Friday, December 28, 2012

DynaVox Maestro


I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Callie has Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).  We had her evaluated and it was determined that she is a good candidate for an AAC device.  We decided to start with a device from DynaVox called the Maestro instead of the iPad for various reasons.  Right now Callie sees the iPad as a source of entertainment and I think it might be difficult at this age to change it's use to a speech device (I can see her exiting out of the speech app at any chance she gets to switch to Angry Birds or her favorite Baby Signing Time videos!).  Also, you can change the screen sensitivity, the buttons are larger, the speakers are better (louder for places like a restaurant), and it has more customizable options for a little girl's voice.  Her SLPs also have more experience with DynaVox devices, so hopefully it will be easier to incorporate it into her therapies.  These are just some of the reasons that we feel like a DynaVox is the best place for her to start.  If this ends up being a long term solution, I can definitely see switching to the iPad as she matures and gets the hang of using a device for speech.  And since we have one, it will be easy to simply purchase an app when the time seems right.  They are constantly improving and adding new speech apps, so hopefully we will find the perfect one for her when she is ready.

Here is a picture of the Maestro:


It just arrived and we are so excited to get the hang of it and start using it right away!  I have an appointment with the DynaVox rep this coming week for training and am hopeful Callie will quickly catch on and be thrilled with this new way of expressing herself.  I will keep you posted!


 

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