Our Speech Pathology team consists of one part time and two full time Speech Pathologists who work collaboratively with teachers to support our students’ communication and mealtime skills in the classroom. We work together through collaborative goal setting and planning to support students’ functional communication skills within the context of the curriculum. We work to support receptive, expressive and pragmatic (social) language skills and promote verbal language through the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) strategies. These include a range of communication systems such as Key Word Sign (KWS), Pragmatic Organised Dynamic Display (PODD) communication books, Aided Language Displays (ALD) and single picture communication symbols (PCS). There is a strong focus on using multimodal communication (a range of communication systems) to support language within the curriculum and functional communication skills across the school day (e.g. expressing their needs and wants). There is also a strong focus on developing our students’ understanding and use of nonverbal communication (gesture and body language) and interaction skills through strategies such as Intensive Interaction, Floor time and play based learning. Our Speech Pathologists also have a key role in helping students develop their mealtime and literacy skills.