User:Scottandy

SPEECH

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

My name is Scott Scherer. I am 31 years old and I have gone to college at Ivy Tech Community College. My goal after Ivy Tech is to Work for a Technology corporation like Apple since i am good with computers. I have taken Cultural Diversity and Communication with hopes of someday attending Purdue University, hopefully in the school of Technology.

I would like to tell you about my experience using a communication device. I have been using a device to help me talk since I was about 5 or 6 years old. The technical word for it is a Speech Generating Device or SGD. Some people call it their "talker."

Julie Huff was my speech therapist when I was at Kids Connection Where I attended Preschool. She used flash cards and I would tell her the names of the flash cards that she would hold up. On Fridays, we used to play a game with words called “Dump Truck City.” It was a table game. Every time I won, I would dump a word on the table using a toy dump truck. My first device was called a Liberator and the Tippecanotes, a local Barber shop quartett, helped raise $10.000 to buy the device. I have had 3 other devices since then, the Pathfinder, yjr Eco2,and now the Accent 1400.

My first speech-language pathologist was Kim Ho when I was 6 or 7. I don't see her much anymore because she is in Massachussetts. I wish I could see her more but at least I get to see her at Camp Jabberwocky.

I can use the Accent to open Microsoft Word documents, Internet pages, prticipate in video conferences, upload videos on YouTube, and e-mail. I have several e-mail accounts such as AOL, Gmail and M.S.N. to handle spam. I have demontrated my SGD on multiple occasions during lectures at Purdue University, Vanderbilt University, and IvyTech as well as video conferences at Central Michigan.

My favorite old feature on the Liberator that disappeared with the upgrade was the music feature. You could make sounds like tones on a keyboard. I could finally say full sentences. It was hard to form full sentences with my mouth. When I got the Pathfinder in seventh grade, I was attending East Tipp Middle School. I could now do word prediction. That improved my spelling a little bit. I had a fun time at East Tipp. I used my Pathfinder to practice my icons. Icons are pictures that categorize groups of words. Examples would be an apple for "food" words and a truck for "traveling" words

It hasn't been perfect but no electronic device is. I have had issues with the touch screen sensitivity. P.R.C. instructed me to send the unit in for a firmware update. They have me for advise on technical issues as well as accessing the device power button. I am an Ambassador to assist other users if they have trouble with their device.

PART TWO: JABBERWOCKY AND FAMILY

Jabberwocky. Yes, that is a real name, but it refers to a mythical flying Dragon. It is also the name of a camp that happens every summer on Martha's Vineyard in Massachussetts. It is for people with any kind of a disability. I first went in 2001 when I was eight and one half years old. I have been to Camp Jabberwocky every year except the last 3 years because of Covid and hip surgery. While most people only get to stay for two weeks, the older campers like myself got to stay for 4 weeks. The camp is always over staffed because there are so many volunteers and interns. It has been running for 70 years. I have several friends there. I will be back at Camp Jabberwocky hopefully next summer! There is always a form on the Camp Jabberwocky website if you want to attend or volunteer.

I have a Dog, and his name is Finn. He is a Golden Retriever. I also have a brother named Andy. He is a Internet Tech. My mom is nice and I love her. I love her cooking, especially her desserts. My father takes me everywhere, like Purdue volleyball games and Columbian Park.

PART THREE: GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

Whatever problem or difficulty your student may be having, be very patient and do not scold them. Encourage and support all of your students, especially if they are down on themselves. At times when I get upset and frustrated, I tend to say bad things about myself. Some things that frustrate me include things not working on my device, or when people guess at what I'm saying instead of repeating what they heard or understood. It is a good strategy for the listener to repeat what they understood so that I don't have to repeat the entire sentence. I can then focus on the part they misunderstood. I also get frustrated with problems with computers just like everyone else.

Another thing that frustrates me is when my schedule is messed up. My brain doesn't like it. As a teacher you can help me when I get frustrated by being supportive, instead of saying "Well, we can't do anything about it, "The schedule is what is."  Try to tell me ahead of time and be more empathetic.

When I was at Harrison High School we had "Activity Periods," we had extended time during second hour. Since I know about this schedule change, I learned how to deal with it. The first time it happened, nobody told me and I kind of freaked out. When my device isn't working properly, my helper can try to call tech support. This helps me feel better when I hear from a reliable source about what's going on with my device since they made it.

When people don’t understand me, it can be difficult to get my words out. Then the frustration can make my speech even less clear to the listener. However, just because I can not speak clearly or use my hands doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. When you face a problem with the device, don't hesitate to call Prentke Romich or find somebody that can assist or that likes to solve problems. Determine the student's range of motion (ROM) and find the best spot to reach all of the buttons.

Be patient, because it took me a long time to learn the Unity system. This means I couldn't make sentences quickly. I knew what I wanted to say but couldn't program the words. I explain to people that my Accent has pictures or icons and each icon represents a category. That picture can be used as a single word or icon where a lot of other words can be stored. Using these pictures and icons help me communicate faster because I don't have to type out each word. When I do have to type out each word it takes me five minutes to write one sentence, especially if I don't know where the icon is stored. Word prediction helps, but I'm not the best speller.

Do you have any questions ?



a paper for college I did in 2014

my paper

I now know asl from my friends