Everyone hits a roadblock or two in their life. AAC users are no different. But the manner in which we are able to deal with them can be much more challenging than for the average person.  The old saying is true – “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

It can be a simple roadblock, such as making a call or telling someone what you need to do during the day. Or, it can be, a major roadblock, such as not being able to graduate college in your chosen field because of your disability. However, I had the proverbial “tractor” in front of me clearing my path.  Throughout my college career, the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, which is now the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services or DARS, partially paid for my tuition and my first two DynaVox AAC devices. 

The first device was a laptop with the DynaVox software installed. It could not have happened at a better time. I sorely needed a computer to write all my papers and a second voice for my oral presentations.

During my last semester, I received my second device, the DynaMyte 3100. I was completing my internship at DARS, the same agency which had funded my laptop and now my DynaMyte. Without the help of DARS I could not have completed my required courses, or graduated. On August 14^th, 1999, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Social Work which would not have been possible without AAC technology.

In 2002, I received the DynaWrite, which is what I’m currently using. It is a keyboard-based device with the capacity to save several different presentations. It is the easiest AAC device I have ever used.

After graduation, I found it difficult to find full-time employment. Therefore, I reassessed my goals and did the next best thing. I got two part-time positions. I watched my best friend Heather’s three little girls, ages 2 months, 4 years and 6 years, for three and half years. We have a running joke that she and I are the only ones that can talk about the girls and get to the core of the matter in a heartbeat. They are now 7, 11 and 13 years old.

While I was watching the children, in 2002 DynaVox Mayer-Johnson also hired me as a part time consumer representative, a position which I still hold today. My duties include traveling to conferences to give presentations, working the company booth at trade shows, contributing to this blog, and to coordinating training sessions with my local sales representatives.

Currently, I am also employed full-time as an AmeriCorps Active Service Solution for Economic Transition or ASSET Assistive Technology Navigator. This position is through AmeriCorps. However, my contract is up in August and I will have another roadblock to maneuver around. I have learned that the more roadblocks a person may have, the stronger their character.