Augmentative Communication - one step closer

Yesterday Lucas decided that it had been too long since his last sports injury.  We ended up spending the morning at Urgent Care getting x-rays of his finger.  He was playing football and jammed his finger off his buddies shoe while trying to take him down.  It is the same hand as last summer but the ring finger this time.  Turns out it isn't broken but he tore all the ligaments.  It is completely purple and all swollen, Lucas was pretty disappointed it isn't broken, but he seemed happy when they said the ligaments were all torn (it's all about the bragging rights).  So it is splinted and we have to do therapy on it each day starting in a few days..

Here he is pre injury for formal day at school.   :)  We had to get out his new board shoes and he wanted the bowtie.  He looked like a 90's grunge kid dressed up lol.

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We had a first meeting with Sophie and the Augmentative Communication Service OT at our house this week.  She brought out some head switches and an Ipad with a communication app on it called Sounding Board.  This app has the functionality of being switch adapted.  There are very few that are switch adaptable so it was exciting to see one in action.

We used Step Scanning which involves 2 switches, one for scanning and one for choosing.  Not easy.

 Getting the positioning right for the Ultimate Switch with gooseneck mounting.

We got it all set up and just let Sophie just jump right in. She was a star and made it look like she had been using a head switch all her life.

Focusing hard and figuring out the choices on the Ipad..

Making her choices cycle through by activating the head switch...

Woops, got herself in the eye with the switch the next time she tried. 

 Making her choice with our jellybean switch on her tray (the switch is hidden right in front of the ipad).  This is very complicated and Sophie got it very quickly.  She had to cycle through the choices with the head switch and then choose the one she wanted with the switch on her tray by using her hand.  That is ALOT of coordination for her to acheive in a short period of time.

We gave her two choices, two toys that she could play with.  She chose the same toy EVERY time, a new music box that she just received for her birthday.  It was awesome to watch her wait while they cycled through and then make her choice.  If she missed it she started the cycle through again with the head switch and prepared herself to get it in time with the switch on her tray.

Enjoying her choice, her music box :)

 Sophie worked with the switch for quite a long time and was successful in using both switches over and over again.  After trying the Ultimate Switch we tried a Papoo switch for a short time.  It made a noise and glowed red and it freaked Sophie out a bit. The noise was a bit disconcerting for her right by her ear.  But if the switch is embedded in her headrest it could be a good choice.  We think that 2 head switches will be the best way for Sophie to use any devices.  It is too much work for her to get her hands where they need to be to continually activate the switch on her tray.  She does much better with her head.  We will try lots of new switches and placements and find what works best for her.

Lots more to learn, lots to be excited about.  One step closer to knowing what my girl wants and needs at all times. Yay!!!!