Owen Dybvig - East Thetford, VT

I was having a seizure when I was born, which resulted in a Cerebral Palsy, or CP, diagnosis. In practical terms, I have a brain injury that affects my motor skills. There are many different forms of CP. For me, it means I cannot walk or speak verbally. I can truly say without augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), I would not be the young man I am today. AAC system. The book was separated into categories, for example, people and things, I was three years old when my mother made a communication book. This was my first communication device. The book had sections on emotions, objects and actions. We made signs for the essentials, but it was not enough. I wanted a voice. When my family moved to Bethel, Vermont, I got my first communication device called Dynavox. I remember hearing it for the first time, and I started weeping because it was a voice. I don't remember much else about the technical aspects of the Dynavox, but I'll never forget how it made me feel. This device gave me a voice, saying out loud, the words I desperately wanted to be heard. The first day I could communicate complex ideas was in kindergarten. My speech-language pathologist, Linda, my mother, my grandfather, and Prenkie Romic Company (PRC) representative, David Kay, were there. David showed me how to use the PRC device. After one minute I loved it because it was organized in the way that I think. Imagine having tape over your mouth for five years and finally getting the tape off - that was what it felt like to be able to be heard, using this device. When I went to two PRC training sessions that my friend David Kay organized. One was in Rutland, Vermont, and I did show off my communication device because the group was small. In a smaller Group I felt better because I was able to see each person. The other session was in Concord, New Hampshire, and I did not show off my communication device because it was a bigger group, which made me uncomfortable. I had a special educator through Thetford Elementary School named Lucy. She was a piece of work. She would talk, and I could not understand her. I hated her because she didn't understand me for two years. It was like she was speaking Spanish - I didn't understand her either. I really had to learn resilience or I would have gone crazy. The year I started at Thetford Academy was awful because I didn't react well to transitions, and my aides were trying to figure me out. My medicine's dosage was too high, and one of the side effects was angry outbursts, so my doctor reduced the dose. Eighth grade was better because my aides had known me for a year. I was participating in all of my classes whereas in seventh grade my angry outbursts kept me from participating. In ninth grade I was even on the honor roll. This accomplishment made me feel proud. A teacher introduced me to Google Classroom. Google Classroom apps made it easier for me to produce quality work, which helped me accomplish the honor roll. None of this growth would have been possible without augmented communication devices. In the future, I would like to see brian controlled communication devices. The problem with my current communication device is that it is slow. In the future I want to be a teacher of AAC users so that I can teach the children the tools that I used, and hopefully, newer, more effective innovations in AAC devices. I was having a seizure when I was born, which resulted in a Cerebral Palsy, or CP, diagnosis. In practical terms, I have a brain injury that affects my motor skills. There are many different forms of CP. For me, it means I cannot walk or speak verbally. I can truly say without augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), I would not be the young man I am today. AAC system. The book was separated into categories, for example, people and things, I was three years old when my mother made a communication book. This was my first communication device. The book had sections on emotions, objects and actions. We made signs for the essentials, but it was not enough. I wanted a voice. When my family moved to Bethel, Vermont, I got my first communication device called Dynavox. I remember hearing it for the first time, and I started weeping because it was a voice. I don't remember much else about the technical aspects of the Dynavox, but I'll never forget how it made me feel. This device gave me a voice, saying out loud, the words I desperately wanted to be heard. The first day I could communicate complex ideas was in kindergarten. My speech-language pathologist, Linda, my mother, my grandfather, and Prenkie Romic Company (PRC) representative, David Kay, were there. David showed me how to use the PRC device. After one minute I loved it because it was organized in the way that I think. Imagine having tape over your mouth for five years and finally getting the tape off - that was what it felt like to be able to be heard, using this device. When I went to two PRC training sessions that my friend David Kay organized. One was in Rutland, Vermont, and I did show off my communication device because the group was small. In a smaller Group I felt better because I was able to see each person. The other session was in Concord, New Hampshire, and I did not show off my communication device because it was a bigger group, which made me uncomfortable. I had a special educator through Thetford Elementary School named Lucy. She was a piece of work. She would talk, and I could not understand her. I hated her because she didn't understand me for two years. It was like she was speaking Spanish - I didn't understand her either. I really had to learn resilience or I would have gone crazy. The year I started at Thetford Academy was awful because I didn't react well to transitions, and my aides were trying to figure me out. My medicine's dosage was too high, and one of the side effects was angry outbursts, so my doctor reduced the dose. Eighth grade was better because my aides had known me for a year. I was participating in all of my classes whereas in seventh grade my angry outbursts kept me from participating. In ninth grade I was even on the honor roll. This accomplishment made me feel proud. A teacher introduced me to Google Classroom. Google Classroom apps made it easier for me to produce quality work, which helped me accomplish the honor roll. None of this growth would have been possible without augmented communication devices. In the future, I would like to see brian controlled communication devices. The problem with my current communication device is that it is slow. In the future I want to be a teacher of AAC users so that I can teach the children the tools that I used, and hopefully, newer, more effective innovations in AAC devices.