"The Liberator means everything to me. I couldn't live on my own or be as successful without it," exclaims Jon Feucht.

Most of Jon Feucht's life was spent in a world of silence because he did not have any adequate means of communicating with the mainstreamed world. Jon struggled through his public education and into his college years using a manual communication board. It was not until Jon's second year in college that he received his first speech output communication device, the Liberator. The first time he tried the Liberator, Jon exclaimed, "I started working with it and found out this system was what I was looking for."

Although he did not have a voice until he got his Liberator, he was introduced to the CoWriter™ during his high school years, which gave him a form of written language. Although the CoWriter™ helped him complete his schoolwork, he was still in search of a "voice" so he could talk to people whenever he wanted. After Jon worked with his Liberator for a while, he expressed, "Everyone knew that my long journey through life without a voice was over and it felt like a whole new world!"

Currently, Jon lives independently in southern Wisconsin and attends college where he is a double major in Writing and Psychology. Jon would also like to get his master's degree in Special Education some time in the future. He measures his success by looking back at all of the "normal" things he has accomplished in his life. Jon is extremely happy at the way his life is turning out and is looking forward to his successes in the years to come. He believes that it has been his "go-get-it" attitude that has helped him be successful. "I view life as something to play hard at and just do what makes you happy," he says. It is his dream to teach the concept of Minspeak to individuals who need assistance in learning it.

Along with receiving his degrees, Jon also has a goal to start his own augmentative communication (AAC) camp. The AAC camp is expected to open in the summer of 2001 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Campus. With an amazing camp staff, Jon hopes this camp will give encouragement to people with disabilities and help them make a better life for themselves.

Presently, Jon is in the process of getting a Pathfinder, PRC's newest communication device and he hopes it will expedite his ability to communicate. Jon is always looking for new ways to make his life more successful through the use of assistive technology. We wish you the best of luck with your AAC Camp Jon!