What are the benefits of a playground communication board?

What are the benefits of a playground communication board? Playgrounds are important for children’s physical and mental health. They let kids explore their surroundings, run around, and blow off some steam after a long day of school. For kids who have difficulty communicating or engaging with others, playgrounds can also be a great place to practice these skills. However, for non-verbal children practicing those skills can be challenging if their communication tools are not readily available.  One way [...]

By |2022-09-17T09:52:10-04:00May 16th, 2022|Categories: AAC, Blog, Communication Boards, Special Education, Visual Support|Tags: , |0 Comments
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What are Social Stories and How does it Benefit a Child with Autism?

As parents, we use casual expressions with children that are mostly of a different nature: "quiet sound", "don't touch" and "play nicely". But what do these sentences really mean for an autistic child? Social situations and all the expected behaviors that accompany them are difficult for autistic children, and "playing nice" simply does not provide all the information the child needs to respond properly. Fortunately, the concept of social stories was devised by Carol Gray in 1991, and [...]

By |2022-09-17T09:55:59-04:00April 7th, 2020|Categories: Autism, Parenting, Social Skills, Social Stories, Special Education, Visual Support|Tags: |0 Comments
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Speak for Yourself updated symbols key

If you are looking for a large printout of the arrangement of Smarty Symbols on the AAC app Speak for Yourself, you have come to the right place! Smarty Symbols is the symbol of choice on the Speak for Yourself app for iPad. We have prepared a pdf. file that you can download and print for yourself to use as a companion to the app and also to use and find symbols on our website. HOW TO USE [...]

By |2022-09-20T10:44:03-04:00November 5th, 2018|Categories: Blog, Communication Boards, Special Education, Visual Support|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Autism, Speech Therapy, and Early Intervention

A new government survey of parents suggests that 1 in 45 children, ages 3 through 17, have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Ideally, these children would be diagnosed and begin receiving treatment as early as possible. Early intervention is key when you’re talking about autism. Kids with ADS often have speech delays and communication issues that can prevent them from achieving the same milestones as their peers. Speech therapy services can give these children tools to navigate the [...]

By |2022-09-20T08:22:00-04:00December 10th, 2017|Categories: Autism, Blog, Early Intervention, Visual Support|Tags: , |0 Comments
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What are Social Stories and How They Can Help Autistic Children

Social stories are a great way to help kids with autism spectrum disorder. They are a simple and effective way to help kids to learn proper behaviors and what is expected of them. Many kids with autism use visuals to communicate. Social stories use visuals to tell a story. Think of it as a “how-to” for behaviors. People with autism often misunderstand or don’t pick up on social cues like facial expressions or gestures and they may not [...]

By |2022-09-20T08:16:20-04:00November 21st, 2017|Categories: Autism, School, Social Skills, Visual Support|Tags: , |0 Comments
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Do Kids With Autism Really Need Routines?

Most of us crave routine of some sort. Whether we enjoy our morning coffee or schedule things in order to get it all done, most of our days follow a usual and predictable ebb and flow. For autistic kids, though, routine is more than a want. For them, it is a need. ROUTINES MAKE THEM FEEL SAFE Autistic children need to feel a sense of structure and safety. They must process information differently than others and often deal [...]

By |2022-09-17T10:54:39-04:00September 24th, 2017|Categories: Autism, Blog, Visual Support|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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Vocabulary and Visual Support for Earth Day: Free Download

We wouldn’t forget “Earth Day” in our vast category of “holidays”. April 22 is a special day for us to reassess what we can do to help our planet. Smarty Symbols is filled with excellent vocabulary whether you are wanting to discuss the life of our planet (using our “plants”, “animals”, “birds”, “mammals” and “marine life”) or discuss the more abstract elements (using our “science”, “weather”, and “nature” categories); Smarty Symbols has the symbols you need for the simplest to the most complex words.

By |2022-09-17T13:50:38-04:00April 20th, 2016|Categories: Blog, Free Stuff, Visual Support|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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Smarty Symbols brings multi-characters representation to visual supports

How cool would it be to have the same symbol being represented by multiple characters? Very nice, right? Smarty Symbols is proud to announce our latest innovation: One symbol with multiple characters! Why have communication symbols only offered one option of characters for decades? Maybe because Smarty Symbols did not exist yet! Worry not, we have arrived to shake up and freshen up communication and symbol support for all learners. Picture this: A young female AAC user [...]

By |2022-09-17T10:28:23-04:00March 22nd, 2015|Categories: AAC, Blog, Visual Support|Tags: , |0 Comments
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