It Really Has Become His Voice

This video is about a nine-year-old boy named Max.  Max was born with Cerebral Palsy and according to his speech therapist Proloquo2Go has completely changed his life. 

Before Max was introduced to Proloquo2Go he was not able to use speech to communicate with others and this caused him to become easily frustrated.  Proloquo2Go has given Max a voice.  It has provided him with the ability to communicate with others and to participate in discussions.  Max is no longer frustrated and is an active communicator at school and at home. 

Max is able to accurately communicate messages using the categories and items on the screen and he is able to use the keyboard feature to write novel sentences and words.  I really admire how Max’s support team have taught him how to program Proloquo2Go so that he can be directly involved in the messages he is communicating.

Max’s support team presumed competence.  They presumed that Max was intellectually complex, that he desired to have meaningful interactions and opportunities, and that he had the right to learn academic content despite communicating differently or having other support needs.  By presuming competence, Max’s team gave him a voice; a voice that is allowing him to be included in opportunities to learn what other students his age are learning.

One suggestion that I do have for Max’s support team is I noticed in the beginning of the video he had trouble holding the iPad on his own and the speech therapist had to carry it for him.  There are some really great iPad accessories that may help Max hold his iPad independently.  I have included two examples below.

AirStrip Med iPad Case

BoxWare Active Field Case