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Nicole Schweizer
 Last summer I had the good fortune of meeting Nicole. I am lucky in my work because I get to meet so many wonderful people who leave me with gifts that help me to be a better clinician. When I read that PRC was seeking stories about AAC Heroes, my first, and incorrect, thought was they wanted stories about people who are competent users of an AAC system. And then I thought about all of the amazing people who have walked, wheeled, crawled, and danced through my door at Gillette, and most of them are truly Heroes.
Nicole bounced through my door last summer. She is a 17-year-old teenager with a diagnosis of Angelman’s Syndrome. Many people know that communication is a major struggle for persons with Angelman’s. Nicole got a Vantage communication system through a private therapist in early 2005. Unfortunately, that therapist left private practice, and Nicole did not have anyone to assist her and her family with the ongoing instruction needed to use the Vantage. That’s how I got the privilege to meet and work with Nicole and her family. Like many individuals with Angelman’s syndrome, Nicole is unable to speak. She established her own system of non-speech communication through her interactions with people. Some of those communication responses were familiar gestures and facial expressions; reaching, smiling, laughing, turning away; others were responses not viewed as “socially acceptable.” But all of the communication was learned because Nicole was not provided appropriate alternative methods. Nicole’s communication barrier was exacerbated by communication partners who focused on the “problem behavior” rather than teaching new skills. A related barrier for her was that people did not recognize and direct her strengths into learning meaningful, pleasurable, skills.  Nicole is a warm, fun, social teenager. She loves to be around people, really enjoys children, and enjoys a variety of activities, including books, walks, boat rides, vacations, and learning new things to do that keep her busy. Over a period of several months at Gillette Nicole learned to assist with computer activities, prepare snacks in the microwave, use a vending machine and operate the copy machine.
At each new accomplishment, her face beamed with delight, which had everyone in the room smiling and sharing her success with her. Nicole’s skills using the Vantage improved when use of it was incorporated into all of these purposeful activities. She learned to replace behavior patterns developed over 17 years with use of the Vantage. With her Vantage available, Nicole is able to comment, greet, express preferences, protest, tell how she feels, and what she wants to do. At her last day of therapy, Nicole’s mother and I were discussing her progress and the discharge plan. Nicole was looking at a book. She closed the book, and started to look around the room, which in the past might have led to her sitting on the floor, leaving the room, or grabbing a person’s arm. Instead, she reached for the Vantage on the table and said, “Go work.” She wanted to use the copy machine, a task she had started to do for me at the end of each speech session. Nicole is an AAC Hero. Nicole was living in Roberts, Wisconsin. She and her family, including, parents, brother and sister, recently moved to Hudson, Wisconsin, where she attends Hudson High School. Submitted by
Anita Schermer, MA, CCC/SLP
Augmentative Communication Specialist
Gillette Lifetime Specialty Healthcare
New Brighton, Minnesota
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