situations. To watch you and begin to use the top page to choose topic pages. To watch you and begin to use the Top page symbol on the topic pages. Tips As your learner moves on to using four-colour encoding, remember that it ll feel more difficult for you to read the eye-pointing. This is normal. Just take your time and it will become easier. If you need to, go back to placing the book directly between you and your learner. There are a lot of new concepts at Stage Three, so take your time with each one.

11 Eye-pointing stage three: moving stage one Clip 3.10 Tamsin s Mum using the re-tell strategy Notice how Tamsin s Mum does a simple re-tell of what she and Tamsin have just done with the animals in the safari park. Clip 3.11 Introducing scribbling A demonstration of how you might introduce your learner to alphabet pages. Clip 3.12 Millie scribbing with her sister Notice how Millie begins to naturally spell her name and then gets a little confused with the ending something that happens to most children as they learn to spell their names. Try the new core vocabulary and the Top page symbol with just one page and an activity first, then gradually let the pages grow. It s helpful to put a divider between the early pages and the new ones. A good way to practice can be to use the re-tell strategy. When you complete an activity go, through it again leaving pauses for your learner to come in with what he actually did (see video clip 3.10). It can be a good thing to introduce the alphabet at this stage. This isn t meant for spelling, but for experiencing letters. If you think about how long young children spend scribbling before they learn to write you ll see why time spent experiencing letters is both useful and important for eye-pointers. Letting your learner experience selecting any letters, writing them for him on a magic slate and then erasing them together is just good fun! (see video clips 3.11 and 3.12). Always remember to use your pause, watch and respond strategy. It s worth saying again that some of the children in the project did eventually ask for their books to say what they wanted to say. It can be frustrating waiting for this spontaneity to happen, but it s our belief that if communicating through symbols isn t demanded, then in time your learner will eventually ask for his book to communicate something appropriate to the situation. Give him time and experience of what s in his book, and have the courage to wait and see.