Posts Tagged ‘Proloquo2Go’
My Journey Living with Autism
Hey everybody! My name is Liz. I’m 26 years old and I have autism. Imagine being trapped in a maze, mouth duct taped and unable to talk. Each step in your life feels like you are living in a video game and you have to pass levels to eventually find your voice. This has been my experience since I was diagnosed with autism at age two. Many of my developmental skills were delayed. I didn’t speak until I was six and I wasn’t potty trained until age eight. At birth…
Read MoreA Look at Nonverbal Autism
A few nights ago I was talking to an acquaintance about Super Cooper. He was asking me questions about what it’s like to have a nonverbal child. He asked me if it is sad. He asked me if it was quiet. He asked me if Cooper has a desire to communicate. All AMAZING questions. They even brought me back to the day a speech therapist told me that we should prepare ourselves for the very possible fact that our beautiful son may never speak. I’ll admit, that sentence leveled me.…
Read MoreTeaching Autistic Children to Read
We had our son Cooper’s ITP meeting on Thursday and this mama found out that her smart kid can spell hundreds of words. He’s even moved on from three letter words to four-five letter words. I about died of shock when he spelled green and blue. Looking back, I didn’t know if this would ever happen. And no one would look into their crystal ball and tell me if it was a possibility. If I could give advice to myself a year ago I would say don’t ever give up.…
Read MoreMy Autistic Son Learning to Spell
Two months ago I knew that my son knew all of his letters. I knew he loved the alphabet with a passion. But I didn’t know what else to do with it. He struggled to pay attention. To focus. To sit and learn. He showed no desire to read or write. But, and there is always a but in our world, I started imagining a world where he could type to me and have a conversation through text. What would he say to me if he could? And before I…
Read MoreHow to Borrow a Speech Device in your State
My son Cooper received his speech device when he was four years old. At the time I was overwhelmed by it. Not only did I feel the emotional strains of it I felt like getting one was such a huge commitment. Would it work? Should we try it? Will he even use it? I just didn’t know. I didn’t know how much energy I should put into advocating for a device either. I’ve felt this same way with many assistive technology devices. I wanted to try before buying. I recently…
Read MoreHow I Encourage My Nonverbal Son to use his Speech Device
I have many goals for my nonverbal son. Obviously, I want him to speak one day. But even more than that I want him to be able to communicate and in more than just a ‘preferred request’ sort of way. I want him to be conversational. I want him to ask me questions. I want him to be heard and understood. Right now, since he is nonverbal and struggles with Apraxia on top of his Autism, reaching these goals means encouraging the use of his Speech Device. Cooper uses a…
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