More Communication Boards Installed Around Lacey Schools

LACEY, NJ — Speech therapist Dawn Watson is on a mission to make sure all kids have their voices heard, whether they're verbal or not.

Watson, an employee of Cedar Creek Elementary School, spearheaded an effort last spring to get an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) board installed at her school's playground. Now the board sits proudly, allowing all students to communicate and play with each other.

Read More: Newly Installed AAC Board At Lacey School Allows All Kids To 'Talk'

AAC boards use simple pictures and words so students can express wants and needs while playing. After just a week of installation, the board was catching on with students. Several months later, it continues to be used frequently and Watson wants to spread it around Lacey.

"I'm so pleased with how receptive everyone has been as well as the kids going up and looking at it and using it with their peers," Watson told Patch.

Another board has been installed at Mill Pond School for the preschoolers, Watson said, and yet another is being ordered for Lanoka Harbor School.

"My next endeavor is to get one for Gille Park," she said.

The township told Watson they didn't have the funds, she said, but they would install it if it were donated, she said.

Watson told Patch in the spring that the project was making her dreams come true. Now, those dreams are being shared with the children of Lacey.