A Mother's Adventure in Obtaining Assistive Technology
by
Cheryl Marcella
I am the mother of a 4 year old boy named Ryan. Ryan has very little expressive language, but he has good receptive language. Therapists and teachers have worked with Ryan from 2 1/2 yrs of age to improve his communication skills, using techniques such as speech therapy, signing, gesturing, etc. In spite of their expertise and efforts, Ryan is not able to use these methods of communication consistently.
With one year away from entering kindergarten, this became a concern of mine. I know he has a lot to say, and needs a way to "get it out." So, at a team meeting last September, we decided that Ryan should be assessed by the Technology Resources for Education (TRE) Center.
Because Ryan's skills and interest in using electronics, communicating with technology seemed to be a viable option for him. So I thought, "Let's just call TRE and get him evaluated, and hopefully he will have some kind of assistive technology for communicating soon." "Soon" turned out to be a nine month process which included the following steps:
• Fortunately, there was a goal on Ryan's Individualized Education Plan (IEP- that referred to an evaluation for assistive technology, stating that assistive technology options would be explored. Without this statement, we would have needed to meet with the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) to modify his IEP. The school district approved the evaluation.
• The next step was to request an evaluation at TRE. Who was going to pay for it? Since Ryan is a preschooler, his services are paid for by the county. They agreed to pay for the evaluation.
• Next, we had to make an appointment at TRE. The first opening was two months off but luckily, there was a cancellation. We only had to wait about three weeks.
• Ryan was evaluated! Everything went well. The staff person, who evaluated him was great. Ryan was cooperative; and he had familiar people to assist him and make him feel more comfortable.
• A very extensive evaluation report was provided to the county and the school district. (I could not get a copy directly from TRE. I had to get it from the county or the school district.) It was recommended that Ryan use a Digivox. A Digivox is a portable electronic communicator. It provides a range of choices for communicating and can be set up to meet Ryan's exact needs.
• A CPSE meeting was held to discuss the results of the evaluation.
• The school district conferred with their speech consultant to get another opinion regarding options for Ryan's and decided that the Digivox was a good choice.
• The representative from the county and school district met to discuss how the Digivox would be paid for. (They also discussed renting it). The agreement was made. The county would purchase it and the school district would purchase it from them, at a depreciated rate, when Ryan went to kindergarten.
• The Digivox was purchased and we received it in about a month. The company that sells the Digivox, Sentient Systems, sent a representative to train us almost immediately.
Ryan has only been using the Digivox for a short while. He seems to like using it and understands that it is a method of communication. I wish I could say "I know this is going to make all the difference in Ryan's life," but I don't. It is too soon to tell. But, as a parent of a child with special needs, I know that I need to try everything.
This process was long and the system difficult to maneuver at times. However, I feel fortunate to have had access to the services and assistance that have been provided to Ryan. And I am grateful that all program staff were helpful, in spite of the constraints in which they work.