Even though I am working with Tony on his tolerance of the school environment and the behavioral skills requisite directly during the two hours he’s currently at the school itself, I am also needing to do other things outside of school to promote the best outcomes. As his habilitative therapist, we are practicing skills such
I had stepped out of the house during the last few minutes of physical therapy earlier this week to take out the trash. When I came back in, I noticed Tony was limping as he walked over to his speech device and asked me to help him. Apparently he had used his foot to move
Earlier this week I submitted comments to the Division of Developmental Disabilities as part of a legally mandated public comment period for proposed changes to the policy that governs prior authorization for assistive speech device technology, or AAC. For a while now my posting schedule has been every Friday, however I felt like for those
This is one of those weeks where I was initially planning on writing about an entirely different subject. I am going to move that previously planned post to a different week because I feel current events require a change in plans. Today, Tony’s original speech device died (this is the device he’s been using since
This is a picture of Tony’s current AAC device that was taken right after he requested to watch one of his favorite Tinker Bell movies early Thursday afternoon. And as a picture, it communicates even less than our little man did in the asking. You don’t know how long it took him to make these
This is an impromptu post for the week, and my originally planned post with a few videos will still be running on Friday. I will do my very best to keep that one much shorter. More than a month ago, someone forwarded to me the original media alert sent out by the Autism Society of
Today, Andy and I took turns waiting at home to sign for a letter from the department of the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities that handles applications for speech devices regarding their ultimate decision on the recommendations of the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) evaluator. For those of you new to this blog, I will
My sweet husband Andy reads each of my weekly posts. After reading last month’s post “So Many Questions,” which was written about the challenges our family had been experiencing trying to obtain an updated and medically appropriate speech device for our son (whose current device has been malfunctioning for nearly a year now), he noted
This is a post that is- and yet isn’t- about me. As I contemplated how I wanted to approach writing a bit more about our holidays this year, I knew that what would feel most joyful for some to read would be focused on the superficial aspects. A diorama of Christmas trappings and traditions as
So much of the gift giving in our communities is concentrated and condensed into days of prescribed celebration. But some of the best presents have trickled in bit by bit this past year, oft ill-wrapped by other circumstances and generally unannounced by fanfare, tags, or cards. Perhaps they are small compared to what some would
