Automated Transcript Episode 8
Harnessing technology to empower children who struggle with reading or writing
Guest speaker Sallie Greenhalgh Academic and Digital Lead Unicorn School
Please excuse any errors as this transcript has been automatically generated
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Welcome to the Send Parenting Podcast, focused on supporting, inspiring, and empowering parents and their Neurodiverse children. I'm your Neurodiverse host, Dr. Olivia Kessel. We will be speaking weekly with experts in the world of neurodiversity. No topic is too big or too small for us to discuss. We will include things like, how do you navigate education? How can you understand what your child's legal rights are to an education? Practical advice on neurodiversity, and most importantly, hearing the voices of other parents just like you. Looking forward to having you join US weekly as part of the Send Parenting Tribe.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
In this episode, we are going look at technology with Sally Greenhalgh academic and digital lead at the Unicorn School. She will share with us how Microsoft technology can facilitate and break down barriers to learning. I am really, truly thankful as someone with neurodiversity to live in a world where technology makes life a lot easier. My daughter has struggled with fine motor due to her cerebral palsy, and dictation has enabled her to unlock her thoughts and put them to paper. Both of us were like completely on spelling and grammar corrections, which allow us to use words we want to use versus words we can spell. If you haven't harnessed technology to support your child, this is the episode for you.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
So welcome, Sally, to the Send Parenting Podcast. It's a real pleasure to have you on the show today. I really Oh, you're welcome. I'm really excited because not many people share my passion of how technology can really help neurodiversity. And I know, speaking for myself personally, like if it wasn't for technology, I would still be scared to send emails and to actually write anything because I still, as a dyslexic can't spell and my grammar is pretty atrocious as well. So, you know, technology has really saved my bacon, so to speak, in, in my daily living. Um, so it's a real pleasure to talk to someone who shares that passion. And I guess my first question to you is, what ignited this passion? I know you have a math background, but what ignited your passion for technology and education?
Sallie Greenhalgh:
So, I mean, my long ago background is maths and computing. I did a joint degree at university, but I mean, that we're talking kind of coding and I'm full on computing at that point. But I've always kind of, I think, lived on the cutting edge of technology. I was, I was lucky as a child that we had a computer at home. My dad was really kind of into that sort of stuff. Um, and we've, we've always had gadgets, so I've always seen that as the way to go. I have had access to a computer at the earliest possible opportunity. I was one of the first people when I was teaching to use a laptop to create worksheets rather than the all kind of photocopying and cutting and sticking.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
And so I've seen the power of technology just in education, full stop. Um, and then I think when I came to work at, at the Unicorn what nearly, nearly five years ago now, I was lucky enough to get involved in conversations about where are we going with it. At the time we had Chromebooks in school, but they weren't enough for one each. It was a fight to say, you know, who's gonna have them today? We knew we needed to do something different just because of the way the world was going. I was fortunate enough to be able to go up to Microsoft's headquarters in London for a day to see what they could offer us, and was absolutely blown away by what, what they could do even then, sort of five years ago and starting.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
It's interesting because like when I looked into technology as well, about five, seven years ago, we started with Dragonfly, then went to Chromebooks and then went to Microsoft. I mean, that was like kind of my journey. Yeah. And then, you know, it was so much easier with Microsoft than either of the other two platforms.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Absolutely. And I think, you know, they sold it to us as that case. I had been using Microsoft products in my working life for years because we had used office just as a teacher. I had used, word and excel to do my job and I knew that they were out there in the workplace. So for, for pupils, when they eventually leave us, we would be giving them skills that that would set them up for wherever they want to go, whether that be college or into the workplace because that's you know, pretty much industry standard. Then with my math hat on, I had always thought, you know, Excel's great, but it's limited. I can't do my GCSEs Maths in Excel. I had not seen one note before and they showed me one note and I was like, this is revolutionary.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
I can do my math. The kids can sit with a pen and do their maths on the computer and then you start being shown things like immersive reader and it's like, you know, these children who are sat in front of me who can't easily access an exam paper because they can't read the text, they can do the maths, but they can't do the questions because they can't access what it's asking them. Suddenly by giving them those kinds of tools, they can be independent. And it was just, you know, I was only there for probably four or five hours, but we, we briefly looked at all of these tools that we could have. And I was like, we have to have it. And that was, you know, I came back to school and said, that's got to be the way to go. You know that passion had sort of already been there, that absolutely kind of set it alight. Um, and that's really where we have flown from then.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
So you've always been a technology, uh, individual who is cutting edge, <laugh>, <laugh>, and now Microsoft's giving the tools to kind of apply that to kids in the setting of the Unicorn, and anywhere really. You were talking about some of these tools. Can you take me through what Microsoft actually offers, you know, in terms of their different, functionalities.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Guess? So I, for, for us, in terms of things that our pupils use, um, on a daily basis are immersive reader, which will take text and will read it. So it's a computer reader, but it works not only in products like Word, it will also work within OneNote, which we use, it will work within teams. It works in Microsoft Edge, the, the browser. So you can get it to read websites to you. I've worked with children who have been doing some research and they don't want somebody having to sit over their shoulder and read the text of a website to them because they have been asked to do research, they want to do it independently. An immersive reader allows them to do that. So that is a really key one because it, it opens up so many possibilities for all of our dyslexic learners.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
We then use dictation a lot. So obviously for many of our dyslexic and, and actually pupils who have difficulties perhaps with their handwriting or other mobility issues which make typing tricky, dictate, opens up all those doors. We've got pupils who have fantastic ideas and are amazing verbally, but that difficulty of getting them down on paper or typing stops them from being able to achieve their potential. We had a pupil in year 11 last year who was doing GCSE film studies and in his mock, he got a grade two because he was so scared he was typing, but he was so scared of typing the spelling incorrectly that rather than using some of the complex technical vocab that he needed, and he knew, he chose to use simpler words because he knew he could spell those.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
When we managed to persuade him that actually he was able, he could use dictate, suddenly he got a grade five in the end because he was willing to use that more complex vocab because he didn't have to worry about whether or not he could spell it. So for him that made an enormous difference to the potential for his grade. I have seen our pupils as young as year three and year four are sat in a classroom using dictate because they've got those ideas and they are equally as able as their peers in mainstream, but they just have that barrier. That means that getting those ideas onto a piece of paper or onto a computer are tricky unless you have dictate, which is, as you know, it's fantastic. So those are the two that we, we use a lot.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
But we also use things like just the fact that, that we set all of our work in teams because by setting all of our work in teams, we use their assignments and it allows us to put those assignments on the calendar. So for our pupils who find organization tricky, they don't have to write their homework in a homework diary. They don't have to find the right page in the homework diary and which date it is that's there for them. And they can go home and they can look on their teams because we now have one-to-one devices across the school. So they have it at home and they can go, right, okay, this is the homework that's most in need of doing becasue it's due in first. I'll do that one first and it's just there for them. And one thing that Microsoft are doing in response to lots of feedback from schools and parents across the globe is that in the new year there will be a parental access to that. So, you know, lots of their peers perhaps in secondary schools, parents will have a homework app that they can have access to and see what homework their child has been supposed to do. At the moment we can't do that, but that is coming in the new year. So as a parent then you can actually see exactly what your child is being asked to do in assignments as well, which is fantastic.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
That's great. And one of the things I think you have shown me before is how those assignments don't necessarily need to be written, it could be a video from the teacher.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Yeah. And that's, that's for me, that is one of the, the biggest things is that assignment can be on a Word document, it could be a PowerPoint, it can be a video, it can be just audio. So whatever works best for that pupil. And we use, again, we use that a lot in terms of the feedback that we give pupils for us, if we were to give, particularly with members of staff handwriting feedback, most of our pupils wouldn't be able to access it. They wouldn't be able to read it. Even if they had it read to them, it would go in and it would be gone because we use OneNote a lot for our effectively as our exercise books. We are on there we can, as staff, we can record audio feedback, we can record video feedback for pupils.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
So they have that verbal feedback. They don't have to be able to read it, but it's also not a one shot and it's gone. They can come back to it again. So I've been doing some work with my year elevens recently, in the run up to their mocks. And we did some homework and I recorded some audio feedback and a couple of lessons later, one of them said to me, I can't quite remember how to do that. And I was able to say, because I was working with another pupil, just go back and listen to what what we put then. And it was something they can do independently because, they don't need to worry about being able to read it. It just opens for me, it opens so many doors for them that otherwise would be, would be closed.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
The other thing that we are using a little bit and and wanting to develop more is something called Office Lens, which is available on, it's a sort of phone app rather than a device app. But it will, you can take a picture of something and it will then be able to read it to you. So for pupils who need perhaps support with reading bus time tables or with reading menus in a restaurant, they want to go out with their friends at some point and they don't want to ask, have to ask their friend what, you know, which drink they want to have. They want that independence, it can do all of that for them. And that's all part of what, what Microsoft can do. So, and it works the same way as all the other tools that we have given them. So by showing them how to use those tools in school the world is their oyster, we have set them up so that they can be independent when they leave, which is the most important thing. And they can, they will reach their potential without this, you know, we have managed to bridge that barrier that they have got in terms of accessing, you know, reading or writing. They can achieve what they are able to.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
It's almost unlocked the door and given them like their own independence. Yeah. Which is an amazing gift to have, you know, <laugh> in your experience, do a lot of schools because, you know, when I visited schools and stuff like that, I don't see Microsoft that much everywhere. You know, I see more maybe Google Chrome and other things or technology in a very much more limited setting. Whereas, in the Unicorn it is everywhere. What is your experience with that? Or do you have any experience with that? Yeah,
Sallie Greenhalgh:
I mean I think, I think probably Google got their first, so schools who were on the very forefront of perhaps trying to bring some tech in did go with Google. Because that was what was there. Selfishly my during lockdown, my daughter was at a school where they were using Google Classroom and it, it doesn't work as well. As a parent and as a teacher seeing it from both sides, it just, it was, you know, it did a job, but it doesn't have the same kind of easy flexibility. I mean, for us being able to use teams means that all of the lessons that a pupil goes to, they have a team for each of those lessons. So when we were in lockdown, we could then just run a normal timetable online lessons for each of those teams.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
And they just had it was easy. But even now that, you know, obviously we're back in school full-time, we still use those teams because they can use that as their space for work for that lesson. Staff members can compose information on the team's chat that all the pupils need to know, but also it's an opportunity for the pupils to talk to each other about that subject. But it means that it's kind of all together and you can see this is what we're doing today and here's the work, you know, the things that are relevant to it, and then here's tomorrow's. But math is on one side and English is in another place and not trying to muddle it all up. And again, you know, I obviously I do meet lots of people in, in my role, but educationally teams is just setting them up for the future. It is where the business world is going. It is learning those skills and the, you know, they can have teams meetings, they're learning the etiquette of how to do that as well. So as well as being great for, for our neurodiverse children, we're just teaching them really good skills for, for life and for business.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
And me being a little bit hypocritical sometimes I think the things that you learn in school doesn't have any application outside of school, but this really does have an application outside of school <laugh>.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Absolutely, so I was just kind of thinking about other things that we use. So, there's an app now that Microsoft has developed called Reading Progress, which we are, again, we are rolling out particularly with our, our one-to-one teachers. And what it enables the pupils to do, is they are given a piece of text and they have to read it, but they can do it in the peace and quiet of their own home. And they are recorded, then it automatically will mark that in terms of accuracy. And as a member of staff, we can set that level of accuracy so we can, you know, if we know that they have difficulty with pronunciation, we can make it less, sort of tricky. But it allows you, then it will also pick up on if there are particular phonic sounds that the pupils are struggling with. So it will identify areas that they need to work on. So for teaching reading and for supporting pupils with reading, it's fantastic. It doesn't remove the benefit of reading to an adult at all. But it does mean that you can, you can read aloud more often than you probably would be able to read with an adult.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
And also that goes back to independence. Like, my daughter hates reading with me, you know, hates it. You know, I can just do it myself, mummy. And I'm like, I know you can do it yourself and you are going to read, but I don't know what you're reading. You know what I mean? And so I've never heard of this before, but that would be fabulous that she could actually record it herself.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Yeah. And it means that, you know, particularly for children who perhaps are a little bit self-conscious about reading, because they know that they aren't necessarily going to get it right. They don't, it's not, again, it's not a one hit wonder. They can, if they know they have made mistakes, they can have another go at it. They don't have to press submit until they're happy. But I also use it with my GCSE children because not even just my neurodiverse learners for as long as, as I've been teaching, the one thing that I am saying time and time and time again is read the question carefully, read the question carefully because they don't. But for the children I teach now that's even harder because they actually trying to access that text can be tricky. And so I use reading progress with my older children to get them to read the math question so that they're actually taking the time to slow down. They're taking the time to make sure they read all of those words rather than typically kind of scanning it and then going, oh well there's some numbers there so I'll just add them together because that's probably what I have to do. But when they have been through this app, because they get scored, we don't have to give them the scores. We can talk, we can just give them feedback, but because we as, as staff get those score based on the accuracy,
Sallie Greenhalgh:
We can then work with them about vocab that they don't understand. So it's great for us to be able to say, okay, well clearly you are not getting these particular words. So that's work that we need to do in our math lessons to go over that. And it can be used across the board. I mean, this, this app is also used, I know for in other schools where they do modern foreign languages. So it might well be that you are doing it in French or you're doing it in German. If we have children whom English isn't their, um, first language, all of those tools that I've talked about immersive reader and dictate they will work in multiple languages. So you can take a piece of text and you can convert, translate it into, um, obviously at the moment there's a lot of people who are translating it into Ukrainian and then it allows the child to access it in their own language which obviously for people who have been displaced without that, you know, no sort of English as their, their background means that suddenly they can access lessons that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
It's phenomenal, isn't it, for, for the teacher and for the student. Yeah,
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Yeah, absolutely. It just, it opens so many doors. I mean I can't I'm fortunate I don't have particular difficulties, but I still use dictate because I can talk quicker than I can type and if I'm doing something and I've got a document over here and a document over here and I'm trying to sort of pull them together, then rather than copying and pasting, it's just easier to talk, talk at my computer and I can use it. So, you know, it's, I think the other thing that we are able to teach the children is that they're not using these just because they find learning tricky, but because they are tools out there that everyone can benefit from and that make everyone's life easier.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
And what's brilliant is you can use it with emails, you can, you know, you can use it with PowerPoint, you can use it, it across all of the, the suite of Microsoft. And I mean, I remember as a doctor when I used to dictate, you used to use the Dictaphone and then you'd hand it off to someone who would then type it, but it's essentially, it's the same thing, you know, it was faster to dictate your notes on a patient than to actually type it out yourself or god forbid write it, which nobody could read. Um, <laugh> No,
Sallie Greenhalgh:
No, absolutely. Yeah. It is quicker. It is easier. It just, it gives them that, and for me it's the independence, and skills for life. Yes, it will help them hopefully to achieve their qualifications, which will open doors. But our biggest goal is to ensure that when pupils leave us, that they are able to be independent learners, out in the big wide world. And that for me now, we would find that tricky without that, that software, you know, Microsoft has made such a difference
Dr Olivia Kessel:
And the kids use it every day. So they get used to how to use it because it's part of their everyday life. They don't do special computer classes on it or do they, is is it a combination of the two?
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Yeah, a combination. It is absolutely. The normal way of working for most of our children, from year seven upwards, or children have, we run something called a bring your own device policy. So children bring their own devices into school. We suggest which device to use because we've done lots of research and it works best with our system and staff are familiar with them. We want a device that has the digital linking because for things like maths where typing is tricky, they can can use the pen on the screen. In our key stage two classes, we still have one-to-one devices, but at the moment we provide those in school. So that means those ones at the moment can't go home. That is something we are looking at because I'm very aware that those children also have homework and it would, some parents will be in a fortunate position to have devices at home that they can work on, but others won't.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
So it is not a change in policy yet, but certainly something we are looking at. So they do have them all the time and they get very good at them, which is great. But we are also aware that for certainly we know we have pupils who join us at different points. And so, you know, if we have a pupil who joins us in the secondary phase of the school and hasn't come through using it as their normal way of working at primary, then you know, they are normally a little behind their peers. But also we, we use it differently in, in key stage two than we do in key stage three because of the age of the children. So we are, we are looking at putting in some discreet IT lessons as well. We do bits and pieces already and a lot of it is done through the lesson where they're using it.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
So English is a prime example when they started in kind of year three and year four, if they're using the device, then the first time they will be shown how to use dictator. And it might be that they're only writing one sentence or maybe two sentences because they are getting used to it. But then by, you know, six weeks later they can dictate the whole of their piece of work. Also our amazing one-to-one teachers do a lot of work on using the assistive tech as well. So, you know, again, different pupils have different requirements, so some of them are very happy just typing and dictate then, you know, doesn't work for them. So then they will will spend some time with their one-to-one teachers on touch typing so that their typing is really efficient but there are others where dictate absolutely is the right way.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
And so I was observing a one-to-one lesson last year and I think it was actually with your daughter, where she was working with her one-to-one on not just the, this is the sentence I want to say, but actually using the power of dictate to put in full punctuation, to put in, you know, new paragraphs. All of those extra things that it does, um, that we don't necessarily do with individuals, you know, a whole class we will do with the individuals who need that. But that's, you know, where we are very fortunate that we've got such skilled teachers across the school who can all do that.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Alexandra dictates her letter to Santa <laugh> fantastic.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
I reckon he's immersive reader to read it back as well because he can do it on the fly then as well, can't he? <laugh>?
Dr Olivia Kessel:
It has been a journey though with her as well because you know, she's got memory issues a little bit as well. So remembering what she has to say and then saying it. So it is a skill. It's not like a magic nirvana that it's like talking, but you know, it gets easier and easier the more you use it kind of like a language.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Absolutely. And I think for the pupils with us, they just see it's okay. Whereas if you are in a mainstream school, you might be the one child who's got to carry the laptop or got to go to the special needs department to get the laptop to be allowed to use it. And then everybody's looking at you because you are talking in the corner and they know. They're all using it and it's fine and it's normal and they know that if they want to go and use dictate and they have to go and sit a bit further away because they're hearing each other, that's fine. And it's, um, so there's no, none of that insecurity of I'm different to anybody else. It's just, I use it this way, they use it that way, that's fine because we all use it the best way that suits
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Us. Yeah. And and once they get into open plan offices, they'll, they'll realize that, you know, everyone's talking and typing and you know, doing everything and you just have to tune everyone out. <laugh>.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Yeah, absolutely. It, it's good practice, isn't it,
Dr Olivia Kessel:
<laugh>? How does this, how does you know what they've learned, learned with Microsoft and the, the tools of Microsoft translate into actually taking their GCSE exams? Like do they use Microsoft as well or do they use different technology platforms?
Sallie Greenhalgh:
So at the moment we, our current year elevens will be the last year who will use a different platform. So we don't, we use currently standalone laptops. We use Word, but we are moving to Microsoft have created a new Windows 11 device called the Windows sc, which is a small cheap device, which is what we will be using for exams going forward. Then we need to work on the system, but we will basically have some exam logins, which means that they will then be able to use immersive reader and dictate within their exams. So it will be familiar software all the way through, which is what we're looking for.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
That's brilliant because then there's, you know, they, it's known, trusted, and they feel comfortable with it.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Totally. And that's what we were aiming for. So before we went fully to Microsoft, we had these laptops and that was how the exam was set set up. And we've needed to wait until we were completely comfortable with how our system was set up to be sure that we can obviously meet all the exam requirements to do it this way. We are now just in the process of putting those final kind of finishing touches in place, and then we'll be going with that, which is fantastic.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Which is amazing, especially with the story you told earlier on about, you know, going from a two to a five that's, you know, over doubling your score just through the technology. What advice would you give for parents potentially who don't have the, you know, the benefit of having, you know, the Unicorn and the structure that you have just told us, which is pretty fabulous. What can they do at home or in their mainstream schools if they have a kid who's neurodiverse or you know, needs that extra help? What would you recommend or what advice would you give them?
Sallie Greenhalgh:
I think it is working with the school, if you have a, a child who has difficulties reading or getting their ideas down on paper, and you will probably see it, particularly if they now have access to a phone, the same child that I was talking about, when I was speaking to his mum, she would say, you know, he would always use voice notes when he was sending her a message rather than using a text message because it was easier for him. So, you know, children who are perhaps doing that already because they know that they're going to make mistakes otherwise, it's, it's working with the SENCO and saying, you know, look, they, particularly if they have a diagnosis, so the school will be very aware of that, but even if they're not, there are things that schools can do to put assessments in place to, to look for for signs of those things.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
It's looking at as a school have a requirement to make reasonable adjustments and so those reasonable adjustments may well mean providing access to some kind of technology. Now whether that is a laptop that school provide whilst the child is in school, whether it is a laptop that they are able to bring home, if parents are in a position where they can provide one that they can have from home into school and back again, it's probably the, the best way in that sense because they have got the same device the whole time. But, you know, we are very aware that not everyone is in that fortunate position. So schools should be able to provide them with, with a device. If the school has Microsoft all the better because obviously they've got access to all of these. There are, computer readers and dictate software within all online platforms.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
So there is stuff in Google, it's not quite as as easy, it's not quite as straightforward, but it is there. And it is about saying, you know, this is what the difference it makes when my child uses this. So I've done a, a test with a child before where they did a piece of work and the first time they hand wrote, you know, they had 10 minutes to write, hand write something, we then gave them 10 minutes to type it. We then gave them 10 minutes to use dictate. And you can imagine the difference in what they were able to achieve. It's about this, this last one when they used dictate that's their real ability because in the other places it was their method of being able to get that out that got in the way, that was their barrier, not what their, their cognitive ability is.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
It is, you know, it's pushing schools a little bit to say this is what my child needs, this is what my child deserves. You know, working with them to, to ensure that they get what they they need. But there are, you know, even on things like mobile phones, those tools exist. So you've got, you know, the ability to have it read back to you. You've got the ability to use dictate and if, you know, show the the pupil, you know, your children, how those work because that again will still make them more independent. You know, you can be more comfortable, they can go off with their friends because they will be able to send you a message to say where they are because they know how to use that software. So there's that kind of support even outside of the school environment that they can use just to give them that independence with the tools that they are likely to already have.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
And I think you can even download because I mean I just discovered this this past weekend, trying to get an Excel document on my phone that you can actually download onto your phone, the Microsoft suite. So most kids have a phone, funnily they might not have a laptop, but most kids have a phone,
Sallie Greenhalgh:
You know, it does require them to have a Microsoft login, but if they've got a Microsoft login from school, then they can use absolutely use those on their phone. And yes, I was sat on the a swimming gala on Sunday and I was recording results and I had, was using Excel on my phone to do exactly that. So, you know, the literally with, with the device, we're so lucky really to live when we do because of the devices and the tech that we've got available. And it is just making sure that people are aware of what is out there and how powerful it is. And for me that's what I want to do is to, you know, it makes sure that it is being used to its full potential. Microsoft has done a brilliant job in creating it. If I hadn't been fortunate enough to go up to that meeting in, in January, 2018, I, I wouldn't have known about it, and you know, for me now that is is one of the things that as a, a showcase school I want to do is to get that message out there to as many people as we can that it's amazing and, you know, just use it.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
That is you know, the impetus kind of for this podcast too. Because as you know, my daughter has fine motor issues from her cerebral palsy, so she can't write really well and typing is also challenging. And we went through a real journey of trying to find the right solution. And my dad also is very much, in the IT world and business, you know, trying to find a solution and it was a long journey, but once we got to Microsoft, it was like, wow. And now, like you say, she knows how to use it on WhatsApp. She, even with Google, you know, it, she'll, she'll talk into the Google search engine so that it will find her what research she wants. So she's now cross-learning with different platforms she doesn't even think, oh, it won't be able to do voice activation.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Her thing is like, let me figure out how this will voice activate for me and, and work for me. And you know, with her little friend, she sends messages back and forth. So it's amazing and I think it doesn't take too much effort on a parent's side to, to start that ball rolling. And then once you put a little technology in front of a child, they just run with it. And then the school's also, you know, some of the ones that I've talked to, they're not aware of all of the technology out there. So hopefully any parents listening to this podcast who can then go and help their SENCO with what they've learned from you today, it will benefit, as you say, not just Neurodiverse kids, but all kids. It benefits, you know, makes it simpler.
Sallie Greenhalgh:
Yeah. And you know, I'm very happy to go and help anyone that, that wants some help. So, you know, if my details are out there at the end, I'm, you know, please do, because for me, there's nothing better than sitting with a child who hasn't been able to do something and suddenly you provide them with a tool that's, that means they can do that on their own. Because, you know, just because they have some kind of barrier, why should they be in a different position to anyone else? Um, and we, we've got the ability to, to give them that now we just, you know, that's what we need to do.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Thank You so much, Sally, for your time today and your generous offer of assistance to help support any parents in schools that might need it. Sally's contact information and some fact sheets about the Microsoft technology can be found on the Send Parenting website. Please also leave any comments or suggestions for future podcasts. Thank you all for listening and wishing you and your family a good half term till next week.