Meet
Leland
The young man with the infectious smile is Leland Jones. Leland is 18
years old and lives in Coolidge, Arizona. The fifth of nine children,
Leland now lives with his grandparents (Mr. and Mrs. Jones) and his younger
brother Michael. He enjoys computers, playing video games and listening
to country music.
Leland was diagnosed at birth with cerebral palsy. He has limited speech articulation, limited use of his right arm and is mobile with the use of a wheelchair. These disabilities have not prevented Leland from dreaming big. "Mrs. Jones reminds Leland that all he needs to do is believe he can do it, keep trying, stay strong and to keep his head high," according to Cece Michalegko, parent training and information coordinator.
Leland and
AAC
Although he had tried other devices, Leland's communication skills blossomed with his Pathfinder communication aid. "Leland has found his voice with the help of his Pathfinder," says Cece. His communication aid was funded through the Arizona Department of Developmental Disabilities.
Leland accesses the Pathfinder with direct selection and uses the Unity® 128 vocabulary program. He also uses the Pathfinder to access his computer. (He loves to play computer games according to his grandmother.)
With
a goal of increasing Leland's use of the Pathfinder in all environments,
his therapy sessions have focused on building core vocabulary and reinforcing
the icon sequences to increase the rate of communication. This approach
is supplemented by other activities that increase natural language such
as discussing the social events in his life, girls he is interested in,
etc. At the end of each session, Leland has an assignment to use his vocabulary
to invite a friend to lunch, practice greetings and partings or ask his
peers questions about school activities.
"The in-service by PRC changed my way of doing therapy," said Leland's speech-language therapist. "Language therapy is the same approach with an AAC device user as it would be with any other student."
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Starter-Set Vocabulary for Enhancement of Communication Curriculum and Functional Communication (download .pdf file) authored by Gail VanTatenhove |
