I had the opportunity to work with a Grade 3 student in DD room who has cerebral palsy and is non verbal. When he started in DD room, he could not eat himself and had to be fed by hand. Also, after much prompting he could make choice between 2 objects using his AAC device. After working with him for sometime, one goal that we set as a team was to enable him to use his communication device effectively by practising during daily routines and be independent in feeding himself by the end of term.

To achieve this, we started giving choice using PEC cards. We allowed him ample time to make choices and encouraged him to pick and eat himself using visual cues and prompts. Overtime, as he became more confident and comfortable with making choices for a number of daily routines, we increased the PEC cards to 3-4 and slowly introduced his I-Pad to have an array of multiple items for different activities. Today, he is able to use his communication device to communicate needs and choices independently. 

Accomplishing this goal helped me build a stronger communication support skill and made me a more effective EA by providing students the tools they need to succeed.