By Philip
LS writes:
Hi Philip!
My name is LS and I'm the mother
to a wonderful 3.5 year old autistic boy who is nonverbal. I have been reading
through your blog for a week or so and love learning from you! 8 months ago we
discovered Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and bought my son
the app "Speak for Yourself". He is doing amazingly communicating
with it! He has stunned his school staff and they have been inspired to try to
incorporate the app with as many other children in his school as possible. I am
so proud of him for showing that a 3 year old can use a robust communication
device and shouldn't be limited to one with only a few words, as they
previously assumed. He is showing the world what we already knew - that he is a
very bright boy with a huge desire to share his thoughts, feelings, and sense
of humor with everyone around him.
Philip, my question to you is
whether you have had any introduction to high-tech AAC or whether you have
friends or classmates who use these devices? My son does love letters and has a
keyboard built into the app and I am sure he will love typing someday but right
now he is able to use motor planning to remember where approximately 600 words
are on his device and we are constantly adding more. I am new to the world of
communication for nonverbal people and have been eager to see if anyone who
uses RPM also uses AAC devices instead of or in addition to a letterboard or
keyboard?
Thank you for your time! I hope
you have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
LS
Philip writes:
My experience with AAC began when I was
6. I started on Go-Talk. It had only a few icons. It was good for requesting
but not much else. Then I got an Alt-Chat. It became my voice at school.
However I was not able to communicate with it with my family. They did not know
how to use it. I kind of tried but I could not express my thoughts with the
pictures. I could only make requests for food. I do best with a keyboard. I am
able to express myself best making use of a good vocabulary. I am most happy
using letters. The words I spell are what I think. Good communication systems
let you say what you really mean. The AAC programs are often geared to me
making a practiced response. I have to navigate the pages to find what I am
looking for. I can't always find the right picture. It makes it harder to communicate
for me. At school, I use Proloquo2go. I use some icons for shortcuts like
bathroom and break. I like the combination of icons and text. I am for AAC with
a text option. At home I use a paper letterboard or iPad with the Assistive
Express app. My app allows me to have an actual voice to what I type.
In making my thoughts known I can be
free to live my life how I choose because people can understand me. I am
peaceful knowing I am free to really speak my mind. I speak to save my Autistic
friends from an established philosophy that is not true. Demeaning treatment of
Autistic people must stop. ABA (Applied
Behavioral Analysis) treats us like animals to be trained. The lack of understanding of autism guides
the philosophy that Autistics cannot learn normally or make friends. Autism is not lack of intelligence or
empathy. It is mind-body disconnect and sensory differences. Good accommodations
are what is needed. Doing the research on Autistic people who communicate
should help professionals in the autism field. I think they should meet us to
learn from us. I want to teach others.
Will you listen?
High-Tech AAC iPad
Low-Tech AAC Letterboard
(made on computer and laminated on card stock for stability)
Copyright 2015 Philip Reyes. All rights reserved.
