Katie Yonker, PRC Ambassador
Katie’s Mantra
My name is Katie Yonker. I live in Phoenix, Arizona. I have a Cerebral Palsy so my mouth and right side of body does not work right. I am twenty-eight years old. I have had a communication device for a long time and it helps me to talk to the people.
I have two friends that have communication devices. We have gone to camp, conferences, and a group, called “Out and About”. We go out in the community and we order the food using our communication devices and other fun activities. Not only that, I even got to do a training session for speech therapy students one month. I have device called a “Vantage Lite.”
Katie is also a talented artist.
I can remember when I got a communication device when I was in kindergarten. My classmates and my teacher Mrs. Henize wrote a letter to the Prentke Romich Company in Ohio. It’s took me a while to get a communication device because I had to do evaluations on devices that I wanted to try. My first device was called “Liberator”. It was a big box and heavy. I used to have a roller backpack to carry it. I didn’t like to carry it on my shoulders all time when I went to my school classes.
I do like the old pictures of icons sequence symbols because I know those icons in 144 Unity. Now I got new pictures on the Vantage Lite in 84 Unity and I don’t like it because it’s hard for me to remember. When I don’t know what the right icon sequences are that I need to say, I use the ABC mode to spell my message out!
The Vantage Lite is small. It has activity rows and an MP3 player so I can listen to music on my device.
I want to get the new device! (Accent 1000 using 144 sequenced) I like it because it has the 144 vocabulary that I am used to but my mom says no because I have to wait until my Vantage Lite is broken.
I hope you like my art and my article this month.
Thank you for listening. Katie Yonker
Katie hopes to get an Accent 1000 so she can use 144 location Unity.
Communicators In Action