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SED 565: Backseat Driver

November 12, 2025

This week, in the backseat of a car in Maine, someone had something to say.

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Tags communication, augmentative and alternative communication, device
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Tech Solutions for Easier Communication: Helping Your Neurodiverse Child Express and Self-Soothe

October 16, 2024

Have you ever struggled to find the right tech tools to help your neurodiverse child?

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Tags AAC, communication, augmentative and alternative communication, PECS
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#437: Signposts

May 31, 2023

Certain items have meaning for Tess. They are positively loaded with meaning, so much so that they're like full paragraphs for her.

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Tags communication, mixed receptive-expressive disorder
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#407: Tess Clams Up

November 2, 2022

Tess is such a talker. Not with words exactly, but a complex system of sounds and gestures. And one thing that can sometimes cause us a bit of concern is this: when she clams up entirely.

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Tags nonverbal, communication
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#404: We Can Handle an IEP

October 12, 2022

It's time once again for the great powwow among experts to work on Tess's education. I'm talking, of course, about her IEP.

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Tags IEP, communication, augmentative and alternative communication
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#393: Chunes

July 27, 2022

We play a lot of music in our house. In the kitchen, in the car, wherever. Tess is making her opinions known about certain tunes.

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Tags music, communication
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#366: Back and Forth

January 19, 2022

Our convos with Tess tend to be short. Usually they end after one word. But today was different.

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Tags communication
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#350: Getting Old

September 29, 2021

I have these routines with Tess. Things that we do together that always work. Okay, maybe not always.

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Tags communication
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#341: No Thanks, Olympics

July 28, 2021

The Olympics. The stories of the athletes and how they got there. Their families rooting them on. The medal ceremonies, the whole deal. Everyone loves the Olympics. Well, maybe not everyone.

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Tags communication, augmentative and alternative communication
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#322: Nacho Nacho Man

March 17, 2021

She's been a paragon of patience. A real gem. But it's safe to say that Tess has had enough.

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Tags communication
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#315: The First Words of the Morning

January 27, 2021

Tess has some favorite places in the world. And this week she returned to one of them after a long absence.

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Tags mixed expressive-receptive language disorder, communication
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#314: Sriracha

January 20, 2021

I like food. I like spicy food. And this week I whipped up a bowl, brought the heat, and watched a certain someone steal my eats.

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Tags communication, augmentative and alternative communication
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#288: No Comment

July 22, 2020

Tess has been consistently saying: no comment. Until pretty recently.

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Tags communication, PECS, mixed expressive-receptive language disorder
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#273: Bad at Homeschooling

April 8, 2020

Entering week four at home here. Raise your hand if you're bad at homeschooling.

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Tags communication, PECS, mixed receptive-expressive disorder
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#256: White Discourtesy Telephone

December 11, 2019

It's a tale as old as time. A car, hurtling down the highway. A family riding therein. And the youngest child, becoming bored, decides to mess with the people around her.

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Tags travel, communication
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#255: Tess Does a Can Opener

December 4, 2019

Our girl is, to say the least, incredibly busy.

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Tags communication, Safety Sleeper
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#240: Becoming a Noticer

August 21, 2019

Keep your eyes peeled, my dad used to always say in the car when we were driving around, on the hunt for our destination. And I find these days, I'm still doing that.

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Tags mindfulness, noticing, communication
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#217: Birds and Mysteries

March 13, 2019

A bird falls from the sky. We try to solve a mystery about Tess. And we use a tool made by a mom, hoping for a day when those mysteries are behind us.

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Tags mixed expressive-receptive language disorder, communication, augmentative and alternative communication, AAC, Gemiini
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#213: Tessie B Ha Ha Ha

February 13, 2019

Laugh it up, fuzzball.

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Tags communication, cognitive delay, autism
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#189: Resolution

August 29, 2018

It's not January 1, but we have a new resolution. For Tess during this upcoming school year.

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Tags AAC, communication, augmentative and alternative communication
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Start at the beginning.

I've been writing about Tess since February 2014.

If you want to read more about my life with Tess, head over to my personal blog, bobigelow.com, and start with the first post.


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