"Communication Device" Real Look Autism Episode 8

This video for Real Look Autism.com shows us how assistive communication technology is helping a nonverbal, 7-year old boy "talk". Matthew started using PECS and then through the school system was able to get a communication device. He is finding his voice!

>>[Communication Device]: Drink.

>>[Therapist]: There you go, great!
You wanted your drink. [laughter]

Hi. That's him saying hi, yes!

>>[Mom]: Matthew is a happy child.

>>[Therapist]: You wanna give Mommy a hug?
>>[Mom]: Hi, how are you?

How you doing!?

My name is Marlo Lemon
and I am Matthew's Mom.

>>[Therapist]: You see yourself?
(Laughter) Look at you.

>>[Mom]: He has a really funny sense
of humor. He's very visually stimulated.

You know initially when you
have a child that's nonverbal...

...people often ask, "well you know
how do they communicate?"

I always say my goal, yes, I want
Matthew to be able to talk.

But, I had to broaden my horizons,
and you know what..

..you want him to be
able to communicate.

>>[Therapist to Matthew]:
Do you want this? Do you want this?

Do you want your drink?

[Therapist interview] I started working
with Matthew several years ago.

I'm Sarah Bethshaw and I'm the Speech
Language Pathologist here, at Trellis School.

When he wasn't talking and he
wasn't able to imitate at that time,

I decided it was time to implement another functional mode of communication for him.

So we started with a picture exchange
communication system, which is very widely known.

[Therapist to Matthew]:
I want...eat...popcorn.

[Therapist interview]: That was,
probably the first time in his life

he had functional communication
across a variety of contexts...

..um..that really worked for him.

>>[Mom]: He was doing really
well with PECS and as a result,

that's why we asked for, could we possibly
use an assisted technology device

to help him with communication.

>>[Communication Device]: Cookie

>>[Therapist to Matthew]: Here you go.

Yummm!

[Therapist interview]: The beauty of this device
is the capacity for him to communicate is....vast.

You wanna start with the core.
We use core vocabulary words.

Core vocabulary words are words like
eat, drink, stop, play, go, more.

>>[Communication Device]: Eat.
>>[Therapist to Matthew]: Here ya' go.

[Therapist interview] It speaks so he speaks.

>>[Communication Device]: Drink
>>[Therapist to Matthew]: Drink! Here's your drink!

You want to play?

[Therapist interview]: You find places where
they're most motivated and you put the core into it.

>>[Communication Device]: Go.
>>[Therapist to Matthew]: You want to go? Let's go!

>>[Communication Device]: Go.
>>[Therapist to Matthew]: Good Job! Goooo!

>>[Another therapist]:
Crash them! Wooooo!

>>Therapist to Matthew]:
Hey my turn, can I have a sip?

[Therapist interview] Today he
was doing well with the word, turn.

>>[Communication Device]: Turn

>>Therapist interview]: It wasn't taking as
much prompting as it sometimes does.

So then I wanted to increase the difficulty

I add words, while I'm working with him,
so I want to add the word "my",

so I just went ahead and added it..

So now, I have the word, "my,"
so I can do, "my turn."

It increases the amount of hits you're
gonna push and....it's a little bit harder.

>>[Communication Device]: My...Turn
>>[Another Therapist]: My Turn....Goood!

Here you go, carry this.

>>[Therapist interview]: These devices
on a typical day are with him all the time.

>>[Communication Device]: Come.

>>[Therapist interview]: A speech
therapist needs training on it...

...then the family also
needs training on it.

One of the best things about this device is it's
dynamic, so it's changing with us all the time.

So, we can work with the displays and make
it fit exactly what we're trying to teach him.

>>[Communication Device]: Eat....Cookie
>>[Therapist]: Eat cookie! Good job!

[Therapist interview]: That was really
exceptional. He said, "Eat Cookie."

He said the whole phrase
completely and independently.

And that was four hits.

So the first time today, when he was eating
cookies, I've never seen him eat those cookies.

I could tell he loved those cookies.

So in the moment, I want "Yum" on there.

[Therapist to Matthew]:
Yeah, you want to say "Yum!"

>>[Communication Device]: Yum.
>>[Therapist]: The cookies are yummy!

So now in this moment, we've activated...
we've started using two comments....

..which is something we're working with
Matthew on, saying "Like" and "Yum."

And, that's really important for him not
to just be requesting, using the device,

but using it for a variety of
communicative intents.

[Therapist to Matthew]: What do you want?
>>[Communication Device]: Cookie.

>>[Therapist]: Cookie!

[Therapist interview] And the next time he
ate cookies, he was very pleased with that.

[Therapist to Matthew]: You wanted
to say "Yum," let me teach you.

Yum starts at the top.
Eyes on. Look, this is "yum."

>>[Communication Device]: Yum.
>>[Therapist]: Yummmmm!

You wanted to say yum!

>>[Communication Device] Yum. Yum.
>>[Therapist]: Yummmmm!

[Laughter]

[Therapist interview] To me
the goal for Matthew is to

confidently, functionally,
and proudly communicate.

>>[Mom]: Through giving him a way to communicate,
we've decreased behaviors tremendously.

I would say start off with the picture
exchange communication system.

Once he got to having four to six
pictures on the front of his PECSbook--

it's like, you know what, we can
take it up another level.

As his mom, you know my expectation
have always been really high and I'm like:

we're going to maximize
Matthew's potential.

He can, you know, and we truly
believe that he will be able to talk.

>>[Therapist interview]: We will
never say that a child won't talk.

He absolutely may talk,
but right now, he has this.

>>[Communication Device]: Like.
>>[Therapist]: You like music? Yay! Let's do music.

>>[Mom]: Just because he's non-verbal,
does not mean he doesn't have a lot to say.

>>[Communication Device]: More.
>>[Therapist]: Moorrree. That's more.

>>[Mom]: Oh wow!
It's given him a voice.

>>[Communication Device]: Yum. Yum.