• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Geek Club Books

Autism Education, Awareness, Acceptance, Advocacy

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
    • Autism Storytelling for Hope and Change
    • Speaking
    • Creative Team & Educational Specialists
    • Advisory Board
    • Our Benefactors
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
  • Blog
    • All Articles and Interviews
    • Articles By Author
  • Families
    • Welcome Autism Families!
    • Autism Resources Bundle!
    • Freebies
    • Mighty League Autism Moms
  • Educators
    • Welcome Educators!
    • Autism EDU
    • Bluebee TeeVee, Autism Information Station
    • School Visits
  • Comics
    • Autism Comics Overview
    • Autism in Real Life Comic
    • Autism Spectrum Comic
    • End Awareness Comic
    • Understanding Autism Comic
    • Mighty League 1: Autistic Hero Comic
    • Mighty League 2: Autistic Hero Comic Book
  • Resources
    • How to Find Resources
    • Asking Autistics
    • Autistic Self-care
    • Amazon Autism Book Shop
    • What is Autism?
    • Books By Autistic Authors
    • What is Autism Awareness?
    • Autism Glossary
    • Autism Myths
    • Autistic or Person with Autism?
    • Speech and Language
    • Autism Business Ideas
  • Zoom Magazine
    • Issue 18: The Black Autistic Experience
    • Issue 17: Health
    • Issue 16: Travel
    • Issue 15: Powerful Women
    • Issue 14: Trailblazers
    • Issue 13: Family
  • Take Action
    • How to Advocate for Autism
      • #Activate4Autism
      • Activator Heroes
    • Make a Difference
  • Contact
  • Donate

“Communication for All” Innovative Assistive Technology in Action

November 10, 2015 By Jodi Murphy Leave a Comment

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on LinkedInShare on RedditShare on WhatsApp

Bluebee Pals Assistive Technology

“When you walk into the classrooms at Jesse Baker School, what you see are engaged students,” said Sharon Stanley, a Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) for the Elk Grove Unified School District (Sacramento County).  Sharon works with the team of educators at The Jesse Baker School, an extraordinary elementary school for students with special needs. Their mission? To provide “a full-spectrum education for their exceptional students.”

Sharon Stanley Jesse Baker School
Sharon Stanley

As an SLP, Sharon’s motto for all children is “Communication for All,” and she is dedicated to making sure children in her district receive access to high-tech communication devices. And she’s always looking for innovative ways to engage students and help them learn.

“What many people don’t know realize is that all of our students can learn but sometimes it may take them longer or they may need more repetition, so our teachers need to think outside-the-box for ways to engage the students.”

When Sharon was introduced to the Bluebee Pals, she knew that these talking plush animals could assist the special needs students in her classes and make a huge impact in the classroom.  She contacted Laura Jiencke, the CEO of Kayle Concepts and founder of The Bluebee Pals and she donated Bluebee Pals through her non-profit foundation—The Bluebee Pals Project—to the students at Jesse Baker School.

The teachers began incorporating the Bluebee Pals into their daily lessons. From Leo, the Lion, helping to take attendance in the morning and Riley, the Zebra reading a story, to Lily, the lamb, working on speech therapy apps with the kids…something amazing is happening in their classrooms. The kids are responding to their lessons like never before.

Watch this inspiring documentary:

“Bluebee Pals help us to engage the students. The teachers take a traditional iPad application and pair it with a Bluebee Pal plush stuffed animal…and the kids are amazed! We’ve seen an increase in communication skills and we’ve seen a decrease in negative behaviors in the classroom.”

[Tweet “With @bluebeepals we’ve seen an increase in communication skills and a decrease in negative behaviors #SPED”]

Jesse Baker School teachers
Nikki, Cathleen and Jessica

Nikki Castaneda couldn’t agree more to Sharon’s statement. She’s taught at Jessie Baker for 11 years and her favorite activity with the Bluebee Pals is to hold conversations with the students paired with the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app, Speak for Yourself. “The Bluebee Pal will ask the students yes/no questions, “What’s your name?” “How are you today?” and other fun questions. The children absolutely love our conversation times with their Bluebee Pals.”

“My favorite activity with our Bluebee Pals is to play, “Zack the Zebra says…” or “Leo the Lion says…” My students love this game!” said Cathleen Bailey.

Jessica McFarland, another Jesse Baker School special educator, has notice tremendous growth in her students too. “The Bluebee Pals have allowed me the opportunity to engage my students in many academic activities. My favorite is when we work on reading comprehension with the app called “You Tell Me Stories.”. The students absolutely love watching the Bluebee Pals mouth move as they listen. I’ve seen a significant improvement in the student’s attention to the story and that has improved their accuracy in answering comprehension questions. “

Bluebee Pals in Special Needs Classrooms

It’s so inspiring how educators with out-of-the-box thinking and innovative Bluebee Pals “learning buddies” can make Sharon Stanley’s motto, “Communication for All” a reality.

Find more information on:

  • Jesse Baker School
  • Bluebee Pals
  • Bluebee Pals and Jesse Baker School Documentary
  • Bluebee Pals as Assistive Technology

Images courtesy of Bluebee Pals and Jesse Baker School

If you liked this post, you may also like:

  • 10 Reasons Why I LOVE Being a Special Education Teacher
  • Say Hello to the Next Generation of Assistive Technology
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on LinkedInShare on RedditShare on WhatsApp

Filed Under: Blog Haps, Speech and Language Tagged With: assistive technology, autism education, Bluebee Pals, speech and language

About Jodi Murphy

Jodi Murphy is the founder of Geek Club Books, a registered nonprofit committed to creating a world where autistic individuals are fully accepted, valued and have a voice. Her priority is bringing autistic individuals creative and leadership opportunities that are meaningful, empowering and support their advocacy. She works with a creative autistic team to produce pop culture-based autism awareness education that is innovative, engaging, positive and opens hearts and minds to a new way of thinking about autism. Sign up for Geek Club Books mailing list for free apps, resource guides, curriculum, audio stories and more: https://geekclubbooks.com/autism-bundle.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join Our Neurodiverse Community:

Read Our Current Issue:

Search

Latest

  • My Soul is a Garden I’m Learning How to Properly Tend
  • How to Increase Your Resilience while Autistic
  • #AskingAutistics: How Do You Feel About the Puzzle Piece Symbol?
  • Why It’s So Important to Remain Open to Joy
  • Why Do People Think I Should Be Sad and Sorry about Autism?

Topics

  • 501c3 Mission (8)
  • Anxiety (8)
  • App & Product Reviews (12)
  • Autimisms (29)
  • Autism Acceptance (13)
  • Autism at Work (9)
  • Autism Entrepreneurs (17)
  • Autism Resources (6)
  • Blog Haps (550)
  • Buzz (6)
  • Classroom (15)
  • Curious Interviews (118)
  • Day in the Life (9)
  • Dorktales (4)
  • Impactful Blogs (9)
  • Labels (4)
  • Love (5)
  • Mighty League (31)
  • Neurodiversity (2)
  • Our Personal Autism Journey (28)
  • Penfriend Project Autism Columns (228)
    • Adriana's Awesome Autistic Book Lists (3)
    • Aspierations (16)
    • Autism Insider (78)
    • Autistic Speaks (27)
    • Being Brave (28)
    • Chloe Rothschild (3)
    • Fidgets and Fries (3)
    • Happy Aspie (9)
    • My Shaynanigans (8)
    • Neurodivergent Rebel (23)
    • Positively Autistic (18)
    • Proud Autistic Living (6)
    • Tud Sense (5)
  • Pop Culture (8)
  • Safety (8)
  • Self-Care (7)
  • Self-Esteem (3)
  • Self-Improvement (10)
  • Sensory Needs (10)
  • Social Skills (4)
  • Speech and Language (6)
  • Tell Us Your Story (29)
  • Zoom Autism (64)

Footer

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 Geek Club Books

To improve your experience on our site we may use cookies. Find out more.