Nathan is a bubbly, outgoing and thoroughly endearing five-year-old. He lives at home with his dad, mom, older brother Tim and younger sister Anna. Nate also enjoys spending time with his oldest brother Dan and new sister-in-law Danielle as well as his adoring grandparents.

Nathan has faced a number of hurdles in his short life. Born with Down syndrome, he began his life in an orphanage in Guatemala and came home to his family at nine months old. Although Nate did not receive any early intervention services during his months in the orphanage, he made tremendous strides with the support of his Birth to Three team.

Nathan’s older brothers had been home schooled and his parents chose to school Nathan and his younger sister, who also has Down syndrome, at home as well. Both children have tremendous strengths and are making amazing progress in their at-home program with supportive outside therapies.

While Nate made steady progress in his receptive language skills - his expressive language was still significantly delayed. The gap between these two areas created a lot of frustration for Nathan. He was using sign language as well as a picture exchange system but these were not meeting his communication needs effectively. His parents decided to add a communication device to help fill the void.

Starting with a recordable voice output system, Nathan quickly mastered the device and was ready to move on. The family sought a professional AAC evaluation where Nate was matched with the Prentke Romich Vantage. Seeing him finally able to express himself was truly amazing. Nate used the device to interact with friends, order at restaurants and even sing... as it turned out, Nathan LOVED to sing. While he had the Vantage on trial, Nate would cry when he had to put it away to go to bed. Nathan had so much to say and finally had a way to say it – but the device was only on loan.

Now with an efficient communication tool identified, the problem would be obtaining funding for this device. Private insurance would not cover therapy services and definitely not pay towards a device, the public school was not a support, local organizations did not have funding... Nathan’s only hope to have the voice he deserved was through the Prentke Romich Company itself – they had just announced their “40 for 40” program. Parents and professionals alike submitted information to Prentke Romich. They explained Nathan’s situation and his need to break free from the prison his physical limitations confined him too – Prentke Romich held the key that could unlock Nathan’s world.

To everyone’s shock and relief, Nathan was chosen as a recipient of the Vantage during the “40 for 40” program. Prentke Romich gave more than the gift of voice to a very special little boy. This company has given respect and dignity to Nathan and all the other heroes of AAC. These people can now add their voices to the human chorus – they can finally be heard.

We are looking forward to seeing Nathan’s progress with his new Vantage and cannot wait to hear what notes he adds to the symphony of life.