We are finally in the works of getting a communication board for Ammon. Last week I met with people from the district who had already come and observed Ammon in his classroom and felt he would benefit from a board for both at school and at home. They are fairly small boards with only 6 options for speaking a desired phrase. For example one board will be prepared for when he wants to eat. He pushes the picture of a snack (cracker) and it speaks! "I want a snack.' We tried this at school with him and he got the hang of it really quick. Every time he pushed it he was handed a cracker. I'm interested to see if he will use it for other things like..."I'm tired." or "I'm hurt" The board has sheets with pictures that slide into it. Then there is the option to record a voice and make a statement for the picture. They showed me how to use it. I will be working with the speech therapist to make as many sheets as we want/need. Really fun! She asked me to not record my voice but a child's voice for "Ammon's voice." I love that idea!
Sunday night I was attempting to settle him down and get him to sleep. I tried telling him a story. The story of his birth and how I felt when I held him for the first time. He avoids eye contact like the plague and rolls back and forth as I speak. I want a moment in his world so desperately. I started singing to him. He stopped and finally looked up at me into my eyes. Why is language such a barrier? What does it sound like in his mind? Music is the only way I feel that language really makes sense to him. I stopped and he lay there gazing at me and then made an attempt to tell me something in his jabber. I was ecstatic to hear him attempt to communicate and pretended to understand everything he was "saying". I am hanging on to hope that this communication board will empower him with a voice.
