DeLisle, MS, June 15, 2009
DuPont DeLisle Donated 115 Communication Picture Boards to the Harrison & Hancock County Emergency Management Agencies
The DuPont DeLisle plant donated 115 Communication Picture Boards to the Harrison & Hancock County Emergency Management Agencies for use in the Emergency Shelters and area emergency support systems. This is the first program of its kind. The two counties combined have 37 shelters, 16 buses, and 2 Emergency Operations Centers.
A Communication Picture Board is a tri-fold that consists of a grid of pictures that represent vocabulary so that persons, that are non-english speaking or have complex communication needs, can use to convey messages. Each of the pictures on the boards are accompanied by text in three languages: English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The primary way a person would communicate using these boards is pointing at the individual pictures to communicate to a shelter worker.
Persons with complex communication needs would include:
(a) non-English speaking populations,
(b) people with developmental or psychological disabilities and cognitive impairments,
(c) people who are able to speak but suddenly are not able to do so as a result of an injury sustained during an emergency, or stress they are experiencing during an emergency
This one-of-a-kind program was created in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast (USM) and the United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC). It will serve as a model for similar programs across the country.
