Washington Center students were introduced to a new friend this school year – BeBo.  BeBo is a bird puppet who lost his voice after the solar eclipse while he was visiting a friend this summer. Because he lost his voice, our school’s speech therapists are helping BeBo communicate using a combination of tactile and picture symbols, sign language, and voice output devices. Does this ring a bell? Yes, our Washington Center students communicate exactly the same way!

Speech therapists, Melissa Brothers and Carrie Cruce, found a way to introduce new symbols to the student body with fun to watch videos about BeBo’s summer adventure. The students – and BeBo - are learning core vocabulary words which are being integrated to teacher’s instruction, and the adults are all on the edge of their seats waiting for the weekly videos so they can try to figure out where exactly BeBo was when he lost his voice, since he can’t tell us.

                                                                                                                                

With the help of Speech Therapist Melissa Brothers, BeBo, the Washington Center communication puppet, is telling student friends to "wait" to find out where he was when he lost his voice.