Student Stories - Jamal

Illustrator: Anonymous

Jamal is thirteen years old but does not speak. Still he has learned to communicate although he is significantly autistic. Jamal has an affectionate and close family. His mother is a social worker and his father is a podiatrist. Jamal helps out at home and is able to make his needs known.

Jamal entered a regular elementary school where the staff had been trained to help special needs students communicate with pictures. Students, who are unable to speak, are trained to use pictures to express their needs. The pictures are stored in a large notebook that is kept with the child. Jamal excelled with picture communication. He quickly developed a large picture vocabulary and routinely used his picture notebook to communicate at school and at home. As his fluency with picture communication developed, the repetitive behaviors like rocking that are common among autistic children, began to disappear.

His successful experiences with communication also began to stimulate his interest in verbal language. Jamal began to speak using a few words. Meanwhile, his picture communication skills grew increasingly sophisticated with Jamal stringing together several pictures to form pictures sentences. He could initiate communication to express his needs and respond to others. Jamal seemed to be on an ever-faster train to better communication.

Unfortunately, his progress was derailed when Jamal entered the fifth grade. His teacher had not been trained to use picture communication and was only able to use the picture system in a limited way. The same problem continued into the sixth and seventh grades. Without regular use at school, Jamal's proficiency with picture communication began to decline. He stopped all efforts to speak as well and his rocking behavior reappeared. The toll on Jamal's progress was evident in the meeting to plan for his eighth grade education: the educational goals from the fourth grade plan were higher than the goals now being discussed for the eighth grade. In frustration, his mom called Student Advocacy.

After investigating his educational history, our Educational Advocate represented Jamal at a second meeting to plan for his eighth grade educational program. As a result of our efforts, the district decided to build on his past success by sending him to a special program outside of the district that extensively uses the picture communication system. In addition, the district decided to invest in staff training so that middle and high school teachers would be proficient in supporting students who need to use picture communication. This will ensure that other students who rely on picture communication will have a better educational experience. This also lays the groundwork in case Jamal eventually returns to the high school in his own community.