For non-oral students

A unique tool in Quebec unveiled by the CSPO

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

On March 23, a Quebec unique digital kit was launched. The kit was developed to help non-oral students better communicate with their environment.

“I am proud to see that the Commission scolaire Portages-de-l’Outaouais (CSPO) was chosen by the ministry to lead this project”, says Nadine Peterson, Director of educational resources.

This new tool aims to essentially support the use of digital tablets as a communication tools for these students.

Baptized as “Communicate in the era of digital tablets”, the project was piloted by France Paquette (psycho-educator), Lynne Sabourin (regional contact person), Isabelle Chayer (teacher) and Sylvie Moring (regional contact person) over a period of two years in many of the board’s establishments.

“We thought it would be desirable to exploit the digital tablet to give a voice to our non-oral students since this tool is socially adapted,” say Ms Paquette and Sabourin.

Twenty students with intellectual deficiencies (ID) or students with autism spectrum disorders in preschool, elementary and high school were selected to take part in the experiment. All the students were in specialized classes.

While being developed, the kits were presented to different partners in informal meetings, training sessions and congresses. Following the official launch of the project, the kits were distributed throughout the province.