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About Tommy  Tommy has challenges. Some of these challenges are fairly common. Tommy, who was diagnosed at birth with Down Syndrome, is nine years old and displays some cognitive delays. But some of Tommy's challenges are unique. His parents emigrated from Russia and Russian is still the primary language in the home. Tommy was born in the USA , however, he spent some of his early years in Russia before returning to the United States.
Tommy also has gifts. He loves to read and have others read to him. He likes to help out at home and in school. He enjoys helping his Mom by cooking, cleaning, and playing with his younger sister.
Tommy has good receptive language skills and some speech. He can articulate single words with some intelligibility but is unable to clearly articulate phrases or sentences. (His intelligibility is complicated by the fact that he sometimes uses English words and at other times may be speaking Russian.) Tommy's family includes his parents, a younger sister and an older sister. (His younger sister is intrigued with Tommy's Vantage so there has been some sibling rivalry about who gets to use the device at home.)
Down Syndrome is the most frequently occuring chromosomal abnormality. Down Syndrome occurs once in every 800 to 1,000 live births. Individuals diagnosed with Down Syndrome have a wide range of abilities. For more information on Down Syndrome diagnosis and treatment, please visit the following web site:
www.ndss.org - National Down Syndrome Society
Tommy and AAC
In 2003, a Vantage communication aid was recommended as the most appropriate communication device for Tommy. His evaluation was completed through the school district and funded through the Ohio Assistive Technology Infusion Program.
Tommy uses direct selection to access his Vantage and is working with the sequenced version of Unity® 45 vocabulary software that is pre-programmed into the device. His SLP decided to begin with the full sequenced vocabulary after a consultation with the PRC Regional Consultant. Tommy's receptive language ability was one of the indicators that he could be an independent communicator.
"We started with full Unity Enhanced and he has done very well," according to Heather Kabler Ball, his SLP at Fouse Elementary. "We want him to go to a level where he would be able to build novel sentences and novel phrases and responses." Tommy's Unity vocabulary program has been customized primarily to add family members, friends, and teachers. This customization was done using both the Activity Row and some pages. "I would not say at this point we have to expand it as far as the academics but we are adding things that are personalized to him," Heather explained. Intervention with Tommy
According to Heather Kabler Ball, Tommy responds well to learning new vocabulary both discretely and within the context of real communication experiences. Just for practice, he enjoys using flash cards where the icon sequences for various words are shown. Tommy enjoys working with the flash cards independently as well as with an adult quizzing him on the words after he has practiced. Tommy is able to apply what he has learned in these discrete learning situations to novel and new communication situations. "We can't wait to follow what I think he might need to know. If he wants to say it... we teach it." Heather Kabler Ball."We also do lots of real life language learning experiences where Tommy will need to generate responses, questions, and comments related to the activity or situation," says Heather. This provides many opportunities for Tommy to apply language and see new ways to use his Vantage to communicate in various settings, whether that is talking socially with someone, getting information, delivering a message, sharing an idea about something that happened in class, or requesting something based on his basic needs. "He learns things that we haven't even taught him because he can explore," says Kathy Gordon, Special Education Teacher
 One-on-one therapy work has changed since Tommy first received his Vantage because he has simply learned so fast. The initial plan was to follow a strictly systematic approach, give Tommy practice opportunities and then slowly integrate into a generalized setting. Now, however, Heather works with Tommy to automatically generalize vocabulary as it is needed rather than following a specific list or hierarchy.
Future goals for Tommy's intervention include enabling more use of the Vantage in school and in the community. Heather plans to continue to work on building sentences and questions with Tommy so that he has the skills to carry on a conversation and participate with his peers.
 During our visit to Fouse Elementary, Heather used an "Apple" reading lesson with the special needs class and then worked on the "Apple Smiles" activity with the students. If you want to try the reading exercise or the activity, Linda Pratt has shared her materials.
Tommy in School  Although Tommy is technically a third-grader, he is included in second grade. He spends part of his school day working on specific IEP goals in the special education classroom. He is included in the regular classroom for some subjects including his "specials" such as art and music. Fouse Elementary School has children in kindergarten through grade five.
Both Kathy and Heather noted that Tommy does have some compliance challenges in the classroom. With the Vantage, Tommy now has a way to communicate his many ideas instead of simply acting out.
Want to see Tommy?
View video clips of Tommy hard at work with his Vantage during the school day. Exploring Shapes -Special Ed Class (2.8 MB .WMV)
What color is the fish? (4.0 MB .WMV)
"Apple" "Eat" "Red" (2.8 MB .WMV)
Making "Apple Smiles" (5.5 MB .WMV)
Activity in Science Class (3.3 MB .WMV)
What happened to Richy's shoe? (6.7 MB .WMV) 
Vantage Product Information
Acknowledgements Thanks to Tommy and his family for allowing him to be the subject of this profile. Special thanks to Heather Kabler Ball and Kathy Gordon at Fouse Elementary School for sharing their insights and allowing PRC into their classrooms to work with Tommy. Thanks to Linda Pratt for sharing her "Apple Book" teaching idea. And thanks to the teachers, students, and administration at Fouse Elementary School in Westerville Ohio for their cooperation in creating this Profile of Success. Do you know someone we should profile? If you know someone who is benefiting from his or her use of augmentative communication and who could be an inspiration to others, please contact Cherie Weaver at PRC, (800) 262-1984, Ext. 240 or e-mail at
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