Rod Davis
Rod Davis has a speech machine,which has proved invaluable.
Rod says:'I had a stroke almost three years ago and as a result of this,I lost the ability to speak and communicate.I have had speech therapy which has not proved very successful and I have made little progress over the last couple of years.However,since recieving the speech machine 'Say It Sam' through the assistance of the 'Find A Voice' Group,my communication skills have improved greatly due to the vocal and spelling assistance from the machine and I have no doubt it will accelerate my rehabilitation'.
'Thanks for all your help,Joy'
Paige
Paige attends Find A Voice, she is also a pupil at Morehall Folkestone. Paige is visually impaired and at her first visit to Find a Voice she was non verbal. However, since she has received intensive teaching at Morehall she is now a very chatty youngster and enjoys her visits to Find A Voice. Here she is enjoying playing with the Sunny Sunshine Switch from our Resource Library.
Ben
Ben loaned the Vantage Communication Aid on a trial basis and has recently heard the good news that he will get his own aid. This is from a funding package agreed to be divided between his family and East Kent and Coastal PCT. West Sussex County Council also will be providing considerable support for him to develop his communication skills with the new aid.
Ben was previously using a very old ORAC communication aid and his care support worker has said the new communication aid will allow Ben to communicate to an excellent standard. The picture shows Ben with Ann Cardinal, Speech and Language Therapist and Darren Banks S< Technician.
Daniel Jaworanski
Daniel lives in Paddock Wood with his mum. He needed to move on from a digiMax Communication Aid which he had when he left school for which his mum had raised a lot of money from her church and community. He was recommended a DV4 (from Dynavox Systems Ltd) by his speech therapist as it gave him greater independent selection of vocabulary, clarity of layout and easier retrieval of items for use in connected speech at the right level for Daniel. Most important it also has capacity for greater language skill development. Funding has been agreed and Daniel has now received his communication aid and will also be getting training from his local team.
Adrian Butcher
Adrian’s previous communication aid, the DynaMyte had broken down and was unable to be repaired. Adrian was without an aid for a few months and was eagerly waiting for the new one! He is now the proud possessor of a Dynavox V communication aid. He applied for joint funding for a new aid with the support of Find A Voice. Fortunately the V had just arrived in the UK, so Adrian could be funded for a device which has many more features than his old machine.
As you would expect the V is a portable rugged dynamic screen device which can be accessed by a wide variety of methods including touch keys, headpointers and switch scanning, even pausing a mouse or trackerball over the button for a specified time. It is good that the V has a wide range of extra accessories to suit different needs including headpointers, keyguards and mounting plates.
The V is a PC running under Windows so can easily be linked to the Internet, other computers, and mobile phones if the correct accessories are installed. It can also operate environmental controls and macros can be built up for a sequence of events such as switching on lights and television and then speaking the words ‘I’m going to watch the telly now’.
Adrian will be using the V mainly to communicate in the community with people who do not know him and who may have difficulty making out what he wants to say. The software will make it easy for his mum Joy to set up pages for different situations. The V comes with InterAACT page sets which all follow the same format. For example the Grocery Store set starts with a picture of a store. Adrian can then home in on one item which will take him to pages with appropriate vocabulary for milk, bread and money. A few days after getting the V, Adrian went to the bank and was able to tell the cashier he wanted to withdraw money-she was most impressed! There is also a My Phrases Menu where you can store phrases (with a symbol if you like) to use in conversation. Photos can be easily placed on buttons and the V comes with both Dynasims and PCS symbols. Boardmaker and Speaking Dynamically Pro is also included with every Dynavox V.
Adrian is also looking forward to using the V to surf the internet and during his computer lessons at Find A Voice with Paul Marsden our IT Tutor.
Wayne Quick
After loaning a Lightwriter Communication Aid from Find A Voice, agreement has been reached for the funding of a Lightwriter with Dectalk speech synthesising.
Beryl
Beryl has also had funding agreed for a Lightwriter Communication aid- to be funded by East Kent Coastal PCT and Kent County Council OT and Sensory Services.
Tony Cook
is in his 20s and throughout his life has been committed to succeed in life and participate in community life. He uses a wheelchair and switches to access a computer. Tony doesn't have learning difficulties but relies on both high and low-tech communication aids to express himself. His old laptop was unsuitable as it didn't have switches, had limited voice output and was not easily mounted.
Tony was looking for a Tellus3+ communication aid equipped with XP Tablet Edition Opeating System, Integrated Bluetooth and The Grid software. The Tellus is a robust device which can be taken around the community.
In May 2007 Tony received the good news that agreement had been reached to fund the Tellus 3+ and access equipment. This funding is to be provided by East Kent Coastal PCT and Kent County Council OT and Sensory Services.
You can read more about Tony's deeply impressive story at the Life Story of Tony Cook.
Anne
is a young woman with cerebral palsy living independently with her disabled husband. Anne needed a new up-to-date Lightwriter text-based communication aid as a Lightwriter is her main form of communication. She relies on it for example when visiting her doctor or dentist, without it she would lose her privacy. She has many blind friends so it is great that she is able to communicate with them. She also likes to use the telephone- impossible without the Lightwriter. Find A Voice achieved agreement from Kent County Council and Dartford/Gravesham/Swanley NHS PCT to joint fund the new Lightwriter which Anne has now received!
Leslie
trialled a communication aid- a Vantage Plus from PRi. Unlike Anne he is new to a communication aid but his parents were amazed at how well he coped. His dad says 'How wonderful to understand what he wanted ..without spending time guessing..this is the first time Leslie was able to communicate properly in 47 years.'
Leslie has just received his Vantage Plus and Darren Banks (Speech and Language Therapy Technical Instructor) will be on hand to support him. Funding was received with the help of Find A Voice.
(pictured Leslie(centre) with carer Cathy and Darren)
Simon Wilson
was supported by Find A Voice in his application for a Say It Sam communication aid. A graduate of West Kent College, Simon is now starting his third year reading Social Psychology with his new aid, as Find A Voice coordinated a funding package for the machine from Sussex University, KCC Student Grant and KCC OT Sensory Unit.
Before he had his aid Simon wrote 'I am currently using a letter board which someone needs to help me with. This means I am dependent on someone feeling confident in using it. With having the Say It Sam tablet communication aid, it would give so much more freedom to talk to whoever I wanted without worry about other people not understanding me. Say It Sam has an extremely large Dictionary and word prediction and that would assist me with communication- especially in seminars at university.'
Hayley, Clive and Heather
Have new communication aids! Hayley has a Springboard from PRi, Clive and Heather Lightwriters from Toby Churchill. These were all funded jointly by health and social services and funded was agreed with advocacy support from Find A Voice
Mark
Another success for Find A Voice! He has just taken delivery of an MT4 communication aid.
Mark is in his 30s and lives semi-independently in Folkestone. Previously he relied on staff and family to interpret for him. He will now be able to interact with people who do not understand his speech when he is out shopping, in the cafe or chatting to his many friends. The MT4 was joint-funded by Shepway NHS Primary Care Trust and Medway Council following a fortnight's trial, speech and language therapist recommendation and support from Joy Butcher, Find A Voice.
Clara
is busy learning switching skills
Clara is one of our many Resource Centre users starting to look for the best method of communication to meet their needs as they grow and develop. At this age it is a question of trying out different types of toys, switches, trackerballs, computer software and simple communication aids. Signing and symbols may also be introduced. Some things will work better than others! Some may not be suitable now, but may help in a year or two. The Resource Centre is able to provide Clara with a range of equipment to try out without incurring expense.
More about our Resource Library
Chloe Steward
has at last received her Vanguard
II communication aid, costing £7,835 from Prentke
Romich International.
BEFORE...Chloe is a 24 year old
woman with cerebral palsy and a learning difficulty. She is a lively
and energetic young woman who enjoys making friends and spending
time with people.
Chloe had problems with her old communication
aid- the screen was of poor quality and in certain light conditions she
could not see characters at all. Chloe desperately needed a Vanguard
II with a much improved dynamic
screen and brighter images making it easier to use and providing
Chloe with a means to communicate in her home and in the community.
AFTER...Thanks to extensive lobbying from Find A Voice Chloe's funding eventually came through and she is the proud possessor of a new communication aid. Her mum takes up the story;
'Chloe absolutely loves her new Vanguard II. When she went for a clinical review she was chatting to the Epilepsy Nurse with it and he was most impressed. We also went shopping to Bluewater and were in a shop buying shoes. When Chloe got the assistant's arm and told her about a forthcoming trip to the theatre to see ‘Joseph’the assistant said Joseph was her favourite musical and she hoped Chloe would have a good time. It was really lovely to see Chloe eager and able to communicate with people even outside her immediate circle of friends.
The new Vanguard II is much lighter than the previous model and is not so heavy on the wheelchair to push around - a big bonus for carers.
Mark Street from PRI, battled the blizzards [March 2005] to come and give everyone a training day on the new Vanguard II. For a communication aid to be successful everyone has to be involved, parents and carers. Although Chloe is a non-speaking person, inside she is just like her Mum - a Chatterbox and now with the new Vanguard II she can be just that'
Sarah Baker
'Thank you Joy' were the first words Sarah spoke with her new 'Say-it! SAM' Communication Aid. Sarah lives in a residential setting in Folkestone. With the support of Find A Voice, she has just received a new 'Say-it! SAM' text and symbols pocket communication aid from Cambridge Adaptive Communication (Possum). Joy Butcher, Executive Director, Find A Voice, attended Sarah's first training session with Hector Minto of Possum.
Joy says 'I was really impressed with Sarah's determination to communicate via a head pointer and how quickly she got going with the machine. She is already expert with her computer and will be in charge of programming the communication aid.'
Hector says 'Sarah uses a mixture of pre-set phrases and free typing and benefits from a 15,000 word dictionary and sentence phrase bank which keeps on learning! This means over time Sarah will get quicker and quicker.'
The 'Say It Sam' was funded by a Direct Payment -50% of the money coming from Kent County Council and 50% from Shepway PCT.
Keith Price
Hi, I'm KEITH PRICE
...And in 2004 I got a new communication aid!
THANKS TO YOUR HELP AND
FIND A VOICE
My old Delta Talker
was not working properly and is now discontinued. I needed a Pathfinder
to
- Order a Chinese take-away
- Get my railway ticket
- Take part in my college course
- Have a social life
My machine is a life-line
to communication with others and I desperately needed one
to maintain my quality of life.
My new aid cost £8,735.
I was featured in the local paper and some kind people responded
to my appeal. FIND A VOICE worked on my behalf and succeeded in
achieving joint funding from health and social services towards
my Pathfinder.
I am now learning to use
my new machine which will take time but will make a tremendous difference
to my life.
THANK YOU! Keith
Price
Sandra
Shorter
Sandy enjoying her
new Lightwriter (text based communication aid from Toby Churchill)
Sandra Shorter was delighted
with her new communication aid. Her dog had a bit of a shock
though when he was first told to get down!
Sandra's thank you
in her own words
"Dear joy
Since I have had the lightwriter my life has become better in so
many ways I can now go and talk to people who I did not like to
before
And my dog jack don't
know who is talking to him And when jack got off the bed I told
him to stay and he look at me as if to say look mum Sandy can talk.
When Ian is doing the bar I can talk to friends and not keep on
to Ian will you help me. Its all thanks to you Joy
From sandy Shorter"
Community
Equipment Services: what is happening in Kent and Medway:
Community equipment covers
a wide range of resources 'for people who require assistance to
perform essential activities of daily living to maintain their health
and autonomy'. These can range from toilet frames to communication
aids. As mentioned in our coverage of Sandra's case, central government
started a major initiative to integrate provision between health
and social services.
Direct Payments are being used in some areas to streamline the provision of communication aids. In Kent Find A Voice has been involved in drawing up new guidance and flow charts with Kent County Council OT and Sensory Unit which will be discussed with Kent and Medway Specialist commissioning team (Maidstone and Weald PCT).
Find A Voice is working
to ensure that the needs of people with communication difficulties
are kept to the fore and encourages anyone with communication needs
or their carers to contribute to the discussion. It is our hope
that in future people like Chloe, Sarah, Keith and Sandra will find the process of applying
for funding much more straightforward.
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Dynavox MT4 
