On Friday, September 2, 2022, a special communications board was installed on the playground at Central Elementary. The board contains about 60 core words, symbols, and other vocabulary terms related to the playground area that students can point to express their feelings.

“Some students have devices or picture cards and things like that, and bringing them into every environment isn’t always practical… those devices can get broken, they can get lost, they can be cumbersome to carry around from place to place,” says Champion Special Education Director Christy Pompoco. “We thought this would be a good idea to bring this out here so that it was a fixed part of our playground so that students can come over to it, let us know what they need or what they want, let us know what their next choice is, and then move about their day.”

“It gives them more independence; it helps reduce anxiety. A lot of times, if they’re unable to communicate, it can help with meltdowns or things of that nature,” says TCESC Speech Language Pathologist Tanya Romanini.

Champion Schools, which paid for the board, was happy to add the accommodation to their playground. The district’s related services team identified playground and recess communications as areas that could be improved to make a child’s day more manageable and inclusive. They’re also hoping the board will help raise awareness and understanding among their regular education students about the communications challenges some face.