Non-verbal students at Swan Hill Specialist School are benefitting from the incredible generosity of State Schools Relief and its partners.
SHSS is one of 48 specialist schools in Victoria that have been supplied with iPads for special needs students who have trouble communicating.
“The iPads give these students a voice, something that many of us take for granted,” SSR chief executive officer Sue Karzis said.
“We are very proud of this initiative which we launched three years ago, and has touched so many lives.”
The iPads are loaded with apps that allow the children to communicate through them.
“We got them at the end of last term and are still in the process of setting them up for each individual,” SHSS foundation prep teacher Jaimee Kiel said.
“You’re able to model it to each student.
“Beforehand, their communication was either through gesture or emotion, and we didn’t know why they were upset or happy. But now pretty much having this as their voice allows them to explain.”
SSR is a non-profit organisation and relies on its partners for funding.
For this program, Bank First Australia (BFA) and Australian Schools Canteen Association (ASCA) teamed up to jointly donate $90,000, which will provide 423 of these iPads to non-verbal kids across the state.
”ASCA is a long-term supporter of the great work that SSR does to enable vulnerable children in Victoria to engage more effectively with their education,” ASCA chief executive officer David Edwards said. “We are delighted to partner with them on this new initiative.”
Ms Karzis added: “We went out to our partners for help, and they’ve always been great, so they jumped on board. But we will continue to need funding, and anyone else who wants to help is more than welcome”.
While some students have this technology at home already, this is the first time they have used these devices
“One mother in Shepparton said to me she heard her child asking for juice for the first time through the app,” Ms Karzis said. “It’s just the little things like that which makes it worthwhile.”
Whilst the work done by SSR has been remarkable, Ms Karzis highlighted there is still more to do.
“We focus primarily on specialist schools, but there are still non-verbal kids in state and private schools right across Victoria that need help,” she said.
“There’s a real need for non-verbal kids to have this support and help.”
