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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 PathfinderTM.
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." 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.
Communicating in All Environments At home, Tyson is using the device to communicate his wants and needs and is learning how to answer questions and make statements, according to his mother, Shari McLean. "Tyson can better communicate his wants and needs without the frustration of using gestures all the time or sign language. He now has a way of telling us that he wants to go jump on the trampoline, play outside, eat cookies, or watch a movie." 
"He is a sweet and loving little boy," she adds. "He is very smart and funny and is a joy to just sit and watch. You can learn a lot from him in so many different ways. He loves to laugh and play, and is a blessing to us." Want to see Tyson? "Tyson's vocalizations and eye contact improve when he is communicating with others via the Pathfinder," says John Halloran Acknowledgements Thanks to Tyson and his family for allowing him to be the subject of this profile. Special thanks to PRC Regional Consultant, John Halloran for coordinating efforts and assisting in the completion of this Profile. 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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Trial Evaluation