School Time

Doing school work with the ipad. He is using the Word Magic app in these pictures. The letters at the bottom are too small so we also used his velcro board for him to make his choices. The issue is not him being able to see the letters at the bottom but me being able to tell which one he is looking at.
Working on his math problems. This app is Teach Me Kindergarten. We have several that we use to keep things exciting but this is my favorite math one.
You have no idea the hours of preparation time that the ipad saves me. Working on the basics is so much easier and Junior is much more interested and focused. It gives me more time to work on putting together other activities for science, art, and craft time.

Beach Boys

Junior loves music and has recently decided that he really likes the oldies.
It was rest time so I asked him what he wanted to do. First he chose his solar system and then he wanted his music as well. When asked what he wanted to listen to instead of choosing his typical Hannah Montana, Disney, or the Jonas Brothers, he decided on Beach Boys.
This picture only shows 4 choices but scrolling down gives him 4 more choices.
Aren't I smart
Hanging out in his planetarium and singing to the Beach Boys

Ipad at the Zoo

Yesterday we visited the zoo with one of Junior's buddies. Junior always brings along his ipad in case he needs to tell me something but this time we let him decide what we would see.
He absolutely loved feeling like he had the control and could choose what we saw next.
Here are a portion of the boards for the zoo, there are more animals then what you see in the pics.
We did get some strange looks but what was really neat was seeing the looks when people realized what he was using. To be using something that others recognize makes a huge difference in how they approach Junior. This is not some big scary device which they don't recognize but instead is something cool that most have seen or used. When we were first trying to get the ipad for Junior we had people question it saying it was just "the next big thing", well guess what, you are right but that has become a huge plus when it comes to acceptance by others. Hearing things like "look mom that kid has an ipad" or "thats cool", or "look how he is talking(in a positive way)" is so different then just stares, or the typical "whats wrong with him", or "oh how sad". Not to say we don't still deal with those things but even a little positive response is a big step forward.
Junior had a blast leading us around the zoo, his new favorite animal is the White Handed Gibbon. For years it has been the giraffes but at our last visit the Gibbons were so loud and swinging around putting on a show. Junior thought they were sooooo cool and couldn't wait to see them again.
The tigers were also a hit this time. There was a baby tiger rolling around and playing up close to the fence so Junior could see.
This moma tiger kept walking across in front as if she thought she needed to protect her baby from all these people.
Cooling down in the mist, we had a fantastic zoo visit and now Junior is going to think he needs to give the orders for all outings.

Come Over and Play

Junior loves to play on the wii and especially enjoys it when Abigail can come play with him.
This morning he "told" me with his ipad that he wanted to play on the wii but then kept saying "aaaa AAA"(Abigail play). I told him he could call Abigail and see if she could come over and play the wii with him.
I pulled up his phone talk on the ipad and then he chose to call Abigail which took him to his board for talking to her on the phone.

Here he is all ready to say Hi
But she wasn't home so instead he showed me what he wanted to say and then we called Abby back and left her a message.
Each thing he chose went into the top bar so then when we actually called it read as a sentence.
I know it sounds digital but Junior was soooo very proud of himself. Here is the message he left, I was trying to get a picture of the top bar of his communication and I am not sure why the pic kept coming out fuzzy.
Here is a short video, I didn't have enough hands to take the video while making the call so that is why Junior is looking away during part of the video. He knows we already called.


Calling and asking a friend over doesn't sound like a big deal to most of us. For a child who can't talk it is huge and something I would never even have considered possible. Another big first for Junior.

Meltdown

This morning Junior had a meltdown. A big one, which has become fairly rare since we started using the ipad for communication.
He was able to tell me "I am upset" and "I want" but what he wanted wasn't listed.
I finally was able to tell him "Look at me Junior, help me understand what you want". He calmed down just enough to try and "talk". I was able to piece together a few words and get to the bottom of all those tears. He told me "aaaa, out, AAA" which to anyone else listening is just jabber but for those who have learned some "Junior speech" that would be "Abigail, out, play". If only I could have understood the other words he was saying(or maybe it is best I didn't since he was one unhappy guy).
Yesterday evening Abigail had come over and asked if we wanted to go to her soccer game today. I had said it is going to be really hot so probably not but we would see. I didn't even realize Junior was listening but obviously he was. All that meltdown was because he wanted to go to Abby's soccer game. Once I asked if that was what he was trying to tell me he then said "Yaaa" and looked out the window with a smile. He wasn't happy when I told him we could't go this week but would try to go next week. BUT he knew that I understood him and didn't meltdown again.
I guess I need a "I want to go watch Abby play soccer" symbol on his ipad.
Obviously no communication system can be prepared for every situation. On the other hand this shows a step forward in how though he did meltdown he was also able to get control enough to try and "tell" me what he was so upset about.

Vocalizing

Vocalizing for Junior is a struggled. It takes a lot of energy especially with a child like Junior who has chronic lung disease. He has a very high palate which makes many sounds impossible.
The ipad has given him a voice and I am continually amazed and excited with how well he is doing with it.
Something that I had heard others mention happening but I didn't really expect in our situation is increased vocalization. The longer we use the ipad the more Junior is attempting to say words himself.
At the zoo recently he was trying to mimic the sounds some of the animals made and was quite proud of himself.
Here he was ready to go for his bike ride and was telling me yes with his eye gaze(to his left) but also vocalized yes("yaaa)
Last night my sister was here and gave him his cough assist treatment. He HATES his cougher treatment and at the end my sis was teasing him about Heidi needing to be coughed. Of course he thought that was very funny. I told him that "No I don't need one but Mellisa does". He looked at me with a big smile and said "hIIEE off"(Heidi cough), he wanted to give me a cough treatment. I was laughing so hard but also wanting to jump up and down for joy because he had said a new word. He has a few words he attempts and I know what his "word approximations" mean but for him to try a new word is a very big deal.

This morning his nurse was leaving and instead of his usual smile to say goodbye he actually vocallized goodbye. It came out as "I" but he is trying and that is wonderful. I am so proud of him.

When Junior was younger a speech therapist told us that if a child isn't speaking by about 6 they will never speak. Because of Junior's high palate he will never be able to speak like a typical person but thats okay. He has many word approximations that I can understand and is now attempting new words. I always say that when the "specialists" say never Junior says "watch me".
Between his ipad and word approximations his communication abilities have made a huge leap in the past few months.

I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Ipad Update

Wow, falling behind yet again. Life is just so busy right now especially with Junior's IEP coming up on Friday.
I did want to give a quick overall update on Junior's communication progress with the IPAD.

After using it for a few months now I am wondering how we ever survived without it.
Having Junior be able to tell me exactly what is wrong or what he wants is amazing. He loves his "voice" and demands to use it.
He will now get upset if I don't help him use the top bar to read out what he wants once he has give me the parts. For example if he is crying and I get the ipad for him he will tell me "Ihurt" then " It is my tummy" then "I want out of my chair" then "I want to sit in my recliner". Each of those parts is spoken by the ipad as he chooses them but after he is done we can touch the top bar to allow him to "say" them all together. This morning after his walk he wanted his ipad and told me "I want, Solar system, a story, Shrek 4". I started to move the ipad after he had made his choices and he looked at me with a very upset look. I realized I had not helped him hit the top bar to "say" his complete choice at one time. As soon as we did that he was grinning and patiently waited while I got his solar system and story set up.

He now loves to sit and "chat" with me nightly. I pull up his "answers" board(yes, no, maybe, I don't know, etc.) and then we "chat" about his day. It is now one of his favorite parts of the day.
I have also noticed an increase in his verbalization attempts. Junior has a very high palate so it is nearly impossible for him to pronounce many sounds but he has always tried to "talk". Recently he is being louder and verbalizes much more often. If he gets mad, look out, he will try to "tell" you exactly what he thinks, and you don't need to understand him to get what he is "saying".

Another thing we are seeing is Junior instantly calming down when he sees that I am getting the ipad for him. This is not a spoiled child reacting to getting his way. In these instances he is crying or upset because he hurts, needs something or is frustrated. As soon as he sees the ipad you see him instantly relax, knowing that now he can tell you whats wrong.

Of course he also loves having the ipad with him everywhere he goes. Watching his shows while at the doctors office makes a huge difference. They keep him distracted and we are now having almost no panic episodes.
Many of his reading activities are now on the ipad and he no longer battles me over doing them. Funny how putting them on the ipad turns them into something fun and no longer work. Because of this we are making faster progress with his basic educational skills.

Hopefully in the near future we will be getting him a Ipad stand for his wheel chair. He would then be able to have the ipad up at eye level without me needing to hold it for him.

The ipad has been such a blessing for Junior and has opened a whole new world for him.


This picture just shows him with one of his school projects. We are going through a unit on farming.