Mason recently received a grant from
Ellie's Project for an iPad Air to help him communicate! It has been amazing for him! We are using an app called
MyFirstAAC. Because he can't see well to find the buttons for words, we made a homemade "keyguard" (soft grid around buttons made of the fuzzy side of Velcro). This new setup allows Mason to show us what he is capable of in hopes that he may eventually be able to get a device with bigger screen like
Tobii T15 (possibly with eye gaze system) or similar through insurance. He has to be able to prove he can use AAC to get it covered, as the Tobiis are uber expensive. Although these videos may seem to show very simple accomplishments (touching a button to say a word or phrase), they show he has the desire and intent to communicate, the motor ability to do so, the cognitive ability to accurately know what to say, good enough hearing ability to understand what the button says when he presses it, and the tactile discrimination/memory to locate a specific button mostly by touch. We are beyond thrilled with this progress and wanted you to see what he is learning too! :)
In this video, Mason and I have been playing with a ball on his tray. The ball fell to the floor, and he asks for it back! :)
In this video, Mason's favorite cartoon is ending and he wants me to restart it. Watch as he thinks about what to say, and then presses, "Come here please!" very deliberately :)
People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” Mark 7:37
