MAR
05
2020
ALL ARTICLES
Our Ambassador Mke in Wellington
Mke Ninces recently travelled to Wellington and while there, offered to wear her TalkLink Trust “ambassador hat” and meet two young TalkLink clients. Both girls attend their local primary school, so we took this opportunity and suggested that Mke not only meet the girls but also have a chat with their classmates.
Here is what Mke said about the experience:
“While I have a lot of public speaking and mentoring experience, I can’t say that I have experience at presenting at primary schools. However, today changed that!
This morning, I was lucky enough to visit Lyall Bay School and West Park School, here in Wellington, to mentor two young A.A.C users with similar communication devices to mine. As I was asked to present to their entire class or entire year group, I was pretty nervous. However, my first ever picture book “If You Talk to Me...” seemed to go down well with both the 9 year olds and the 5 year olds! Being able to be a part of somebody else’s A.A.C journey is both a responsibility and a privilege. There’s honestly no other way I would have preferred to start my Wellington adventure!
(P.S. Hopefully, my picture book will be available for sale in the next few weeks!)”
The email feedback has been amazing since this presentation; here is some of the feedback:
It was lovely meeting you today! Thank you so much for coming in to talk to all of our Year 1 students, teacher aides and teachers! I know it was frustrating when your device wouldn't connect to the TV in the way that you wanted it to, but it was an incredible presentation without it. The kids (and the adults) enjoyed meeting you, learning how you use your device, and about who you are as a person. The book you wrote is inspiring and educational. You capture so many important elements of communicating with someone who uses an AAC device and I know this is something I will use frequently in my classroom and pass on to ‘A's’ future teachers.
Thank you so much,
class teacher West Park School
Thanks so much from me too Mke, what a great opportunity!
‘A’ spent a lot of time last night just ‘exploring’ different words on her device and I have no doubt it was as a result of seeing someone else communicate so well with one, gave her a good bit of motivation.
And personally, as a parent still fairly early on in supporting the AAC journey, it was a real encouragement for me to see someone down the very experienced end of the scale and seeing the communication opportunities it will open up for ‘A’ in the future.
Hopefully see you again some time, thanks again!
Regards
J (dad)
Hi Mke
Thank you so much for the visit today, and to TalkLink and the school for arranging it. Wow! It really felt like a game-changer for my daughter. I've never seen her use her talker so confidently and independently for so long. Having you talk to the class was very motivating for her, I think.
Thank you for spending the time with us all, and for sharing your wonderful book. Congratulations on publishing it!
It was lovely to see you again, and hopefully we'll cross paths again sometime.
All the best!
S (mum)
Mke Ninces recently travelled to Wellington and while there, offered to wear her TalkLink Trust “ambassador hat” and meet two young TalkLink clients. Both girls attend their local primary school, so we took this opportunity and suggested that Mke not only meet the girls but also have a chat with their classmates.
Here is what Mke said about the experience:
“While I have a lot of public speaking and mentoring experience, I can’t say that I have experience at presenting at primary schools. However, today changed that!
This morning, I was lucky enough to visit Lyall Bay School and West Park School, here in Wellington, to mentor two young A.A.C users with similar communication devices to mine. As I was asked to present to their entire class or entire year group, I was pretty nervous. However, my first ever picture book “If You Talk to Me...” seemed to go down well with both the 9 year olds and the 5 year olds! Being able to be a part of somebody else’s A.A.C journey is both a responsibility and a privilege. There’s honestly no other way I would have preferred to start my Wellington adventure!
(P.S. Hopefully, my picture book will be available for sale in the next few weeks!)”
The email feedback has been amazing since this presentation; here is some of the feedback:
It was lovely meeting you today! Thank you so much for coming in to talk to all of our Year 1 students, teacher aides and teachers! I know it was frustrating when your device wouldn't connect to the TV in the way that you wanted it to, but it was an incredible presentation without it. The kids (and the adults) enjoyed meeting you, learning how you use your device, and about who you are as a person. The book you wrote is inspiring and educational. You capture so many important elements of communicating with someone who uses an AAC device and I know this is something I will use frequently in my classroom and pass on to ‘A's’ future teachers.
Thank you so much,
class teacher West Park School
Thanks so much from me too Mke, what a great opportunity!
‘A’ spent a lot of time last night just ‘exploring’ different words on her device and I have no doubt it was as a result of seeing someone else communicate so well with one, gave her a good bit of motivation.
And personally, as a parent still fairly early on in supporting the AAC journey, it was a real encouragement for me to see someone down the very experienced end of the scale and seeing the communication opportunities it will open up for ‘A’ in the future.
Hopefully see you again some time, thanks again!
Regards
J (dad)
Hi Mke
Thank you so much for the visit today, and to TalkLink and the school for arranging it. Wow! It really felt like a game-changer for my daughter. I've never seen her use her talker so confidently and independently for so long. Having you talk to the class was very motivating for her, I think.
Thank you for spending the time with us all, and for sharing your wonderful book. Congratulations on publishing it!
It was lovely to see you again, and hopefully we'll cross paths again sometime.
All the best!
S (mum)