Grayson County Schools has been awarded an $18,000 grant from the WHAS Crusade for Children.
The funding will establish a district-wide Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Device Lending Library for students. This centralized inventory will give students with complex communication needs immediate access to speech-generating digital tools, specialized software, and adaptive communication devices to express their thoughts, needs, and learning in the classroom.
According to District Special Education Director Jackie Ditto, the lending library will allow speech-language pathologists and special education teams to trial and match personalized tools directly to the individual needs of each student.
"When a child has the right tools to share their voice, it opens up their entire school experience," said Ditto. "Having these communication resources readily available in our district means our students can actively engage with their peers, participate in classroom lessons, and build confidence every single day."
The Crusade has been a strong supporter of the district's work with students with disabilities. Over the past few years, funds have provided additional classroom technology, playground communication boards at our elementary schools, programming to enhance social-emotional development, updated preschool screening equipment, and most recently, sensory rooms.
"We are grateful to the Crusade for Children for granting this funding for our students," said Ditto. "We also know this wouldn't be possible without the tireless efforts of our fire departments, many volunteers, and donors within the community, whose efforts help raise these funds every year for our kids."