GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — Sumner County Schools are continuing to give a voice to those who don’t have one.
The district has added “communication boards” to some school playgrounds to assist nonverbal students, of which there are roughly 300 within Sumner County schools.
“I think this will be a pretty significant help. It’s a way for kids to communicate socially together, make requests to play together, especially in these less structured settings like the playground,” explained Hannah Steitler, a speech pathologist at Benny Bills Elementary.
“I think it normalizes it too, having it here and they don’t have something special they have to bring out, it’s just something accessible to all of our students. So it just helps them to feel like they fit in a bit more,” added Emily Ruth, another speech language pathologist at the elementary school.
The boards were paid for by the Shelby Foundation, a local nonprofit started by a husband and wife, Joey and Susan Hickman, who had a nonverbal daughter, Shelby. Their foundation previously donated communication devices to the school district.
“When [Shelby] passed away just shy of her twenty fourth birthday, she was about like a nine to 15-month-old. Just full of life but just had to do things with the help of others. We thought, you know, there are a lot of people out there in the world just like her, and they deserve a voice. And this is one way we’ve given a voice to these children,” said Joey Hickman.
The communication boards feature 35 different images or symbols for children to point to, like “run,” “play,” or “all done.”
Hickman described their foundation as merely a “vehicle” for helping special education institutions and those who battle the same challenges his daughter did. He credited the school district for constantly looking to add such resources to their campuses.
“That feeling for you, if you see a kid using these boards, what is it?” asked News 2’s Sam Chimenti.
“I don’t know if I could put it into words. It would make my heart full,” Hickman responded.
Hickman believes these boards will help with awareness, as many people, he said, don’t understand the difficulties nonverbal kids face on a daily basis.
The communication boards are currently at Benny Bills and Guild Elementary Schools. The Shelby Foundation has donated enough for four other elementary schools in Sumner County to soon get boards.