Learn more about the children we serve
Let us share some stories of just a few of the children we have helped. This sampling of testimonials will give you an idea why we are so passionate about our work. The children and young adults we serve are not just cases for us. We are closely following the progress of all persons who have received one of our grants or benefitted from our work in another way, and we feel truly honored to be a part of their journey towards expressive communication. As different as their stories might be, it is always a joy to witness the development of their expressive abilities and to learn about the new opportunities that become available in their lives as soon as they have access to much needed technology or services. Communication is a basic human right. Let’s make sure that we can read so many more stories like these in the future!
Adler’s Voice has been one of the greatest blessings for my child! His iPad has given him a future.
In 2012, Joshua’s family came to Adler’s Voice in search of a way to expand Joshua’s communication abilities. He was born with an undiagnosed genetic disorder, deafness, and a seizure disorder. By age 11, Joshua still had no verbal communication and a very limited sign language vocabulary. According to his family, his communication abilities were those of a two-year-old. Joshua’s limited ability to communicate his feelings, needs, and wants was causing him incredible frustration, leading to communication breakdowns with his care providers and teachers. Initially, his family was requesting an iPad through our grant program, but since Joshua was deaf, his communication needs were very complex. After meeting with Joshua and his special education team, including his sign language instructor and speech-language pathologist, we developed a communication system using both symbol-based Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and American Sign Language (ASL) apps. The symbol-based communication apps offered Joshua a quick and effective way to express urgent thoughts and make choices, while the ASL apps allowed him to expand upon his emerging sign language vocabulary. Today, Joshua is in high school, and at age 16, he is fluent in sign language. “Adler’s Voice has been one of the greatest blessings for my child! His iPad has given him a future now, as well as a helpful transition into middle school. Stephanie has been extremely supportive, and we appreciate all of Adler’s Voice’s tireless support!”
What your program does is simply outstanding. There will never be enough words or ways to thank you.
Four-year-old Kelsey was born with a mitochondrial disorder and was diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech. Because she is medically fragile, exposure to a simple cold virus can cause her an extended hospital stay, leading to further developmental delays and setbacks. This vibrant little girl needed a way to communicate all the thoughts that were swirling around in her head. Her mother applied for a grant from Adler’s Voice, requesting an iPod Touch with the Proloquo2Go app. “I cannot even put into words, what the grant for my child has meant. I know from my side of it, it has been amazing. She has learned so much and now works it better than I do. She is so much happier and is able to clearly explain what she wants or needs. We took a trip to California, and she took her iPod with us and was able to tell me places she wanted to eat and so much more. It was very amazing, because my grandma who has not talked to Kelsey in two years was able to sit and talk to her. It had to be one of the best moments we have had. It made everyone cry those happy tears. What your program does is simply outstanding. There will never be enough words or ways to thank you.” Today Kelsey is nine years old, and we are happy to report that her language skills have blossomed, and with diligent intervention and the use of augmentative communication, she continues to expand her expressive vocabulary, gaining new words and fluency each year.
I know an angel who made my prayers a reality. You are such a great advocate for our kiddos who have such a hard time with communication.
Desperate to find a way to help her son, Nathanael’s mother drove more than three hundred miles round trip every day to attend a two-day AAC conference hosted by Adler’s Voice. Nathanael was 19 years old at the time and had significant and complex communication needs, secondary to Autism. In addition to receiving valuable tools and resources to help support the communication needs of her son, Nathanael’s mom met Stephanie and was encouraged to apply for an Adler’s Voice grant to fund a communication device for her son. Two months later, Nathanael received his new communication device, an iPad with the Proloquo2Go app. As it happened, it also was his 20th birthday. His mother told us of Nathanael’s reaction when he received his communication device: “Best Birthday Ever: Nathanael’s words! Thank you so much. He had an amazing day! Your generous gift is priceless to us. We are taking it to school on Tuesday to get started with the speech therapist. You opened a whole world of communication possibilities for our son, and it has already helped his quality of life. If anyone asks you, do you believe in miracles, my answer is, yes I do! I know an angel who made my prayers a reality. You are such a great advocate for our kiddos who have such a hard time with communication. Someone heard my prayers, and it is you, Stephanie. Your Adler’s Voice helped meet the need for our son.”
It was such a great moment for Parker to show his peers that he had knowledge which they did not! Powerful moment for him!
Five-year-old Parker has Down Syndrome. Poor intelligibility and a limited expressive vocabulary were barriers to his ability to engage and interact with his family, teachers and peers. After completing an AAC evaluation, Parker’s family was referred to Adler’s Voice to provide funding for a communication device. We provided an iPad Mini which Parker uses with the AAC app TouchChat. Parker is so fortunate to have an amazing support team of parents and professionals, dedicated to fostering his communicative abilities. His new communication system has allowed him to participate in school activities and academics like never before. His mother shared an especially proud moment with us, shortly after Parker had received his communication device: “My son is in first grade and just received an iPad Mini this summer from your great organization. We wanted to share this ‘feel-amazing’ parent moment with you all! Parker uses an app called TouchChat. His teacher has been communicating really well with us and typically emails us a general ‘What’s happening this week’ email so we can pre-teach and add things to his device. Last week they talked about dinosaurs. Parker’s grandpa lives in Montana, hunts for dinosaur fossils, and has put together a book with different dinosaurs. Since TouchChat has a page where you can make your own stories, we made a story about the fossils and bones, and Parker presented it along with some fossils to his class using a combination of his device and his verbal language. He did so well that he was invited to the other first grade classrooms and also showed his presentation there. That same night at soccer, he was the talk of the town! It was such a great moment for him to show his peers that he had knowledge which they did not! Powerful moment for him! And one proud mom and dad.”
