As seen through Chris' Tedtalk, AAC (augmentative alternative communication) is extremely vital to those individuals who cannot produce verbal speech. I had the chance to meet and talk with one such individual - Kayla.
This past week Kayla, a 21 year old girl, visited my AAC class at Marquette. Three years ago, a week prior to leaving for her first year of college, she was in a severe car accident. This accident left her in a coma for over 8 weeks and a very severe TBI. Now this young lady cannot properly use her oral/facial muscles to verbalize and communicate. This young girl is similar to Chris in that both cannot produce oral speech, although for different reasons. Both of these people also have AAC devices.
The world of AAC is quite marvelous. Those suffering from TBI, aphasia (speech/language disorder resulting from a stroke), cerebral palsy, ALS, autism, Parkinson's, MS, locked-in syndrome, etc. all benefit from an AAC device; such a device gives these individuals a voice. Kayla in particular uses a device called the Lightwriter SL40.
This past week Kayla, a 21 year old girl, visited my AAC class at Marquette. Three years ago, a week prior to leaving for her first year of college, she was in a severe car accident. This accident left her in a coma for over 8 weeks and a very severe TBI. Now this young lady cannot properly use her oral/facial muscles to verbalize and communicate. This young girl is similar to Chris in that both cannot produce oral speech, although for different reasons. Both of these people also have AAC devices.
The world of AAC is quite marvelous. Those suffering from TBI, aphasia (speech/language disorder resulting from a stroke), cerebral palsy, ALS, autism, Parkinson's, MS, locked-in syndrome, etc. all benefit from an AAC device; such a device gives these individuals a voice. Kayla in particular uses a device called the Lightwriter SL40.
The Lightwriter SL40 is a speech-generating device, meaning it can speak anything the user types out. This device has a keyboard the individual types out his/her message with and a screen so that the communicative partner can see what the person is typing out before it is spoken to them. It also includes phone capability: the user can dial a number from the device and then use the device to type out a message that is spoken to the listener via phone. It is amazing to see Kayla using this! Another AAC device that I find mind-blowing is the Eyemax - this device operates via eye gaze. It is used with people that cannot use their hands to type, so it tracks their pupil movements and selects letters/words of the user's choosing to verbalize. This technology is so incredible!