About Joey

Like lots of eight-year-old boys, Joey Tabile loves to roller skate, swim, and watch videos. He has loving parents and two sisters, but Joey also has special challenges that come with having been diagnosed with autism as a toddler.

Joey's ability to communicate with others is restricted by his cognitive, social, communication, adaptive, and motor delays. At one time, he tried using sign language, but weaknesses in his fine motor skills made it difficult to learn signed words and have others understand them.

Joey & Vantage^TM - A Good Match

Specialists recommended a voice output device for Joey and PRC's Vantage proved to be a good match, reports Margaret Poore, his speech language pathologist. "Since he has visual strengths, Joey is able to remember the different sequencing needed to produce short sentences and phrases, and his fine motor skills are sufficient to allow him to use direct selection to access his Vantage."

Joey's Vantage has been programmed with PRC's Unity^® Enhanced Full language software because, Poore says, "Joey has demonstrated that he is a quick learner and has the potential to develop age-appropriate expressive language skills."

With its voice output and display screen, the Vantage makes it possible for nearly any audience to understand Joey - even his hearing-impaired grandmother, who can see on screen what he is saying even if she can't hear it. Joey is also getting used to hearing his "voca voice" (his device-generated voice) and is able to correct himself when he hears something he didn't intend.

While Joey is having some difficulty increasing his vocabulary due to his cognitive level, he is making strides, says Poore. "Concrete concepts are easier for him to learn as opposed to abstract concepts. The goal now is to increase his vocabulary and increase his use of the Vantage in various situations and areas."

Next: Progress at School and at Home