Alcester firm launches pioneering board to help children communicate

A PIONEERING communication board, created by a company in Alcester, is helping to break down barriers in the classroom for children with additional needs and language challenges.

The board gives children a range of symbols and visual cues they can use to express themselves without the spoken word.

Unveiled at the Education Estates conference in Manchester by Kickstart Signs, the board is accompanied by a set of portable language keys, which also allow children to express themselves on the playground or back home.

The company’s ambition is to help primary-aged children – particularly those who are non-verbal or face other language barriers – communicate with their teachers and peers.

Greg Bruner, director of Kickstart Signs, said: “We specialise in signage for education settings and the idea stemmed from our time working with a school supporting children with additional needs. They had been looking for a way to enable non-verbal communication, but aside from very basic online toolkits with symbols you could print out yourself, nothing was readily available in the UK. That surprised us, and we wanted to help.

“We’re really proud of what we’ve developed, and we hope it will simplify communication and help some of the most challenged children to build their confidence and independence.”

The board, which can be used inside or outside, and keys have been installed in the playground at Shottery St Andrew’s CofE Primary School, with the language keys also being used in class.

“The board has generated an awful lot of interest in the playground, with the children gravitating towards it and generating their own games,” said headteacher Louise Withers.

“In the classroom, one child, with a diagnosis of autism and ASD, is using the language key to help express how he is feeling in different situations throughout the day.

“The symbols provide visual information, which is particularly important for reducing anxiety in autistic children as predicting what will or could happen can be very challenging, even in a familiar setting.

“The child has made the connection between the language key and the board and is able to point to different commands to communicate with peers and adults on the playground too.”

Autism affects one in 100 people, with an estimated 30 pr cent of children diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) being non-verbal or minimally verbal.

For more information, visit www.kickstartsigns.co.uk.