neighbors
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�atherine Fredericks , aspeech and language pathologist with the �ayne public schools , has devoted her career to making it easier for nonverbal children to communicate .
To help kids with autism and other disabilities express their thoughts and feelings — and avoid being ostraci�ed by their peers — she designed a 3-foot-tall panel holding 96 plastic symbols , most of them colorful stick figures , arranged in s�uares on a grid . To make themselves understood , kids could point to the symbols while trying to form the appropriate words .
But while using the core word communication station ’ s numbers and symbols would be a learning experience , Fredericks , a longtime �ayne resident , knew the panel would work best if it were installed where kids went to have fun : a playground .
Since that first board was unveiled at Rabbi Shai Shacknai Memorial Park last spring , user response — from both kids and their parents — has been so positive that two more have been put in place at Pines Lake School . The �ayne Education Foundation has committed to providing custom communication playground boards at each of the other elementary schools in�ayne , aswell as the Preakness Early Childhood Center� plans are also in the works to install boards in Fair Lawn , Paterson and other New �ersey towns .
“ My vision is that �they� become as common as aswing or slide in every playground across the �nited States ,” says Fredericks , a longtime resident of �ayne . “ I am extremely proud that �ayne is at the forefront ofinnovative technology .” Here are 7 things you should know about Catherine Fredericks . >
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SPRING 2022 WAYNE MAGAZINE