FAQ

HERE ARE A FEW FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS THAT WE OFTEN GET ABOUT OUR PARAPROFESSIONAL CURRICULUM. DON’T SEE YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED HERE? SEND US A MESSAGE, WE’RE HERE TO HELP.

1. IS YOUR CURRICULUM AIMED AT A PARTICULAR GROUP OF STUDENTS?

THE CURRICULUM HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO OFFER APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS WHO WORK WITH STUDENTS FROM PRESCHOOL THROUGH TO ADULT TRANSITION PROGRAMS. ALTHOUGH STRATEGIES DISCUSSED ARE APPLICABLE FOR A VARIETY OF STUDENTS WHO PRESENT WITH LANGUAGE LEARNING CHALLENGES, CHILDREN WITH EMERGING COMMUNICATION SKILLS ARE THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE PROGRAM.

2. IS YOUR CURRICULUM GEARED TOWARD A PARTICULAR GROUP OF PARAPROFESSIONALS?

THIS CURRICULUM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY TAUGHT TO A WIDE VARIETY OF ADULT PARAPROFESSIONALS AND IS APPROPRIATE FOR ALL ADULTS WHO ARE IN THE ROLE OF SUPPORTING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENTS.

3. IS THE CURRICULUM APPLICABLE TO ADULTS WORKING IN SELF-CONTAINED CLASSROOMS?

YES. THE COMMUNICATORS PARAPROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM CONTAINS STRATEGIES THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO ADULTS WHO SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN ANY CLASSROOM SETTING, FROM SELF-CONTAINED TO FULLY INCLUSIVE.

4. WHAT AGE RANGES DOES THE CURRICULUM TARGET?

THE CURRICULUM HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS WITH EMERGING LANGUAGE SKILLS IN GRADES PRESCHOOL THROUGH ADULT TRANSITION PROGRAMS.

5. MANY OF THE STUDENTS WHERE I WORK USE AAC. DO YOU ADDRESS THIS?

YES. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE A SEPARATE UNIT ON AAC, EXAMPLES FOR WORKING WITH STUDENTS WHO USE ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF COMMUNICATION ARE DISCUSSED THROUGHOUT THE TRAINING PROGRAM.

6. I DON’T HAVE TIME TO OFFER A FORMAL TRAINING COURSE THAT MEETS WEEKLY. IS IMPLEMENTATION FLEXIBLE?

YES. THE COMMUNICATORS PARAPROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM OFFERS A VERY FLEXIBLE IMPLEMENTATION FORMAT AND CAN BE PRESENTED IN A VARIETY OF FORMATS- FROM A WHOLE GROUP LECTURE TO A 1:1 CLASSROOM TRAINING PROGRAM. THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODULES THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO BE TAUGHT IN A 5-15 MINUTE PERIOD, WE HAVE ATTEMPTED TO ACCOMMODATE A VARIETY OF TIME CONSTRAINTS AND SCHEDULES.

7.  HOW WILL I KNOW IF THE PARAPROFESSIONALS ARE LEARNING THE CONTENT?

PRE- AND POST-ASSESSMENTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR EACH UNIT TO TRACK PARAPROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND GROWTH. OBSERVATION FORMS ARE ALSO OFFERED SUCH THAT THE ONLINE DEMONSTRATION OF PREVIOUSLY LEARNED STRATEGIES CAN BE TAUGHT AND DISCUSSED DURING CLASSROOM VISITS.

8. WHO CAN TEACH THE PROGRAM?

THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED BY A SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST AND A DUALLY CREDENTIALED SPECIAL/GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHER. THE COACH’S GUIDE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO BE A RICH RESOURCE WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION, EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDIES. AS SUCH, THE COMMUNICATORS PARAPROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM COULD THEORETICALLY BE LED BY ANY CREDENTIALED MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE COURSE COACH HAVE TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE AREA OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND/OR SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY.

9. WHAT’S IN THE WORKBOOK?

THE PARTICIPANT WORKBOOK INCLUDES INFORMATION ABOUT STRATEGIES AND TOPICS PRESENTED AS WELL AS MANY FILL-IN-THE BLANK AND SHORT ANSWER SECTIONS TO ALLOW PARAPROFESSIONALS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BETTER FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE INSTRUCTION PRESENTED. ALSO INCLUDED ARE PRE AND POST ASSESSMENTS FOR EACH UNIT AS WELL AS FIELDWORK ASSIGNMENTS THAT SERVE AS EXTENSION ACTIVITIES TO REINFORCE WHOLE GROUP LEARNING.

10. WHAT DO I NEED TO ADMINISTER THE COMMUNICATORS PARAPROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM?

YOU WILL NEED OUR COMPLETE COMMUNICATORS COURSE, WHICH INCLUDES:

1 COACH’S GUIDE

1 USB WITH POWERPOINT SLIDES

PARTICIPANT WORKBOOKS FOR EACH PARAPROFESSIONAL IN ATTENDANCE

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ON-SITE MATERIALS NEEDED:

SLIDE PROJECTOR

AVAILABLE CLASSROOM

11. MY ADMINISTRATOR WANTS TO KNOW WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO HAPPEN AFTER THE PARAPROFESSIONALS COMPLETE THE PROGRAM.

PRE AND POST-COURSE LANGUAGE SAMPLING DATA REVEAL THE FOLLOWING CHANGES IN STUDENT COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

INCREASED NUMBER OF STUDENT INITIATIONS

INCREASED AMOUNT OF COMMUNICATIVE OUTPUT (AS RELATED TO MLU-W)

INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COMMUNICATIVE ATTEMPTS MADE BY THE STUDENT

REDUCTIONS IN CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS SECONDARY TO INCREASED COMMUNICATION SKILLS

12. WILL THE POWERPOINT SLIDES PLAY ON MY COMPUTER?

THE SLIDES WILL PLAY WITH EITHER POWERPOINT OR OPEN OFFICE ON A MAC OR PC.

13. HOW CAN I SUBMIT A PURCHASE ORDER?

PLEASE EMAIL PURCHASE ORDERS TO INFO@COMMUNICATIONANDLEARNINGCONSULTANTS.COM