By age three, Madison had so much to say and her school provided her with a picture board to aid in transitions. As Madison physically and cognitively matured she had more to communicate. By age four she was using a “Go Talk” to indicate basic understandings of the pre-school curriculum. She quickly became frustrated using the Go Talk because she could not get the pages in and out fast enough to get her point across. Her school introduced her to the Springboard and her language acquisition rapidly increased. The Unity language base seemed to be a good match for her learning style.

At age five, Madison was introduced to the Vantage and has now used this device for approximately two years with great success. She is now in first grade and is interacting with her peers, teachers, family, and therapists regularly. One very exciting part of this communication is that her peers are now responding to her and talking with her as they complete puzzles, drawings, and free time activities together. She is participating in her classroom and knows that she can now “talk” and express ideas like the other kids do. She is now reading sight words and this is something that has surpassed our expectations! We are continually amazed by her development and how she shows us how much she knows. Since Madison’s receptive skills are so much more developed than her expressive skills, in the past she would become quickly frustrated when her ideas were not understood by others. This resulted in behaviors such as hitting, kicking, and hair pulling.  The Vantage has helped to decrease all negative behaviors and increase her positive interactions.

Last summer, our family traveled to the National Angelman Syndrome Conference in Anaheim, CA where five hundred and eighty five parents and relatives participated to learn and share ideas on the best care for our “Angels.” Madison inspired many of the Angelman community when she showcased her communication skills with the Vantage. Parents and family members swarmed her (and us) to see if the Vantage could be an answer for their child. At that time, Madison was one of about five Angelman children using AAC, and the only one to use such a sophisticated device. We hope that her skills have inspired others to get information and experiment with AAC. 

Thank you, Prentke Romich, for giving Madison the opportunity to share her thoughts and participate fully in life.

Sincerely,
Carol and Patrick Potter