Meet Tyson

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a tough diagnosis, but it may prove no match for Tyson Alexander McLean of Jonesboro, AR.

This high-spirited and highly motivated Valley View Elementary School kindergartener not only enjoys the love and support of two devoted parents, two sets of grandparents, and multiple aunts, uncles, and cousins, he is also impressing his SLP and other educators and therapists with his quick and determined mastery of the PRC Pathfinder^TM.

The McLeans first learned of the Pathfinder through a study conducted by PRC's John Halloran at The Learning Center in Jonesboro, where Tyson was a preschooler. The study sought to demonstrate how using the Pathfinder could encourage children with autism to start using language.

Today, Tyson spends half his school day in a regular kindergarten class, the other half in a special education class and is beginning to initiate using his Pathfinder in these environments. According to his current speech therapist, Nita Stillwell, "our goal is to increase his functional usage of the device in the self-contained and regular classrooms."

Tyson's Progress Continues

Stillwell is confident Tyson will achieve the goal because, she says, "his greatest strengths are his desire to communicate and his willingness to learn how to use the device. Tyson thinks using the Pathfinder in the therapy room is fun!"

Halloran is also excited about Tyson's potential. "Tyson has continued to make nice progress," he reports. "He started out needing a masking sheet and physical cues on his device. In just a few weeks, the masking sheet was taken away. He can combine up to four icons to make a simple request."

Tyson's vocalizations and eye contact improve when he is communicating with others via the Pathfinder, Halloran notes, "and he uses the Pathfinder not only to communicate expressively but also to learn new words receptively. His auditory comprehension is improved by seeing a reaction to a word."

Next: Communicating in All Environments

Pathfinder Product Information

Various studies have estimated that 25% to 61% of children with autism remain essentially mute (Weitz et al., 1997). As many as 80% of these children who enter public school demonstrate virtually no functional communication. They either use no speech or other formal language or produce nonfunctional vocalizations (Bondy and Peterson, 1990)

Recent literature, case studies, and interviews with parents and AAC specialist in the field are indicating that after the initiation of a VOCA, some non-speaking individuals demonstrate an increase in verbal production. The Prentke Romich Company is dedicated to individuals' success. This success is defined not only as how well the individual is communicating with our product, but also the understanding of why some individuals become more verbal after working with a communication device. PRC is currently participating in evidence based studies to pursue a greater understanding of those variables that make some individuals successful in communicating with our equipment while helping some others become verbal to the point of no longer needing a VOCA.