Have you ever lost your voice? Maybe you had laryngitis or had to be on vocal rest? Have you ever just tried to be silent for a day? An hour?
One of our amazing parents has decided to go voiceless for a week using only her daughter’s (back up) iPad with the Speak for Yourself Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app…the same system her daughter uses. We have frequently been asked how long it will take for children to start talking in sentences using their devices. Unfortunately, many devices are abandoned when teams don’t see the child using complete sentences within a short amount of time. Word-based, core vocabulary AAC is often abandoned and replaced with a system containing large, limiting buttons with pre-programmed sentences. Language development takes time, whether a child is developing verbal speech typically or learning to communicate and develop language using an AAC system. This challenge will let you experience the concentration and navigation that are required to speak in full sentences on an AAC device. If your child is using a system with only a select few pre-programmed sentences, you’ll be able to experience what it’s like when you are not able to say exactly what you want.
Aided Language Input and Dual Device modeling are two strategies that are used in AAC intervention. These strategies immerse the AAC user in the language system he/she is learning and expected to speak.
Here is the first entry from Mary’s “Voiceless But Still Talking” trial run (she is officially beginning Monday morning):
“September 27, 2013
My daughter Jessie has no voice. Actually, she has a few words that she says and has blurted out perfect, multi-syllable words in short phrases, however, the majority of the time there are long stretches of blank spaces.
Last December, was the first time we heard about the App for the iPad Speak for Yourself and started using the App in February. Within a week she put together a comment about a movie we were watching. This was exciting! During the early stages, we learned that we had to listen to the complete string of words she put together so we could understand the thought she was trying to convey. If you didn’t listen, you would make the assumption that she was just randomly hitting words. She still likes to revert back to non-verbal communication through gestures, pulling and pointing because it probably seems more efficient for her. It was because of this that I decided that we need to do something different.
The iPad is large and bulky in its protective housing, so we bought a mini. She uses it when we are together as a family when we go out. Mainly she uses the larger device. Yesterday I decided that this coming Monday, I would go voiceless and only use her mini. We had loaned out her mini so someone else could get familiar with the App, so I decided that when the device was returned, I would begin this journey. Why didn’t I think to do this sooner? I’m so disappointed in myself for having expectations of my daughter to have instant language. How unrealistic and wrong of me. How can I expect her to be fluent and converse if I’m not?”
October is AAC Awareness Month, and we would like to raise awareness and also help the students who are relying on AAC to navigate the complex communication demands of their days. Here is our challenge:
Join Mary and share your experiences on our Facebook page. We’ll post them to our page. If you are not able to do an entire week, set aside some time and give it a try! We are not advocating that you take your children’s systems away from them to do this. Many families and speech language pathologists have their own iPads with duplicate communication apps on them. If you don’t have a duplicate, set aside some time with your child and try to talk to him/her using only the AAC system. Here are some suggested “rules”:
– Change the voice, if possible, so that your voice is not exactly the same as the child’s.
– Try using your child’s/client’s AAC system in public, and see if you are able to do it.
– If your child/client does not have his/her AAC at certain times (at the gym, outside..), leave yours at home as well.
-Use the device as much as possible in the children’s presence. Even if they are not watching you, they are hearing that their AAC system has the ability to speak the words you are saying and may explore on their own later.
Please add any “rules” you think would be helpful, especially if you’ve done anything similar yourself! (Like the DVoiced students).
We will be giving away 2 full version codes of Speak for Yourself through Rafflecopter…One on October 1st to kick off AAC Awareness Month and one on October 6th to end our week long challenge!
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