LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. – Liberty Lake installed a new communication board at Rocky Hill Park to help children communicate while playing.
The board shows words like “help,” “slide,” “water” and “swings” to help children who don’t have these words in their vocabulary.
Dr. Brian Shute, a speech language pathologist, said the boards help children with different needs.
“For people with Autism, people with Down Syndrome, people with speech and language delays. Communication boards are just great for that,” Shute said.
The boards serve more than 9,000 children in Spokane County who have speech language disorders. They also help children who are learning to read or building vocabulary.
The boards work as safety tools. Parents of non-verbal children can use them to help their kids communicate with others if they get separated.
“It provides opportunities for learning. It provides socialization and inclusion for people that would normally be isolated from some of those things,” Shute said.
Hannah Wedel, a mother of four, likes how the board helps her child who is learning to read.
“I definitely appreciate it because I have one that’s at the stage of learning to read and building stronger skills with that. So I think for that stage, it definitely is a good tool,” Wedel said.
Each board is different based on its park. The Rocky Hill Park board shows tennis courts, a barn and a goat.
Wedel encourages her children to figure out what the pictures mean.
“I tell them, go see what you think it means. So I like how it attracts interest. And kids can take a look at it and try to figure out what the pictures are depicting and then see what it means for them,” she said.
This is Liberty Lake’s second communication board. The city plans to add another one at Pavilion Park because the boards are popular.
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