3 ר‡ל ˘ - י ˜ ון ‡ייז ˙ נ ˘ 2022 We can Sing Adi Shichel, Shlomi Bliss "We can sing” is a choir for non-verbal students in Shirat Ha’lev school. The choir was established in the purpose of using music for enhancing social and communica�on skills and further establishing the use of diverse AAC devices, while engaging in an age- appropriate mutual ac�vity. Further on in the process we added recordings of family members on the AAC devices in order to add a more personal aspect to the students' singing. Their response to the recordings was amazing, they co-operated more, and their singing became more synchronized. Self-advocacy among elementary school children with complex disabili�es Dana Cappel, Tair Stepanski Self-advocacy is one of the guiding principles underlying the therapeu�c and educa�onal approach at Beit Issie Shapiro’s Special Educa�on School. We see the promo�on of self-advocacy skills as an essen�al focus for children with disabili�es and incorporate this principle into our school rou�nes and ac�vi�es. The following ar�cle outlines the ra�onale behind our approach and provides examples demonstra�ng various ways in which we help our students explore their needs and wants, their strengths and difficul�es, and their voices, helping them to become more ac�ve par�cipants in their daily lives. Dvora's Story Shira Baharir Dvora is diagnosed with a rare syndrome, with developmental delay and au�sm. As a symptom of the syndrome, Dvora is non-verbal. I met Dvora first in a special educa�on day care center and then for 2 years in kindergarten. During that �me, significant team effort with the educators and Dvora's parents resulted in incredible progress, both in language and communica�on, with different AAC strategies. The most powerful of these is the I-Pad, with grid applica�on. The most significant work with Dvora was conducted within the kindergarten class, with the educa�onal team as well as regularly mee�ng with the parents. Those mee�ngs included watching videos from home, in order to be able to give the parents focused and accurate guidance. Dvora expresses herself now with various gestures (most of them she invents herself), with symbols and communica�on boards and most of all with the I-pad. Dvora uses communica�on boards with over 40 symbols each. (hakol kalul level 3). She expresses herself with simple sentences and is acquiring rules of grammar. Dvora con�nues to broaden her language abili�es as she finds new communica�on partners in her life environments Communica�on boards in Tel Aviv city’s playgrounds Noa Shahar-Hanan A personal story about the process of publishing symbol-based communica�on boards in the city of Tel Aviv. The project evolved via social media, by gently implan�ng the ideas of the needs of people with communica�on special needs. Professional input as a speech language pathologist and mee�ng the city’s requirements, led to successfully installing communica�on boards in public playgrounds.
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