Speaking of produce, how about an Apple?

The Apple iPad that is.

We bought John an iPad after much research to be his Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. He tried a few different devices at school with inconsistent success, mostly a result of his visual impairment and fine motor challenges. I tried to get our insurance company to fund the simple device he was most successful with. It would have been about $500 with software and they would not pay for it but they would pay for a $3000+ Dynavox that is WAYYYYY to complicate for John (and me!). It doesn't make any sense although I cannot beat up on them too bad because they have been awesome paying for all of his therapies.

Have I mentioned my son is non-verbal?

So we decided to buy the iPad ourselves which is all the talk in the special needs world. Without any doubt in my mind this very cool product is going to transform communication for the disabled. A voice for the voiceless. I also have no doubt that this will be my son's voice, although I am still hopeful he will speak and working very hard to make that happen. But just because he can't talk, doesn't mean he doesn't have anything to say. This is where AAC devices come in.

Guess what? Things don't always go the way you plan.

The iPad has been a huge success for John but not as his AAC device YET. He is not using it to "talk" but he is showing us that he sees more than we thought, he can learn faster than we thought, and that he understands more than we thought. He is a smart little guy in his own way. We already knew he was cute and fun.

The app he is using for communication right now is called iAssist and it is OK for him now and reasonably priced at $30. The problem is that it is a little slow to respond (John doesn't wait well), it is a little complicated to program (I don't wait well), and it isn't very loud. The most highly recommended, powerful communication app is called Proloquo2go (it took me a month to remember how to say it). The biggest problem with it is at it is $189 and I want to be REALLY sure that it is right for John before I spend that much. He needs to show me he can use the iPad as his communication device before I get it.

This is getting long, so I will write later about the VERY cool stuff John can do with his iPad. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his iPad and so does the rest of the family. Want to see how much he loves it? This is what he does when I have to take it away...