We live in a
world where communication is the key to everything but not everyone realizes
that everyone communicates differently from everyone and I am just one of them.
About me
My name is
Jill Clark and I am 33. I have a
physical Disability called Cerebral Palsy which affects my movement, muscles
and my speech. So, I am in a wheelchair all the time.
How do I communicate to the world?
Even though
I don’t have any speech I get my word across clearly!
I use an AAC
device or in other terms a communication device.
AAC stands
for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, it is just different ways of
communicating.
My communication device is called an Accent
1000; it is just a computer which it speaks out.
I use a tracker dot to access my programme on
my device. The dot is on my head; it is like infrared.
How does it feel to communicate in a
different way?
Like
everything, communicating through an AAC device it has its ups and downs but mostly it is great.
The ups are:
My device gives me a voice, with which I can
express myself and tell people how I feel or what I want.
It is great
that I can have just a normal conversation with people which makes me more
included in the world.
Even though
my device is my voice, it is my hands too as I can use a mobile phone and a computer through my
device too.
The down
sides are:
As my device
is a computer it can break down and I hate it!
The best way
to describe how it feels when it breaks down is imagine you have tape over your
mouth and you can’t talk!
Another down
side is how some people talk to me. We
live in a world where everyone is quick to judge by just looking at the people.
That happens
to me a lot.
Some people
see me and my wheelchair and just think “she is in a wheelchair she mustn’t
understand so I need to talk to her as a baby, this is my pet hate!
Over time I have learnt how to explain myself
to people and show them that even though I communicate in a different way I can
still talk to the world!
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