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SIIt may seem like a small thing but if you think about what it means to have a speaking child who can use words to share an array of emotions… contrast that with a kid who is feeling all the things but lacks the ability to use spoken language. What joy that he can tell us exactly what he finds yummy- not just eating to eat, but letting us know he finds this croissant particularly yummy.
I’m not going to lie, when we were introduced to AAC devices we didn’t get it. Let me simplify this- it’s most often just an iPad with software on it. There are different apps- we’re currently using #Proloquo2Go The first few months were frustrating- how was this going to help us, why was it so complicated, wouldn’t this make him dependent and less prone to speaking??
But I’ll admit I was wrong. Little man navigates through this thing finding words I didn’t even know were on there. When we do songs, he’ll tap through as many of the words as he can match. Just cos he doesn’t speak, doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand.
Even better, he sometimes not only touches the word, he mouths along with it- effectively increasing moments when we actual hear him speak.
I still hope for a time when we don’t need this, but the alternative wasn’t good for him or us. All the Frustration as we tried to guess what he was trying to share. We try to never leave home without this and while we could load the software to other devices, we’ve been advised that it’s best to have just one dedicated device that only serves as his communication device as opposed to a tablet for watching cartoons/playing games. It may be an imperfect tool but it’s a very useful one.
#autismawarenessmonth #autismacceptancemonth #autismisbeautiful #neurodiverse #autismfamily #autismparents #autismawareness #aacdevice #nonverbal #nonspeaking #nonverbalautism #nonspeakingautism #onthespectrum #autistickids
@simplycyn
