Kris’ story
As a small child, Kris struggled to communicate his needs. Following his autism diagnosis, his family found a speech therapist who introduced them to life-changing technology.
From the time Kristopher was a baby, he and his mom, Krista, had a strong connection through music. Even when Kris was upset, Krista’s singing voice seemed to have an almost magical calming effect on him. On long car rides, she would play classical music, which mesmerised her son.
Now five years old, Kris spends a lot of time exploring the piano and xylophone. He carries a miniature boom box around. When Krista sings to him, he beams. He’s ticklish, cuddly, and bubbly. He loves eye contact, even with people he has just met. Krista says it’s as if he can look directly into their souls.
During the first few months of his life, she noticed some striking differences between Kris and his brother, who is just a bit older, including Kris’ small size and distinct facial features. When he was four months old, he was diagnosed with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder responsible for developmental delays, along with physical symptoms like low muscle tone and heart murmur. Williams syndrome also causes heightened sensitivity to music.
“His autism diagnosis was definitely really overwhelming.”
Although the diagnosis explained some of Kris’s characteristics, it didn’t fully account for his difficulties with communication. Without a way to convey his needs, Kris would sometimes become so frustrated that he would have meltdowns. Krista decided to make an appointment with a psychiatrist.
The doctor also suspected that Williams syndrome was not solely responsible for Kris’ developmental delays, and eventually diagnosed Kris with ASD (autism spectrum disorder). Receiving Kris’ autism diagnosis was overwhelming for Krista. However, as she began to seek resources for her son, she discovered something that would have a profound impact on their lives: speech therapy.
Almost as soon as Krista walked through the door of the local speech therapy center, she took a liking to Amanda. A passionate augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) advocate, Amanda introduced Krista to AAC, including Tobii Dynavox solutions. She told Krista that Kris might respond to a speech device that would allow him to touch symbols to express his feelings.
“She introduced us to AAC and the world of options that it was going to open up.”
With Krista’s blessing, Amanda began an AAC evaluation for Kris. Along with some low-tech AAC, she gave Kris a touch-based speech device to explore. Kris quickly responded to the colorful symbols within the device’s TD Snap software. Pressing every button he saw, Kris didn’t stop until he reached “I love this.” He pressed it over and over. He found one other button that captured his feelings: “I can do this.”
Once Amanda saw that Kris had the potential to develop language and literacy skills through AAC, she reached out to her Solutions Consultant, Erin for guidance about device funding. Erin encouraged her to submit the report that documented Kris’ need for AAC to Tobii Dynavox’s eFunding site. The feedback she got helped Amanda revise the report to maximise the chances of securing financial assistance for Kris’ family. Within a few weeks, the new device arrived at Amanda’s speech therapy center.
Kris speech device is a blue (his favorite colour) TD Navio Midi. It’s sleek, durable and easy for him to carry wherever he goes. Most importantly, it’s easy to customise.
Amanda used Tobii Dynavox’s library of device setup resources, as well as Erin’s expertise to personalise Kris’ TD Navio just for him. Wanting to ensure Kris’ AAC solution reflected his love for music, Amanda created pages within TD Snap that contained words from his favourite songs.
“Being your own person is the best thing that life can bring.”
Amanda and Krista play fill-in-the-blank games with Kris, encouraging him to use the TD Navio to press the symbols that represent the missing words in the songs. With Amanda’s assistance, Krista even recorded a few songs in her voice on Kris’ speech device, which he can hear at the touch of a button whenever he wants.
Being able to use their shared love of music to help Kris learn language has given Kris and Krista another powerful way to connect. It’s yielding beautiful results: Kris is saying more words than he ever has.
Mom
A singer, musical therapist and disability advocate, Krista helps Kris grow as a communicator by reinforcing what he learns in speech therapy at home. She uses their favourite shared interest—music—to encourage Kris to practice saying words he knows with his AAC device.
“Ever since Kris has had his AAC device, he is finding more ways to communicate. I’ve seen so much growth in him.”
Speech Therapist
Specialising in early intervention, Amanda has brought speech and sensory therapy to an historically underserved community. Working with Erin, Amanda helps kids with communication disabilities access high tech AAC, including communication devices and language and literacy software.
“Seeing the way that we’ve impacted the parent’s life, and how they can communicate with their child is definitely the most rewarding experience of being a speech therapist.”
Solutions Consultant
Before working at Tobii Dynavox, Erin practiced pediatric speech therapy, which makes her a great match for Amanda. Erin has empowered Amanda to unlock a web of technology and resources that deepen her knowledge of AAC and afford her more time to spend in direct therapy with patients.
“I love getting to meet the families and children who use AAC. That’s a really rewarding experience for me, especially when you hear those first AAC words.”
Funding Consultant
Bailey coaches insurance providers, speech therapists and families through the AAC device funding process to help people like Kris and Krista access high tech communication solutions. Like Erin, she has a background in speech therapy.
“Every funded device changes someone’s ability to connect with the world. Seeing how our devices open doors for people reminds me every day of the value and importance of our work.”