One of the most important factors in teaching language and communication is to ensure that we create many opportunities to practice throughout the day. As special educators, we know that to help our students improve communication skills, we must provide the tools needed for them to communicate beyond just when we are working on communication. In this episode, I am diving into the importance of encouraging communication throughout the day, why students’ communication systems are available to them at all times, and ways to engineer the classroom that supports our students in improving their communication skills.

If you are looking for tools to help engineer your classroom, be sure to check out my communication boards. I'd love to hear how else you are engineering your classroom! Come share your ideas or pictures inside the Facebook group. I can’t wait to see how you are setting your classroom up to help encourage communication!

02:33 - Why we need to ensure students are getting many opportunities to practice communicating throughout the day and how to track these opportunities 

06:34 - The importance of making sure that students’ communication systems are available throughout the day, not just when we are intentionally practicing communication

11:12 - Why having different types of communication supports set up in the classroom is crucial to improving communication skills

12:28 - How to set up communication devices to include special vocabulary when needed

14:03 - How to increase the number of opportunities students have to practice communicating during activities

18:02 - Why including simple switches in your classroom is incredibly beneficial for your students

Grab the transcript and resource links at http://autismclassroomresources.com/episode166

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