Devereux School is the first in Marblehead to install a communications board to help students better communicate with their teachers and peers. The board was designed by Marblehead speech therapist Jessica Brown, who owns The Power of Speech in town.
Brown partnered with the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools and the Recreation and Parks Department to fund and place communication boards at five playgrounds around town: Hobbs, Gatchell’s, Bud Orne, Seaside and Gerry. Rec and Parks is about to install one at Devereux, just in time for the good weather.
“They are a valuable tool for children who are still learning to talk and for neurodivergent kids who use alternative methods of communicating,” Brown siad. “They also provide an easy way to teach all kids about neurodiversity, which just means everything thinks, communicates and interacts with the world differently.”
The boards, 5 feet long by 3 feet tall, feature illustrations of kids doing a variety of activities — sliding, swinging, eating and more. Kids can point to the image that matches what they need or want.
Brown has placed 20 communication boards across the North Shore, including 10 at Beverly schools.
Devereux School Director Elizabeth Laub says the students there love it.
“Absolutely. It’s another means of communication and children speak in all different ways. It’s bright and eye-catching,” Laub said.
Carrie Potter’s 3-year-old son is autistic and uses an Augmentative and Alternative Communication device, which is a tablet that helps people communicate by pressing buttons that speak words. He loves running over to communication boards at playgrounds.
“He totally lights up when he sees a board there,” Potter said. “It makes him feel like, ‘This place is for me, too.’ It’s a fun language tool and he’ll see neurotypical kids using it, too. It includes him in the playground in a different way.”
Potter, who lives in Swampscott, hopes more schools will add communication boards to playgrounds.
This Autism Acceptance Month, Potter also urges people to “make our local spaces accessible for autistic kids and families. Just learning about autistic communication, how it typically looks, is helpful. For instance, if you’re asking a kid questions and they’re not responding to you, don’t assume they’re being rude or ignoring you, and consider that they may have a different communication style that makes this challenging.”
“It’s about being open minded and knowing that everybody has their own unique way of communicating,” Potter added. “ If a kid is not communicating with you in an expected way, there might be a reason for that.”
Brown says she is working with Rec & Parks and the local nonprofit SPUR to create more programming that is friendly to autistic people and their families.
To learn more about communication boards or therapy services, contact Brown at [email protected].
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
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