Profile
of Success - David Bradley"I love you." Those are words every mom waits to hear from her child. When you have a child that cannot speak, sometimes it's a long time, or never, that you get the privilege of hearing them. But just recently, after David awoke one morning, he wanted to say something on his Vanguard™, and totally unsolicited, those were the words that came out. What a payoff for many years of working and waiting!
David was born with Schizencephally/Cerebral Palsy. He is spastic quadraplegic
so figuring out how to access a computer or communication device has been a
long process. He loved the computer at a very early age and the rest of his
family (mom, dad, brother and sister) spent a lot of hours working the computer
and playing games on it for him. He got a Tracker™ (infrared headpointing device)
at about three, and even though it was very difficult for him to be accurate,
he kept at it until his skill level is now quite proficient. He is able to use
both the computer and his Vanguard with a Tracker2000 just using small head
movements.
When we connected the Vanguard to his computer this summer, he began writing
e-mails, doing his homework, and trying to fill order forms on the computer!
He's like a kid in a candy store! In the last few weeks he has begun using the
remote control feature on the Vanguard and takes great delight in surprising
us by turning the TV off and on or turning the channels. He has really "wowed"
his friends with this newly acquired skill.
Knowing he can talk to his buddy has been a huge motivation for him. Early on
he wanted to use only one word or short phrases, but because he sees the possibility
of talking to friends-who need whole sentences--he is working very hard at complete
sentences. He recently said, "I want to go to my friend's house Saturday." When
I told him I didn't know if his friend's mother could take care of him, he said
"Come get me at noon." And recently when one of us wanted to watch a show he
didn't want to watch he said, "1000 times I watch your favorite show." Lately,
he wants to use it so many times a day I can hardly get anything else done!
Together we took one of the online classes Prentke Romich offers and now he's
programming his own words, rearranging icons for more convenient use, turning
the device off when he's finished, and showing me a thing or two. The Minspeak®
program is purely genius and he has just flown since learning it.
I am reminded of the first years and our lack of communication. Realizing now
how knowledgeable David is and the thoughts and desires he has-it is just such
a wonderful thing to now have this means of communication. It has opened David's
heart and soul to us and we are so very grateful.
Mary Bradley
Minspeak is a registered trademark of Semantic Compaction
Systems. Minspeak uses the methodology derived from the concepts covered by
U.S Patent Numbers 4,661,916; 5,097,425; 5,210,689 and subsequent patents and
applications of Bruce Baker · Tracker is a trademark of Madentec