Beyond the Classroom: Building Functional Communication Through Outdoor Play
March 3, 2027 2pm
Webinar with Megan Peveto, SLP
Outdoor environments offer rich opportunities for communication—but many children need intentional support to fully engage in these experiences. This session focuses on building functional communication in outdoor settings to increase inclusion and participation for children with diverse communication needs.
Participants will examine language development and the multiple ways children communicate, and why functional, effective communication is the top priority when encouraging development.
Additionally, this session will explore how language and communication development naturally occur during play, exploration, and shared outdoor routines, and how these moments can be used to support a child’s development in meaningful, functional ways. The session will highlight how to recognize and create communication opportunities across a variety of outdoor settings, including playgrounds, outdoor classrooms, and everyday transitions.
Attendees will learn practical, low-prep strategies to support communication, including visual supports, scaffolding, modeling, and simple environmental adjustments. Emphasis will be placed on embedding these supports into real-life contexts to reduce frustration, increase engagement, and promote independence.