Beaufort County Schools showcases assistive technology that staff say helps students communicate

Beaufort County News aired a school-produced segment showing assistive technology used by students with special needs in the Beaufort County Schools system. The host introduced the piece as "from our friend, Ron Lopes at Beaufort County Schools," and noted the district serves more than 2,000 students with special needs who often use assistive devices.

School staff said their assistive-technology and instructional-technology departments collaborate to identify and program tools that help students access curriculum and communicate. One staff member described multisensory programs that support students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and limited mobility by combining gross-motor and fine-motor activities with occupational and physical therapy.

On communication technology, a staff member described the Proloquo2Go application: "The Proloquo2Go gives him a really great way to communicate his wants and needs. It's quick and easy for us to program to add new things he might need to say," the staff member said. The segment showed how a student can select pictures to form a sentence and have the device speak it aloud.

Why it matters: Assistive technology is central to many students' classroom access and participation; staff emphasized choosing the right tool for each child and said, "every child deserves a voice."

What to watch for: district updates about assistive-technology policies, resources for families, or demonstrations scheduled for parents and caregivers.