My name is Jill Clark and I am 31. I have a Disability called Cerebral
Palsy which affects my speech.
Even although I don’t have any speech due to my disability, from a young
age I have always got something to say and people will say I never shut up!
AAC has been a big part of my life from my nursery days to now. I would
like to take you on a journey of my experiences of AAC and how it has changed
through the years and how it has changed my life but first let me explain what
is AAC?.
So, AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication which means
different ways of communicating such as using a communication device or symbols or sign language and a lot more.
Really everyone uses AAC because now days, we communicate through texts, emails
and social media.
I first started using AAC when I was in nursery when I used a symbols book.
A symbols book is a book with symbols of different things like family, food,
places.
When I was in p1 I tried my very first Communication device, a communication
device is a device which speaks out. The first Communication device that I
tried was called Alphatalker, the Alphatalker was a small device. It was like
just a talking symbols book which I had sheets to change on this device to the
subject I wanted to talk about. Then in p2 I got another Communication device
which was called Vanguard. The Vanguard was a very big and heavy device. On the Vanguard I used a programme called LLL
45 which had 45 boxes of different of subjects like family, food, places and a
lot more.
L L L is the programme that I use or have been using with all of my communication
devices as you will see in this journal. L L L stands for Language Living and Learning
and it is a great programme to use.
I had the Vanguard for a few years and then I got another Communication
device called Vantage, the Vantage was the same as Vanguard but a lot smaller
and I used L L L 45 again on this device.
Due to my disability I can't use my hands very well, so with my first 3
Communication devices I used a head switch which was very slow because it
needed to scan through the boxes on the device. I didn't like it and didn't
want to use the devices at that time. But my next Communication device changed
a lot for me.
I got my next Communication device when I was in my 2nd year of high school
which it was called a Vanguard 2, the Vanguard 2 was smaller than the first
Vanguard but bigger than the Vantage. I still used L L L but it was L L L 84
which it had 84 boxes and had more vocabulary. This was better for me as I was
getting older and had a lot more to say.
With this device I started to use a head tracker. The head tracker is
infrared and I use a tracker dot on my forehead which it picks up the tracker
on the device which it moves the cursor on the screen. This is so much better
than the head switch and faster. When I tried the tracker very first time, I
didn't like it, but more I used it the better I got and I’ve never looked back
since then. With the Vanguard 2 I
started to use the computer because the Vanguard 2 could link up to a computer
by using a cable and I used computer pages on the device to control the
computer. This let me to start using emails, social media and I wrote my first
blog. The Vanguard 2 also let me to use
a mobile phone which I used for texts. The Vanguard 2 made my life so much
better.
I had the Vanguard 2 through my high school years and then once I left school,
I got my next Communication device which it was called the Eco2. It was big, but
thinner than Vanguard 2. I still used L L L but I changed to L L L 144 again
which means it has 144 boxes and more vocabulary. I still used head tracker
with this device too. The Eco2 wasn't
just a Communication device it was a computer too which means I had a
Communication device and a computer within 1 device and that made it better for
me, also I could of text with the device too.
I used the eco2 for 5 years and then in 2015 I got my 6th
Communication device called Accent 1400, the Accent 1400 Was mostly the same
then the eco2 but thinner. With the Accent 1400 I still used L L L 144 and head
tracker and also with this device I could of text and got page on it to work
television which I love but my Mum and Dad hate it that I could of turn
television over I don't know why! hehe.
In 2020 I got the device which I use today.
It is called Accent 1000. The Accent 1000 is the same as the Accent 1400
but it is much smaller which it is better for me. With the Accent 1000 I still
use L L L 144 and the head tracker and it is a computer too
Like I said, I have been using the head tracker since I had the Vanguard 2
and it has been great but I tried a eye gaze with the eco2 and Accent 1400, the
eye gaze is same as the head tracker but you work it with your eyes but I
didn't liked it, I found it more difficult, so I decided to stick to head
tracker and I love using it and I was the first person to try the head tracker
in Scotland.
So, as you see, over time the Communication devices got better for me for
my communication and let me have access to a computer and a mobile phone.
Due to using Communication devices it has given me so many opportunities,
such as doing public talks, including in the Scottish parliament, to be able to
work, to do campaign for Disabled Rights and many more opportunities.
Like I said at the start of this blog, AAC is a big part of my life and I have
been very lucky to be able to use AAC throughout my life I don't know what
I would have done without AAC.
thank you for reading.
Written by Jill
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