Those of us who were born with a disability or have had one since shortly after birth don’t think that anything is wrong with us. We perceive that we are normal and everybody else is not. In our tender years, we believed that able-bodied people were the weird guys.
When growing up, I had two sets [...]
I love writing! My passion for it can be seen in my blogs as well as my autobiography, More Than a Watchmaker, and my devotional book, Psalms of Praises. Both books were written before I received my original DynaVox. However, my blogs are now written with my DynaVox Maestro, and I can see a significant [...]
Like most people with severe communication disorders, I hated going to doctors. I came home a basket case from their yelling at me as if I was deaf, or had no intelligence. Unfortunately, this lack of understanding comes from receiving little disability training in med school. In spite of the unawareness, my recent visits have [...]
While the quality of life has dramatically changed since I began communicating with my DynaVox, enough cannot be said about the value of low-tech system in case of an emergency. Being without one is as ridiculous as driving in a car without a spare tire. The environment in which an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) [...]
In my last two blogs, I discussed how device users could use preprogrammed statements to cue communication partners. Cueing listeners with icebreakers also goes a long way for people who have little or no exposure to a disability, yet alone someone with a speaking device. Through my years, I have learned that a sense of [...]
Knowing the listening partner is a strategy for alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) to be a success. The option of reading a communication device depends on the device user.
Users can encourage or discourage the reading of messages on the device screen by communication partners. It is similar to guessing a message or not. It is [...]
Building a good support team is another strategy towards making an AAC user a success. Mastering a sophisticated device comes when the support team and the augmentative communicator work together to overcome the inevitable challenges. The question that should be asked is, “How can I best advocate for an AAC user to bring out his/her [...]
Today it struck me on how dependent I am with my DynaVox Vmax to communicate. I am lost without it. For instance, when my caregiver takes me to the bathroom, I think about many things that I want to tell her. Without my device, however, I can’t express my thoughts. I try hard to remember [...]
Success in alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) comes with patience and with plenty of time for practice without having the pressure to be a master immediately. A key strategy in making the use of a communication device a success is to provide time to learn.
The question should be asked, “Does the consumer feel pressure from [...]
Encouraging problem solving is a good strategy to making augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) a success. A consumer showing frustration with a device is a sign that problem- solving is needed. The question should be asked, “How do we help a consumer who is feeling frustrated using an AAC device?”
To relieve frustrations, never tell someone [...]
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