“Matthew” was in a car accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He was in his early 30s at the time, was married, and had a young daughter.  During his recovery process, Matthew spent a lot of time away from his family—either in while he was in the hospital for rehabilitation, a nursing home for continued rehabilitation, or just while he received therapy.  After getting his communication device, one thing that we tried to help Matthew accomplish was to maintain his relationship with his wife and daughter during his time of physical separation.   Here are a few examples of things that Matthew did (and some things he could do with more current AAC technology):

• Talk on the phone.  Every day, Matthew called his wife to check in.  He used his communication device to talk over a speaker phone.  In the beginning, Matthew asked a few questions and mainly just listened to his wife.  Over time, he learned to prepare some messages in advance so he could tell his wife what he had been working on in therapy.
• Read books to his daughter.  We programmed his daughter’s favorite books onto Matthew’s communication device so he could read them, page–by-page, to her.  She would sit on his lap, or listen over the phone, as daddy read to her.  She loved this time.  EBook reading pages that are now built into some communication devices could be used to serve this same purpose.
• Play.  We made sure Matthew had messages like “Let’s play Candyland” or “Let’s build a tower” or “Let’s have a tea party.”  These simple messages allowed him to interact with his daughter using the things she loved.   The games (e.g., Concentration, Tic-tac-toe) built into some current communication devices could serve the same purpose as she got older. 
• Watch videos.  When he visited home, before he was able to move back permanently, Matthew like to snuggle with his wife and/or daughter and watch a movie.  He was able to use his communication device to turn on the TV, start the movie, pause it, and turn everything off at the end.  With some current communication devices, Matthew could actually store short video clips on his device—a great way to entertain his daughter in the waiting room or car.
• Look at pictures.  Matthew loved to show pictures of his daughter and wife.   He always had a few with him in his wheelchair.  Now, he could actually put those pictures into his communication device so he could show others AND tell them about his family.  Maybe he could also put some older pictures into his device and show them to his daughter or use them to reminisce with his wife.

There are certainly lots of ways to help maintain relationships with spouses, children, grandchildren, and others.  Remember; as you are helping to support everyday communication don’t forget to include a few creative ways to stay close to important people.