By Jack McGraw, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador   I am the sort of person who prefers being busy over having nothing to do. Although I love the relaxation that summer provides me with, I tend to become bored easily having little to no work to do in the summer. This summer, I was hoping to do my internship but no such l...

By Jack McGraw, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  My AAC device has opened a world full of independence and opportunities for me. Because of my cerebral palsy, I can hardly control my speech to talk understandably, and cannot control my hands and arms to write and use a computer the typical ways that abled-bodied people do. Fo...

by Darryl Porter, PRC_Saltillo blogger  My Accent 1400, my constant companion A device that enables me to communicate without barrier It helps me express my thoughts, my opinions It bridges the gap between me and the world It empowers me to celebrate my disability with pride, To honor my uniqueness and to embrace ...

By Morgan Smoker, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  Hey everyone, my name is Morgan Smoker. I am known as an infamous Ambassador and the World’s Greatest Photographer! I was born with a rare genetic disorder called Glutaric Aciduria. I have been in a wheelchair since I was four, but I am still so full of life. I have bee...

by Maragaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  July is Disability Pride Month, a national celebration of the disability community’s achievements, history, and experiences, and also an acknowledgment of the challenges faced by disabled individuals each day while navigating life and the world. It is relatively new i...

by Catlaina Vrana, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Trailblazers Using AAC in public is interesting. I have a lot of complicated feelings surrounding this topic. I imagine every user will have different experiences in this area, and perspectives that have probably changed over time. As a teenager, I didn’t really like to us...

By Kerri Adamic, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador and AAC Toastmaster's member I gave a speech for the Toastmaster’s AAC Group recently. PRC-Saltillo hosts this Toastmaster’s group of AAC Users and PRC-Saltillo employees. Toastmasters is an education program that focuses on helping individuals develop skills in various ...

By Nicole (Nikki) Kary, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  I love going into the community with my AAC Device. Not only does it lets me meet new people and they can see how intelligent I am but it also makes people realize that people with disabilities can have thoughts and feelings and that we can have normal conversations. Go...

By Anthony Arnold, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador I’m Anthony Arnold, an augmentative and alternative communicator from San Tan Valley, Arizona. For almost my entire life, I have had episodes with my allergies and asthma. Sometimes, it has been manageable, and other times it has been problematic.  On May 16, 2024, my ...

By Kristy Lipe, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Hello everybody! My name is Kristy Lipe and I'm originally from Memphis, Tennessee but I’ve moved down here to Long Beach, Mississippi with my parents recently . I’m 33 and I have cerebral palsy but that doesn't even stop me from doing much! I've been the Tennessee PRC Am...

By Fadel Rah, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  When I first meet and talk to people in public with my device the reaction is “WOW”, “How does he do that?” and the discussion starts about how I use my device. The excitement becomes even bigger when they know that I am using my eyes to control the device...

By Nikki Kary, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador   Sometimes it can be frustrating to use an AAC Device outside, especially when it's sunny. I am an eye tracking user so I can see my screen, but the camera can't always track my eyes. One of the solutions I've tried is going under a tree with some shade. Also, I have put an...

By Danny Gonsalves, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador   Hey bloggers, I want to tell you what happened to me at Six Flags Over Georgia. I was able to ride all of the rides regardless of my disability. I am happy with this right and I didn’t have to pick a fight. Because I have been to Universal Studios, Disney World ...

By Wayne Roupp, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador    I would like to write a Blog about living at my home. I get to go on only one trip a month. There are 82 residents living at the home. This month (May) we had a dinner dance outside. It is usually a Disney theme. I thought they wouldn't have the Dinner Dance because it h...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  When I was in school, most of the time I was working in a regular education classroom, so I didn't have time to work on life skills. So during the summer, my parents and school team wanted me to learn all of the important life skills. My school aide trained my summer helper on ...

By Kip Porter, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What's worst thing to a soul; Be silent; that's like a voice is in a prison. The gifts Nova Chat and TouchChatHD have come; Gave angelic voice to silent souls. It's like the sweetest sound of the Earth. Set their thoughts free; gifts put their thoughts Into words. Their words cou...

by Matt Huggins, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador In my town there are hundreds of miles of nature trails.  My town got some government funding to pave a small part of one of the nature trails.  Recently some people are opposed to paving because they said it would harm the environment.  I was interviewed for my town ...

by Lyle Bahe, a PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  This is an interview with Lyle and his SLP to discuss the April theme of joking or telling funny stories. Enjoy! SLP: What are ways do you make people laugh?Lyle: sarcasm and teasing SLP: When you are talking to people, do you think you are very serious?Lyle: no SLP: What do...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador There are many times I have felt lucky to have AAC to advocate for myself. I feel lucky to have a way to communicate with my big family and care team using a speech-generating device. I can ask for what I want and need. I can communicate what I am thinking, how I feel, and get...

By Matt Huggins, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador I do believe in luck.  (I am a gambler.) I mainly bet on horse racing.  I went to the casinos a couple of times.  I believe in luck and I am kind of lucky because almost every time I am down to my last bet I win.  And I do feel fortunate I live in this time ...

By: Johnny Scheider, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  I’m so glad that I have a speech device that will talk for me because I have a hard time talking. I learned that using the icons on my speech device is faster compared to typing everything out. You can program any word on your speech device. I learned from my local c...

By: Lyle Bahe, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador This is a conversation between Lyle and his SLP. In what ways do you communicate your feelings to others? Lyle: I talk people. SLP: If you were frustrated at staff, would you tell that staff or would you only tell me?Lyle: You. SLP: How would she ever know about your frustrations...

By: Matt Huggins, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador  As ambassadors and communication device users, we are asked about the ways we express our feelings. I have always communicated my thoughts and my feelings to my family and my caregivers, and to my friends by using my communication device.  I remember one time I told my m...

By: Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Happy New Year! As we embark on 2024, many goals are on my agenda. Being a new author with a debut disability memoir Bold, Brave, and Breathless: Reveling in Childhood’s Splendiferous Glories While Facing Disability and Loss, my biggest goal is to go on a book tour. Since the ...

By: Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It is a new year already, it is time for setting goals for this year. No matter who you are and where you are in life, everyone should have goals to work on during the year. Goals aren't just for school, therapy, or an adult service plan, you can have goals about anything. You can have...

By: Johnny Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger We had our PRC-Saltillo Christmas party at the police station Sunday December 3rd. We had a great turnout. Jennifer invited a music therapist who played Christmas songs. She did great! I asked my dad to take pictures at the party.  My grandma and sister made Christmas cookies...

By: Kristy Lipe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger This is PRC Ambassador Kristy Lipe again! I hope you had an awesome 2023 just like I had! As we’re coming into the Christmas season here are some of my favorite things my family does! We love the Christmas movies such as Home Alone , Grinch with Jim Carry, The Santa Claus and Pol...

By: Ami Profeta, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hanukkah, we celebrate for eight nights.  We light the menorah each night and we recite the blessings. We eat potato lakas as potato pancakes and Doughnuts during Hanukkah. Each child receives a gift each night from their parents and they open it after they light the candles. ...

By: Rigoberto Gaona My name is Rigoberto Gaona. I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I'm also non verbal. I never givin' up on my dreams and my goals. When I moved from Mexico to L.A. I've achieved all my goals so far. From the strength God has givin' me. Some of these goals were my Marathon Racing and working out. Moving out t...

By: Kerri Adamic, PRC-Saltillo Blogger During the month of November, it is time to be grateful for because it is so important for us to think how thankful we are for. Thanksgiving is coming up, so think about one thing to be thankful for.   I know I am grateful for this company who designs these communicati...

By: Wes Burson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Introduction  In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of responsibilities, stress, and the never-ending pursuit of goals and dreams. Sometimes, we forget to take a step back and appreciate the things that truly matter. Gratitude is ...

By: Lyle Bahe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What does it mean to be included to you?   Lyle: It means I can talk to people and I can work. It means people care about me and what I have to say. I have good thoughts and opinions. When people talk about me to each other and don't keep me in the conversation, I get mad and ...

By: Johnny Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One day Jennifer asked me to work at a conference with her and I said I would help. I met a college professor from a college called Athens University and he was nice and asked me questions about my device. I helped with passing out AAC bags to the people who walked out of the conf...

By: Wes Burson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Introduction  As the summer sun slowly fades away and the leaves begin to transform into a vibrant mosaic of red, orange, and gold, the MLB baseball season is ending. there's a palpable sense of anticipation in the air. Fall, with its crisp breeze and cozy atmosphere, is a beloved...

By: Cat Vrana, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hollow Knight is a game made in 2017 by Team Cherry. You play as a cute little bug with horns. Equipped with nothing but an old nail to use as a sword, you explore the underground expanses of Hallownest, gaining abilities, discovering treasures, and fighting other bugs in boss battles. ...

By: Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As the summer draws to a close, I am so looking forward to and preparing for the new, enthralling season of personal and professional milestones set to begin this fall. I am excited to be working with PRC-Saltillo at their 2023 American Speech–Language–Hearing Associatio...

By: Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger   In special education and assistive technology, we have our own language. Families might not understand the language and our sayings. One of them is called descriptive teaching. Now you might be asking yourself what is that and how do we use this with AAC Communicators? Good que...

By: Chris Klein, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It was my freshman year at Hope College and I was in psychology class.  I have met the professor before classes started, but when he asked the first question of the class, he was surprised my foot shot up into the air.  He immediately called on me.  He waited for me to p...

By: Kerri Adamic, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Do you want your child, who is an AAC User, to enjoy the new school year? Here are some of my suggestions for you as a parent, a teacher, or a personal attendant. It’s so important for the child to have the communication device to be charged up in the mornings to take to school ...

By Shannon Pedigo, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is Shannon Pedigo. I’m using an Accent 1400. I have Cerebral Palsy that means that I can’t communicate with people but I found my voice with for years, I had many devices though they didn’t work for me. I found that the Accent 1400 is more compatible then th...

By: Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Wow, it is already time to start thinking about the fall. You know what that means, school is starting soon again. I first wrote this blog three years ago, but I thought that I would reshare this information again. Plus I have some new thoughts and ideas for you to use.   Thirt...

By: Cat Vrana, PRC-Saltillo Blogger “Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a po...

By Johnny Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I thought of having an ice cream social because I like to see how people interact with people that use communication devices -- and everyone loves ice cream!!   My favorite flavor is s’mores.   Jennifer, my local AAC consultant from PRC-Saltillo, contacted t...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In today’s world, so much of society uses video creation for marketing, promotion, and simply entertainment. During my undergraduate and graduate English/creative writing studies at Fairfield University, I learned how an essay, a poem, and all other literary works can take the ...

By Kristy Lipe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello again everybody! This is PRC Ambassador Kristy Lipe from Memphis, Tennessee! A lot of you may have read the blog post I wrote in February about my personal health and fitness journey . But it’s May and I know school is going to get out for summer soon! So I wanted to write a...

By Daniel Gonsalves, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My bff Campbell and I went to Six Flags Over Georgia and have the best time we could ever had going on some crazy rides.  We got to 6 flags and got on the tram to go to the front, once we were in, we went to get the disability pass for the rides, then we were off hitting eve...

By Lyle Bahe, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is AllieJane and I am an SLP. I have worked with Lyle on and off for about 5 years, always seeing him at his DTA (day program). Lyle has eagerly been searching for ways to work and interact with others and tell people about his device. Today, we were talking about his device, some...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Growing up in a family that didn’t believe in letting my Cerebral Palsy stand in the way of my enjoyment and pursuit of life’s extraordinary experiences, I have participated in many unique endeavors. I am a para athlete, using my walker to run road races, triathlons, and ...

By Krista Howard, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I love to present at conferences. It gives me purpose in my life.    Conferences make me build my confidence to be a great SLPA (speech-language pathology assistant) some day.  Everyone knows me after my presentations so I get other presentations and consulting job...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger April is National Poetry Month. As a writer who earned my Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction and poetry writing, I traditionally find myself giving public readings of my original poems during this season. As opposed to a prose narrative, poetry calls for specific rhyth...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger April is the start of the baseball season and nicer weather in Wisconsin. It is also Autism Awareness month and I have been celebrating it since 2009. I have cerebral palsy and use AAC, I don't have any family members who have autism. You might be wondering why I celebrate it? I could h...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In my last article, I discussed chairing and presenting on conference panels using my AAC device. There is an additional aspect of the conference session to navigate after the presentation itself—the question-and-answer portion. I have devised a process that enables me to effic...

By Himani Hitendra, PRC-Saltillo Blogger On 4th and 5th March, I attended my first Student Rights Initiative training held by COPAA (Council of Parent, Attorneys, and Advocates) in San Francisco. COPAA is a national peer-to-peer network dedicated to protecting the civil rights of students with disabilities and their parent...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I like to bring AAC into my church congregation. I use my AAC device to read scripture on Fridays during Mass. I started doing this a couple of years ago after asking my mom about it. It is a fun way to use your device with a lot of people in your own community.  When I...

By John Schnieder, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, my name is John Schnieder. One day my brother Jacob got us tickets to go to see Josh Blue. Josh is a stand up comedian and I saw him on TV. My brother hadn’t seen him before and he liked him. Josh has the same condition as me, cerebral palsy. I think it’s cool to s...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In mid-February, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, the world’s largest conference on writing, rhetoric, and composition, will take place. This international convention is typically attended by around four thousand graduate students and professors. I have ...

My presentation went wonderfully! These are some of the questions I got asked.   I would like to thank you for providing me with these very thoughtful questions! I have been speaking to various university classes for years, and these are some of my better questions, and I’m truly impressed. It was my pleasu...

Hello everybody! My name is Kristy Lipe and I'm one of the PRC Ambassadors for Tennessee! I'm in my early thirties and loving every minute of it. I have cerebral palsy but I don't let that stop me at all! I did taekwondo for eight years and I'm a 3rd degree black belt and three time world champion in A T A. And I had the ca...

‘Tis the season, and it strikes me how many diverse ways that my AAC device has enabled me to partake in classic and unique holiday festivities. Of course, my Accent 1000 helps me to converse with others at gatherings. I love the fact that the device comes with preprogrammed holiday greetings such as “Happy Hol...

In July, I celebrated my graduation from Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. Along with taking those last few workshops and seminars alongside others in the program at our nine-day residency, my fellow graduating students and I each delivered presentations and readings from our thes...

One day my friend invited me to go to her job’s Halloween dance! I got to meet a boy who had a speech device like mine. We became friends at the end of the night! I love to see other people use their device. People can understand me better.

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Now that things are more open after COVID-19 closures, I made an AAC summer bucket list with fun activities you can do with your family and friends while using your communication device. Try to get them all checked off and enjoy the sunshine! AAC Summer Bucket List: Go on a p...

By Mindy Thomas, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Using a communication device can be tricky!  Using it on a phone call takes it to a whole new dimension!   Several factors come into play when making a call with a communication device.  For example, does the person getting the call know that the user talks differen...

By Carson Covey- PRC-Saltillo Blogger Since it is summer now and the world is a little bit more open post Covid,kind of, I recommend that you should take this opportunity to meet new people! We all know that our population has a harder time to get friendships going let’s face it. What I found since 2005 is people do ...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger The day before Mother’s Day, my boyfriend Brian and I got a phone call from Brian’s dad, saying that Brian’s Brother Dave had suffered a stroke and was headed to the hospital.  They had found Dave unconscious in his home. It turned out that he’d had several st...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In late May, I presented at Computers and Writing Conference, a national conference that showcases innovations in using technology and digital tools for composition. Though it is typically attended by graduate students and faculty, I started receiving acceptances to present in my fir...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger First of all, I wanted to do this topic for a while. I wanted to wait until school ends. I have been fighting with the school systems in the state of  Colorado because the school systems will not put kids with high tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices in a gener...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I will be graduating from Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program this summer, and I am now in the home stretch of my thesis semester. I think this semester best exemplifies how to take advantage of many of the unique features of my Accent 1000 AA...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I think of the many challenges and frustrations I have to deal with, employment is probably at the top of my list. It is the source of so many other problems. Having a good well-paying job is connected to positive outcomes in so many areas of our lives: more access to better hea...

By Keagen Sweeney, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Keagen wrote this poem about her favorite snack.  It was sent to Frito-Lay.  They loved it so much, they gifted her with a years supply of Doritos!    Doritos We are friends You greet me You meet me Right where I'm at Salty, spicy, skinny or fat I'm a girl ...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Have you noticed how many disability advocates are there with actual disabilities??? News flash for you guys— there are not many. There is not many even less people that use speech generated devices. There are three different types of disability advocacy. There is self-advocacy...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger For some people, getting back to normal after two years of pandemic isolation means returning to work in the office again, going out to dinner, going to concerts or attending sports events. I like all those things too, but for me, what really matters is that I get to go to an AAC conferen...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It seems that autism awareness month is upon us again. I guess I’m being my usual sour contrarian self, because I can’t help but feel a little skeptical and cynical about the whole thing. It seems like a month-long high school pep rally, but I wonder, what exactly gets ac...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger The world is big and not one person can possibly navigate it alone. We all need someone to guide us and show us the way - that person is often referred to as a “mentor”. When we talk about mentorship in the world of AAC, we are often referring to individuals who are success...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger On Monday, April 11th, I was presented with this year’s Fairfield University College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Service Award, an award that recognizes a graduate student who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to and enhancement of a specific program, project, o...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I love to hang out with my big family.  Besides my mom and my dad, I have 3 sisters, 2 brother-in-laws, 6 nieces, and 1 nephew.  Having a big family is fun.  I live with some of my family members in Grove City, Ohio, which is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.  I liv...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Happy Spring! Every spring I do AAC cleaning! That consists of looking at every icon and see if I want the same icons, delete pages that I do not use anymore, and the most important, update your personal pages! First of all, you do not have to clean up your device, but I recommend...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger A few weeks ago, I delivered a presentation on disability accessibility and accommodation at the virtual Conference on College Composition and Communication, the world’s largest conference on writing, rhetoric, and composition. This was my fourth time presenting at this confere...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It would have probably been better to write this for Autism Awareness Month, but as usual, my timing is off. I find that it’s better to write out an idea as soon as I have it. I would like to talk about the language surrounding autism and autistic people. Many people believe th...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger How do you view people who have disabilities? How about those who have complex communication needs and use AAC on a daily basis? How do you feel when you see others praising people with disabilities for doing “normal” daily activities? The term “inspiration porn&rdq...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I was in a disabled social group and I filled out a form to meet new friends.  The process took about two years before I was able to receive the letter, because I moved several times and they didn’t know how to contact me. Then, out of nowhere on February 10th 1998, I got a le...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As a now-twenty-five-year-old with no cognitive impairments, I communicate with all of my medical providers myself and even monitor the exchanges between my insurance company and my assistive technology suppliers independently. There are specific steps that I take to ensure that I ca...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Since school is in full swing, this is a perfect opportunity for you to put a goal in your IEP for the use of your AAC! You might be thinking that is work and you are right.  First of all, have you even read your IEP! Here is a thing that I recommend: When you put the AAC goal in...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What is day to day life like for someone who uses AAC? How different is it from daily life for anyone else? What kind of exciting things do we get to do every day to avoid boredom? I think it is a common perception of society in general that people with disabilities, and especially th...

By His Royal Highness Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m often asked the following question: what is the greatest challenge you face as an AAC user? There are many things that makes AAC difficult. There is one thing that I still struggle with after all these years: using an AAC device with multiple communicatio...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi there.  My name is Kim Vuong, and I’m from Long Beach, Calif. Some of you know me already from my role as an ambassador for PRC, which I’ve been doing for the past 10 years. I’ve written blogs for AAC in the past, but now I’m going to be doing it on a more ...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Wheelchair and scooter users: Are you tired of the wait for your manufacturer to fix your chair etc? For those of you guys in Colorado, Georgia, Texas, Ohio,  Michigan, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, Oregon, and California there is the Motor Vehicle ' Right to Repair Act that a...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Most people understand that AAC enables users to participate in social activities and gatherings. So many individuals, though, don’t realize that this technology makes it possible for users to be involved in leading these events. Growing up, I held various leadership positions ...

By Veda Ritchie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger, 5th grader What up my homies, my name is Veda Ritchie. I am 11 years old and I am in 5th grade. My school is really old, it is 94 years old. I love learning new things in social studies and literacy. But, my favorite class is P.E. I enjoy spending my free time with my friends. My frie...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Some of you all might be familiar with Special Books by Special Kids. It’s a series created by Chris Ulmer. He travels around interviewing children and adults who live with various disabilities, and then he posts the interviews on YouTube. I personally find those videos interes...

by Danny Gonsalves, PRC-Saltillo Blogger hey blogs, I’m excited because I have a new communication device and mount which make me happy. I love it better than my last one because I can move the communication device however, I need it to be and where I want it. I am going to go back to school in January and hopefully...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Growing up is a natural occurrence of life that is necessary. However, the necessity of growth brings change which is good yet difficult and, at times, emotional. If you have been around for the past year or so, you know that I have experienced a lot of changes in my life, both persona...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It's a great thing to talk to others. When I have long stories or messages that I want to tell to other people, I program a custom icon under a page set called “my pages.” I use an Accent 1000 with Unity 84 Sequenced, so I keep the personalized “my pages” ...

By Kim, Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger 2021 has been a difficult and frustrating year for so many of us. But as we approach the beginning of 2022, I think it’s important for all of us to remember all the things that we have accomplished this past year, despite the difficult challenge of the pandemic. For example, I&rsq...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I hope that you had a wonderful 2021! Happy new year! This is the perfect time to reset yourself! We all need to grow on our devices yes, even for seasoned users. I am going on my 17th year using AAC and yes, I am literally growing on my device as we speak. I am far away from perfect. ...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of the common assumptions that people make about my use of AAC is that it limits the types of activities and discussions that I participate in. They surmise that I will not want to partake in events that require me to speak for a prolonged period or compose spontaneous responses ...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I think this will probably be the most difficult post I’ve written so far. As I write these words, I have no idea if I will have the courage to submit it for publication. I want to talk about the isolation that many AAC users experience and the accompanying loneliness. I’...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador We are nearing the end of the year and as I reflect on the year’s happenings, I am amazed at how quick the past twelve months have gone by. Time goes slowly when you are experiencing life and its adventures (and challenges), but when you take a moment to look back, it seems as...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello friends, I cannot believe that Thanksgiving has already flown by. Do you want more activities for Hanukkah and Christmas? For those of you who celebrate Hanukkah, have your kids program preprogrammed buttons that say what they want to eat for the 8 nights of dinner. If they can,...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger While we’ve often heard it said that actions speak louder than words. But language can shape attitudes and viewpoints that lead to action.  In the past, the words that society has used to  describe people with disabilities has had the effect of separating them from the com...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As we head into this Thanksgiving week, I’m reminded of my first few years of using AAC as an elementary school student in the early 2000s. School and extracurricular activities—Girl Scouts, sports, church, and more—were always full of conversation about plans for t...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger At this point, I think I’ve lost track of all the things I’ve written. I’ll probably touch on something I’ve written about before, but it’s probably not exactly the same. Some things are important enough to be repeated. What is real communication? For me...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger There are many false facts about the augmentative alternative communication community  that may interfere with students getting what they need.  One  AAC false fact that always bugs me as an AAC  communicator is all AAC Communicators have a cognitive disability. Mmm,...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Since it is November, family and friends might be coming in for the holidays.  Take this chance to wear out your social pages. What I mean by that  is to start programming your yearly review answers.  For example, what was your favorite part of the year, despite the Covi...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have been mainstreamed since preschool. Classes always involve students reading aloud from course material and their own work. As an AAC user, I never had an efficient way of doing this—if I knew that I would be expected to read my work aloud when I was composing my assignmen...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger For much of our nation’s history, people with disabilities didn’t have the right and the opportunity to live independently and have control of their own lives. The early colonies, in fact, actually tried to discourage people with disabilities from coming to America at all.&nbs...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m not going to pretend to be unbiased here. I have strong opinions on this subject. However, I know in the field of AAC there are few absolutes and no one-size-fits-all solutions. What might be true and applicable to my situation is not necessarily true and applicable to anot...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Right now, I mostly use my device to talk with my parents and close family, like my sisters, brothers-in-law and my nieces and nephew. I use my device to talk with the staff and my friends at my day program called All-R-Friends, and I talk with my therapists, my doctor, and close...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As people experience the many phases that life naturally presents, they grow in ways and learn things that they would not otherwise.  They also meet people who may or may not have a significant impact on who they are and their life forever, even after that specific chapter of thei...

By Johana Schwartz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In foreign language classrooms or study groups, I found allies among the natural communicators. They were interested in my modes of communication. Minspeak, my communication device's vocabulary system, sparked their interest. They approached my natural speech as an ac...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger With back-to-school season in full swing, I’m reminded of the pearls of knowledge about AAC that I gained in elementary school. Receiving my first device in preschool—20 years ago—I learned very quickly that it took me a while to type what I would like to say and th...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger First of all, This blog is not about technology. This is about preprograming sayings if you will. I ran into a heated talk with some people at my step sister’s wedding on July 17th. Long story short some people crashed my sister’s wedding after party. These people talked to...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As someone with a disability who had to learn how to be an advocate for myself, I know how important it is for disabled people to have a voice in society. We’ve had to struggle to be heard by fully-abled people, who may not understand the challenges we face. And ...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My family has had a lot of dogs from yorkies to labs. I’ll be honest i like big dogs better, however my family had a dog named Henry (yes, I named him Henry when I was like a little annoying 6 year old and it actually stuck, surprisingly.) Henry was an interesting little fella. He ...

By Lance McLemore These terms have troubled me for a long time. I’ve done a cursory search to try to understand what they mean. I haven’t been able to find precise definitions, but I think I can definitely see a pattern. It seems to me that a person is considered high or low functioning depending upon how clos...

Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Are any of you looking for employment? Have you thought about actually getting a job? Yes, even those of us who use speech generating devices can be a productive member of society. The world needs our population to be working. I don’t know about you all, but recently I have been us...

By Johnny Schneider In my neighborhood the city is doing a new playground I emailed them asking if they can put In a adaptive swing for me! They order the swing . Every day I go over there to check out the park process. They’re doing a good job! They said the park process is taking longer than expected.

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger From the time I received my first AAC device at four years old—about 20 years ago now—I have continuously sought ways to optimize my efficiency for using my device for communication and, as I grew older, for working on the Windows side of the device. Certain functions of...

By Danny Gonzalez, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It’s Danny G.  The pass few months been rough on me because first I wrecked my van, and I was injured from that but not too bad.  I failed Spring semester because the class was just too hard online. I needed to be in the classroom for this class.  Also, I been g...

by Koolla Tang & Debra Lee  It's great to interview you today about the impacts of AAC on social interaction. Can you tell us about yourself and your AAC journey? I’m Siobhan Daley, I'm 21. I live in Newcastle and I'm the AAC ambassador at Liberator. I've been using AAC my whole life from sign to PODD book...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m sure that I have addressed this topic to a limited extent in a previous blog post, but I think it deserves more attention. I have to preface this post by saying that I understand that most people supporting an AAC user have the best of intentions. I understand that most of ...

Presented by Kim Vuong to the City Council in Orange County, CA Good Evening Honorable Mayor and Council Members:My name is Kim Vuong and I live in the 2nd district.  I also am a member of the Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Disabilities for the city. A couple of months ago, I saw a post on the new beach playgr...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In a few days, I will be starting my nine-day residency as part of Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. This semi-annual retreat has been moved online due to the pandemic. Students attend workshops, seminars, and student-faculty meetings among...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Using your device in your community Since COVID-19’s requirements are lifted for most of the states, now is a good time to brush up on your AAC skills in your community. You might be rusty on your community skills since March 2019 because I know I am. Like I said before preprogr...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I had my old Vantage for 8 years. It was broken and I had outgrown the device. It had a cracked screen and was being held together by duct tape. When we submitted approval for a new device in 2010, my funding source kept denying the funding for a new device. I set up a meeting an...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Last year I had to come home from school in March due to COVID. I got furloughed from my job at Urban Cookhouse because of it and I had literally nothing to do which sucked because I like to be on the go. However my older sister and one of my brothers had to move back home because their ...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Here comes another installment of “What Grinds My Gears” from your friendly neighborhood grouch. It certainly seems like all of my posts are the rantings of a grouchy constipated octogenarian, but I think there’s a place for such things. I would like to talk about s...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger From the time I received my first device at four years old until fourth grade, my mother and my speech therapists asked me to think ahead on what I would like to say for presentations so that they could work on programming my device beforehand. When I took over programming my own dev...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Before you continue to read this, I would like you to take a minute and think about how you usually show others that you are interested in getting to know them, being involved in their lives, and having a conversation with them.  What would be the first thing that you would say to...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is Kim Vuong.  I am the community liaison at Tichenor Clinic for Children in Long Beach, which provides therapy for young clients up through age 18 and support for their parents.  I started out as a volunteer at Tichenor, and after two years was hired as a staff member....

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo blogger Do you know that there is an easier way to program? Click your edit button 2. Click a button 3. Click the add button and click on store text button 4. Go out of edit mode 5. Write out your message up top. Click share text button and hit continue Click a button Watch my video if yo...

By Sofia Blunt, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Today at school, my aid and I were talking about how tired we were. Then she said, “Wouldn’t it be cool, if we could take a quick nap?” Then I had an idea! If I were Principal, I would tell all the students to wear pajamas to school because we would all take naps. Napt...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger What happens when those who use AAC grow up and become adults? What happens when they have new experiences that form them into a more dynamic person than they were when they were a child? What do you do when people who have known you for your entire life still think you are a child bec...

By Mike Hipple  My mom and I started volunteering at our church with Sunday school a few years ago. Our goal is to show people, children and adults that a person who has a disability can teach and understand about God and Jesus too. At our church which is huge, they don't have a special needs program for children who ...

by Margaret Moore,  PRC-Saltillo Blogger In past articles, I discuss using PRC-Saltillo’s Accent 1000 as my Windows 10 tablet as well as my speech device and alternating between the joystick of my motorized wheelchair and PRC-Saltillo’s Look eyegaze module to operate it. To illustrate this process in great...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have no idea if this topic will be of any interest to anyone, but I’ve been asked about it before. Some people have asked me what goes on in my head when I communicate. I think I’ll try to explain it as well as I can. First, I want to preface my post with a few things ...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have been working on getting the police department in my city of Long Beach to have a community forum to discuss the training and protocols dealing with people with disabilities.  Ever since I watched a video on how the Florida sheriff has trained with autistic people, I wanted to ...

By Sofia Blunt - PRC-Saltillo Blogger You’ll never guess what happened last night! My black cat, Dot, gave birth to TWO kittens, in my bedroom closet. I didn’t even know she was pregnant. She gave birth at night when I was sleeping, and I didn’t even hear her! In the morning when my sister, Charlotte, we...

By Kip Porter, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Everyone has a friend called Mom,Who looks after us all along.Since the day of our birth,She forgives our errors and forgets.And never stops to love us,Even if we continue our mistakes. For more Poetry, visit Kip's blog - KipPoems

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger People are always looking forward to new technological innovations and ways to improve products. As a society, we always think about “new and improved” technology as being great and better than ever before. In the world of AAC, we are constantly thinking and looking for the...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of my favorite comedians is George Carlin. I admire his very blunt, scathing, and witty social commentary. He has a very funny routine in which he lambasts the use of soft language. In his routine, George talks about how our use of language changes over time. It gets sanitized a...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I don’t know about you guys, but after sixteen years of experience with AAC, I noticed that I grew greatly with my device. When I got my first device, I despised it! I never used my device other than in my speech therapist’s office. My therapist threw me into a group of two...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger A 2020 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Fairfield University, I am now in Fairfield’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. I am a PRC-Saltillo Ambassador, an intern for a book press, Woodhall Press, and associate editor of Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose. With p...

By Margaret Moore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have been an AAC user for almost 20 years due to my Cerebral Palsy. As my disability only affects me physically, I have been mainstreamed since preschool. I am a 2020 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Fairfield University with a degree in English/Creative Writing, and I am currently an M...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello my friends, Do you know that you can open your favorite apps with one click on your device. Step one pick a page and a button that you like to edit. Step two hit edit and click an action. Step three when you click add action you should see a drop down menu and click open app....

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m assuming that many people who read this blog are familiar with the LAMP method. In case you are not familiar with it, it is a therapeutic approach for teaching language. LAMP Words for Life is a language system designed to follow this approach. The LAMP method has 5 compone...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I was younger, people did not understand me. I got my first AAC device at 5 years old.  This helped me finally communicate with other people.  When using AAC, choosing the right communication device is important.  My first device that I had was not a good fit...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of the hard things about the pandemic is that it has disrupted many of the traditions that we’ve developed in our lives. We all have events that we look forward to going to each year, and return from with some happy memories that we can think back upon. For my boyfriend and me,...

By Mike Hipple Stop me if you have read or heard this before from a co-worker or a family member: This child has too many challenging behaviors to use a communication device. They won’t understand the device at all. They will break it or kick it. End of discussion, right? Hell no! That student—or an a...

By Indrani Solomon, PRC-Saltillo Blogger and Mom The United Nations honors March 21st every year (3/21) as World Down Syndrome Day. This year’s theme is CONNECT. We CONNECT so that we can: Share ideas, experiences and knowledge Empower each other to advocate for equal rights for people with Down Syndrome and Rea...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger We all know that your AAC voice needs to talk with other technology pun intended. The Amazon’s Alexa made that goal happen years ago. Now you can bark out orders with your device. What I found that the Amazon devices are very picky about how you say her name. She will not listen ...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger About a year ago I was in Atlanta at the Georgia half marathon with my mom. I met up with my long time friend Shanna, who has a facility dog for the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. I started playing with Derek ( her dog and yes , his name is Derek Shepherd), and I realized how much I would l...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As humans, we tend to get so caught up in moments and the current chapter of our lives that we are in that we do not often think about what the next chapter has in store. We get comfortable in our routines and physical places that were a part of the current chapter and when that chapte...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’m a member of a group on Facebook that’s made for AAC users primarily, although anyone can ask questions and comment. I won’t disclose the name of the group. I recently saw a post that caused me to get irritated, and I thought I would devote this blog post to disc...

By Kip Porter, PRC-Saltillo Poet You may follow someone who has the power.You may follow the path of power;But unleash as the power is within you.You never know let someone might follow you;Know about your real power, and you will win big in life.Understand that you have that will to strive;Realize your power in life!

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Last November, we elected a new President, Joe Biden, and whether or not a person agrees with his political views or policies, he’s clearly remarkable in one important way. President Biden is a stutterer, a challenging disability for a person in public life who has to give speeches,...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Tips and tricks Welcome to 2021 finally!!! Over sixteen years of AAC experience I found some tips and tricks. You can put a password on the device to prevent unexpected editing. When someone first start using a device you can gray out pages and or buttons to make the device less b...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I am a person on the autism spectrum. One thing that I’ve thought about and heard other people talking about is the issue of eye contact. Most people will be aware that many people with autism have trouble making eye contact myself included. I know many autistic adults who talk...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As we enter the new year, I am forced to reflect on the last twelve months. We have all experienced many challenges and changes this year. Whether it be telletherapy, remote learning, remote teaching, or navigating balancing responsibilities of working and helping your children with re...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It’s important for everyone—including people with disabilities--to wear a mask while we’re trying to get COVID-19 under control.  But as a person with cerebral palsy, I find that wearing a mask can make it even more of a challenge to communicate verbally. Fortunate...

By Brandon Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger First of all, I like to use my device to communicate.  But to be honest with you, I do not like using my device all the time.  When people do not understand me or do not have patience with me when I’m using my device, I feel frustrated.  I am good at using my...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger We all know that AAC needs more awesomeness! My goal is to leave a legacy for AAC! If you have an opportunity to bring awareness, do not pass it up. What I do is talk about AAC mostly. I talk about what AAC is, what devices I had, and of course my experience. Since cases of COVID are g...

By Danny Gonzalez, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I am going to talk about how theme parks handle people with disability and how they handle the disability people and the rides.  Some places handle the disabled people good then others they do a not so good job. I been to a lot of different parks where people just did not care a...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger For years, I did all my grocery shopping the old-fashioned way, by traveling to the store and going up and down the aisles, picking out the items that I wanted and putting them in my cart.  But like so many other things in life, my shopping habits have been changed by the pandemic. ...

By Ayleen Armendariz - PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I lost my mom at the age of 10 years old, I was sad and mad because she didn’t listen to me. I told her not go to back to the house knowing that my dad was there. However, when she went back to the house, I knew I wasn’t going to see her again. In the movie, Ridi...

By Lily Huston, PRC-Saltillo Blogger, AAC user and graduate student for an M.A. in Assistive Technology By all accounts, I acquired spoken language on schedule. Early, even. I certainly was reading early, devouring books until everyone accepted that little Lily always had her nose in a book--in the car, snatching a few wor...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at a few conferences over the last couple of years. I have a presentation in which I talk about the difficulties AAC users have in forming relationships, and I have taken parts of it to use as inspiration for this post. For me personally, the b...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As we close out AAC Awareness Month 2020, I cannot help but reflect on my experiences within the AAC community, as both an user and professional. While I was growing up, I had no idea what I was going to do as a career nor did I ever think that the career that I would end up pursuing w...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Have you ever tried to order stuff or make appointments on the phone while using your devices?  Here are my tips I have that could help. First, do some research on what questions the organization will ask you. Next, make a PREPROGRAMMED page and make sure you start with the statem...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger “The Fundamentals of Caring” Movie review Starring: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez This is my first time writing a movie review.  I watched this movie recently, and not only did it make me laugh it, made me proud.  It made me proud to know that ther...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One of the most important things that you can advocate for yourself is voting. Voting is a right and a privilege. If you are of voting age, you should take the opportunity to do it.  You may think that your one vote isn’t important, but it matters a great deal. Our democratic s...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Over the past few years, I have had many opportunities to converse with people interested in AAC: parents, teachers, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, other AAC users, etc. I tend to get asked many of the same questions repeatedly. Because of time constraints it&...

By Stephanie Faso, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I am sure you have heard of racism?  Also, you've probably heard of sexism, classism, and heterosexism/homophobia?  You've, however, probably not heard of ableism, or if you have, you might be wondering what it really means. Ableism?  What in the world is that word?&n...

By Brandon Bubba Patrick Williamson, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi, my name is Brandon Williamson.  I use an integrated Accent 1000.  When the world shut down from COVID-19, I had to start doing my therapies online.  I use Zoom for all of my virtual sessions.  Instead of using a ...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Blogger As I reflect on this year and all of its unprecedented happenings, I cannot help but think about how widespread the impact of the COVID has been on the AAC community. Not only have SLPs, AT/AAC specialists had to navigate treating clients through a computer screen, which was traditiona...

By Mike Hipple, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello this is my blog. Wow, it is already time to start thinking about the fall. You know what that means, school is starting soon again. I wish I could see the future to tell you if your school will be in person or Online in the fall, but no one can. No matter if we will have in person...

By Kim Vuong, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, my name is Kim Vuong, and some of you may know me already, since I’m an ambassador for AAC. I work as a speech aide at the  Tichenor Orthopedic Clinic in Long Beach, Calif. and I also serve on the Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Disabilities in Long Beach, and&nbs...

By Lance McLemore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger This will be my first blog post, and I have chosen to write about something that has bothered me for quite some time. It has been inspired by a few conversations I’ve had with some people and my own experiences. AAC stands for augmentative and alternative communication. Over th...

By Carson Covey, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi everyone, my name is Carson Sylvan Covey. I am a Colorado native and proud of it! I have periventricular leukomalacia or PVL. This is damage to the white matter of my brain. To say it in a more simple way, I have cerebral palsy. I have been using AAC for 15 years. I'm an ambassador ...

By Johnny Schneider, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When people don’t understand what I’m saying I use my device to help me to speak with others . My device has helped me get my words out.  When I started using a device I would spell everything out. Now I’m using the icons to get faster. I love using my device...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger In 2016, I had surgery on my brain, in hopes it would help me walk and talk. The surgery was called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). The doctors predicted that I would either improve motor response by more than 20%, or not at all.  After my surgery, the doctors switched on my DB...

By Danny Gonzalez, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Being a disabled person, I have watched a T.V. show named Speechless.  This TV show is about a boy that is in a wheelchair and cannot talk. He uses a low-tech communication tool. It is a letter board, and he uses his head to point to letters in order to spell out the words. As f...

By Christine Horn, PRC-Saltillo Blogger “Do not judge me before you know me. Do not underestimate me until you have challenged me. And do not talk about me until you have talked to me.” – Unknown I have been volunteering at the TGR Learning Lab since May 2016. Over the course of these four years, I ...

By Ami Profeta, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, My name is Ami Profeta. I would like tell you about my work experiences. I worked for a security company. I entered all of the paper work for the new security officers. I interacted with my colleagues a little bit. We hung out in the break room. We talked about sports. The 76&rs...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’ve had a lot of teachers that I’ve loved but nobody is like Ms. Oatts . She was my Home Ec teacher this year and she’s the most hilarious, laidback, disorganized person which is my favorite kind of person because I’m all 3 of those things. We had to cook in her ...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I used to live in Mexico with my mother. I have complex needs due to my cerebral palsy that require attention, and so I was always with her. When I was ten, my mom brought me to stay with my older sister Rocio in Phoenix so I could go to an orthopedist.  She returned to Mexic...

By Mattie Matlock, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello my name is Mattie Matlock and I have been on a communication device since I was three years old and I am 35 years old now. I am the kind of person that who loves to teach other people about the communication devices, before I get into what I want to teach, let me tell you what...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger There are a lot of people who I love. But there is nobody like my favorite grandma Jamie ( momma if you read this you are better than Jamie) anyway Jamie was my IEP teacher, she’s also a family friend. She stands up for what’s right for me, she also believes in me. She doesn&...

By Lauren Opipari, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi everyone this is Lauren again with another blog. I am keeping busy with texting and using the computer to stay in touch with everyone. I have been attending meetings using Zoom. My best friend, Lauren Y, had a Zoom birthday party. We played Birthday Bingo over the computer and I g...

By Chris Sawka, PRC Saltillo Blogger On days when we have all kinds of time to watch tv and movies, what do you think we should watch? The entire Harry Potter collection- I love seeing the school for the first time. I love all the magic we saw the first time. Ron, Harry and Hermione made good friendships. They even got ...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I had some great high school experiences and wanted to share some memories with y’all. My freshman year, we had the first fire drill of the year and I was upstairs , I didn’t know what I was supposed to do so me and a teacher decided to get on the elevator to go downstairs t...

By Kristy LIpe - PRC-Saltillo Ambassador Hey everyone!  I'm Kristy Lipe, I'm twenty-nine years old and I have cerebral palsy .   And, that is due to the lack of oxygen I had when I was born .   Thankfully though I think and understand everything like a normal twenty-nine year old does!  I'm a ...

By Krista Howard, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is Krista Howard.  I am an AAC user. I am in My 30s.   I was in grade school in 1990 to 2005  I need to share this uplifting story about me. I had been through a lot in my life. I am going to share something that is important to me. I am going to tell my st...

By Chris Sawka, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello, my name is Chris Sawka and I am working on my writing to go to the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.  I am writing about my life and how my life changed with Assistive Technology.  When I was younger, I didn’t want to use an AAC device because I thought I was d...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Assistive technology has changed my life. My aide showed me what iPhones can do, like read a website for me.  The iPhone can read Instagram and Facebook, making it possible for me to hear what influencers and the people I care about are saying. It keeps me connected to my fam...

By Lauren Opipari, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi, my name is Lauren and I am excited to be writing my first blog. I am very excited to be able to go out and do lots of things again once we can be around other people again. We really don’t know when all this will be over. I am very excited because even though High Point, wh...

By: Chelsea Hagan, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello everyone, it’s me Chelsea Hagen.    While I was sitting here isolating in my cozy house, I started thinking about how this is not my first fishing trip(rodeo), no siree bobber, and if you’re a parent of a child that has a health condition or disability, w...

By Elizabeth Kenkel and Beth Christensen - PRC Saltillo Blogger What do you do when you can’t visit anyone in person? You can email your friends and family to keep in touch. If you can’t go to yoga or exercise class, you can use video calls or try to do it at home. If you can’t go to school, you can tak...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I’ve met some awesome people in my lifetime but there’s nobody like Helen Gardner. She’s the sassiest, funniest, most loves to get an attitude, but she’s also one of the kindest, loving people I know. We met in 2016 via the Kyle pease Foundation, tthat I run with....

By Mackenzie Sanders, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Every Saturday I take a dance class with other kids with disabilities .   Each student has a helper.  I have been doing this for 13 years .   Its the best.  We do different dances every week .   We started with 6 dancers.  Now we have 1...

By Denise Jenkins, mom I am completely in love with the entire AAC Language Lab!!! Without the Language Lab, I would have no idea where to even start with Matthew and his device. Furthermore, Matthew’s team at his school were unfamiliar with AAC. I understand why this is new to them because this is not commonly used ...

By Daniel Pop, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have been using iPads for a few years now, for fun, playing word puzzle games, texting and Facebook, reading books, also I’m using it for my communication with the TouchChatHD app. For my 20th birthday, I got the latest iPad Pro version with face recognition.  Because I don...

By Charlie Fleisch, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I love to play blackjack at the casinos. Until about 3 years ago, I let my sister or my aide do all of the talking and gesturing to the dealers, when an idea came to me that I can make a blackjack page on my Accent 1400 (see attached) with all of the key words used for blackjack. In...

By Johnny Schneider, PRC-Saltillo Blogger One day, I was talking with my friend that works at PRC. I didn't have any Christmas events to go to so I thought it would be a great idea if PRC could throw a Christmas party. I mentioned this to my speech pathologist and she said it was a great idea and that we could plan it toge...

By Kim Vuong, PRC- Saltillo Blogger and Ambassador This year has been quite a year for me. It started out bad because of the losing my little cousin to stomach cancer. My cousin was very young and very beautiful. Losing someone that you care for it not the way to start the year. Then I started developing the Life Skills g...

By Chelsea Hagen, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Ho, Ho, Ho!  It’s that time of year again, when both Santa and I are super popular. The only difference is, is when children are told by parents to sit on Santa or speak to him, and the child doesn’t want to… Santa can make up for it with gifts.  He leaves...

By Chloe Wayt  PRC-Saltillo Blogger I woke up at about 5:00. It was the day of my flight to Minneapolis! I sped my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth and washed my face. Then Dad came in to get me dressed. I did my devotions before I drove out to the van to head to our local airport.  Once we were at the airp...

By Ayleen Armendariz, PRC-Saltillo Blogger When I was born, I was dead for 15 minutes because I swallowed too much fluid. A nurse practiced CPR and I started to breath again. They took me to the hospital in Maricopa, Arizona in a helicopter. I had three heart attacks and the left side of my brain was not responding. My kid...

By Martin PRC-Saltillo Blogger Miriam, Natalie, Maddie, and me go to the pool.  Natalie jump in the pool and swim.  Miriam not jump in the pool. Three big floats come to Miriam. It is funny. Miriam jump in the pool and swim. I have on two shoes in the pool. I feel happy in the pool.

By Darryl Porter, PRC-Saltillo Blogger A book fair asked me to take part in their book fair, because I have written some books. There was a question and answer session.  A person asked me which month is my favorite.  I thought the question was very strange.  I queried, why.   They explained. Then...

By Mackenzie Sanders, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I'm a 19 year old girl with cerebral palsy .   I have a lot of limitations including talking.  I have used a computer since I was 5 with dual head switches.   It was very difficult communicating my needs until I got a computer.  I have been using an Accent 1400...

By Martin Emmanual (12 years old), PRC-Saltillo Blogger I go to amusement park.  I go on swing. .  I go fast.     I go on ride and I go up and down.  I go down fast.  I go on red ride and I go fast.  I feel happy.  

“Communication is key in expressing knowledge and intelligence.” It is truly amazing to see how people transform over time.  Typically, a person is not the same person as they were ten years prior, especially when they have gone through puberty.  The teenage and young adult years are a time of menta...

By Hank Poore, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Last year, a best friend of mine named Helen texted me and asked if I wanted to come up to Colorado and bike on West Elk Loop and I said YES. Early last Friday me, my mom, my sister, and my mom’s friend flew out. We landed at 9 am and we went to Rocky Mountain national park and ...

By Kip Porter, PRC-Saltillo Blogger It is so easy for the soul It is so easy to carry on in life Then why do you have to worry or strive So easy to do things which are alikeSo do things that are off the strike When the soul knows that the soul has that spirit in the soul It becomes so very simple too So easy to understand...

By Katie, PRC-Saltillo Blogger My name is Katie, I am 19 years old and I have Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy.  I communicate with my Accent 1000 device, it has definitely been the most amazing tool and it has helped immensely to break down the barriers I once faced when trying to communicate. Being non-verbal was always...

By Chloe Wayt, PRC-Saltillo blogger The next day after I had finished working the booth, we went down to the bus stop twenty minutes early again. I prepared something to say if the bus driver didn't let me on again on my NOVA Chat. “Delete that.” Ordered Mom. I quickly deleted it. “I'm sorry.” I tol...

By Chloe Wayt, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I was getting into Minneapolis, Minnesota for my first week at work as an ambassador for the Saltillo Company. When I was born I got the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck. Flash forward about three years later, I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Skip about another decade, I am aske...

By Daniel Pop, prc-saltillo ambassador Unicorns are magnificent and noble creatures.They are both a symbol of purity and goodness and the personification of untamed freedom.  They have been described as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. I'm very different too, I have d...

How I Learnt Minspeak By Caytlin, Liberator Blogger, Australia Hi I’m Caytlin, I’m 31 years old and I’m a social worker. I love to live life to the fullest and I never allow the disability to get in the way of anything I want to do. Growing up, I went right through mainstream primary school without a com...

By Hannah Foley, PRC-Saltillo Intern & Blogger Society generally has lower expectations for people with disabilities, both mental and physical disabilities.  Because we navigate the world “differently”, talk “differently”, look “different”, move “differently”, and ar...

By Sarah Coiner, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I guess that I should start by saying that my name is Sarah Coiner, and I was born with Cerebral Palsy. My limitations are physical and not cognitive. I was my parents' first baby, and at first they thought I was just really lazy. I think I was ten months old when they took me to the d...

By Junior, PRC-Salltillo Blogger My name is Junior.   I am in seventh grade.  I go to Station Middle School.  My favorite color is blue.  I have one little sister and one little brother.  I am good at math.  I like to do IXL.  I like to ask people their birthdays.  Then I ask w...

By Daniel Pop, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hi everyone, My name is Daniel Kyle Pop.  I am 20 years old.  I have cerebral palsy.  My powerchair gets me around.  My iPad Pro with the Touchchat app with Word Power gave me a voice!  I use a head pointer to access it.  I'm also using the Accent 1000 with...

By Sarah Coiner, PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have met a lot of disabled people in my life. I guess when you do not go out except for in your wheelchair and almost always have your communication device with you, you are going to get some questions.. And I guess it's only natural that many people who come up to talk to me know so...

By Tess Gregorek, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Have you ever felt unique? Not different, unique! There is a difference. Different is a point or way in which people or things are not the same. On the other hand, unique is being the only one of its kind, unlike anything else. Here’s a time where I felt unique!   Las...

By Carson Covey, Saltillo Ambassador Hi everyone, My name is Carson, I'm an ambassador and a new blogger for Saltillo. A little about myself. I eat, drink and sleep Augmentative and Alternative Communication. I started AAC when I was four years old. I have used TouchChat on an iPad for the last 8 years. Saltillo's IOS...

By Brad Whitmoyer, PRC Ambassador Watching Walmart: Balancing Business and Employment Walmart, like many big stores, have had greeters at their doors for quite a while and this job is pretty ideal for some people with disabilities. It's typically not physically demanding which is important for some with physical disabilit...

By Jess,  PRC-Saltillo Blogger I have support workers come in to my home most days to support me to live an independent life, i like to say I am a stay at home wife to be!! YES I am getting married next year! Before I tell you all about my big day I thought I would explain what my stay at home life looks like! I am ...

By Jess, PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hey I’m Jess. I am 24 years old and I have an Accent 1000.My loved ones know me well enough to understand my other ways of communicating like facial expressions or eye movements but, for everyone else my communication device is paramount for me to have a voice. I use my device to commun...

By Chelsea Hagan,  PRC-Saltillo Blogger Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed the holiday season.  I have to tell you that I started this blog story just before Christmas, but I just couldn’t get it right. I had to leave it for a while and try again; this happens to writers. My problem was… I don&rsqu...

By Sarah Coiner, PRC Blogger I am disabled, and what that means for me is that I need someone's help to do anything physical. I can't feed, dress, or do anything of my own personal care. I can't even move myself from one place to the other. And when I am around friends, like at church, sometimes it feels like all I really ...

By Kate Chappell, Blogger Last week Dave, my husband, and I went to Fredericksburg which is a little town in the Texas hill country to celebrate his birthday. I was amazed how wheelchair accessible it was compared to 10 years ago. I remember going there with my mom and step-dad, I could only get into couple of restaura...

By Brad Whitmoyer, PRC Blogger I use to view dependency on other people as a weakness and being independent as a strength, something for which to strive. While I still believe being as independent as possible is absolutely something to strive for, since independence pretty much always leads to freedom, my pastor gave a ...

By Kate Chapple, blogger Over the last few months I have been having difficulties accessing my SGD. Normally I access my device with my left hand, but I have lost control over it. This makes me feel very frustrated and angry that I can’t do what I used to. It is kind of like breaking your arm and it never heals. I...

by Darryl Porter, Saltillo Blogger Every person has to get their hustle on these days, and especially disabled people. Some businesses won’t hire disabled people, because they think disabled people can’t do the jobs if the business decides to hire a disabled person. So the disabled person must prove themselves fo...

By Katie Yonker, Poet Every morning I looked I was going good day I can remember every morning I go to my favorite subject The language arts class learning read the books and making of Animal Farm then back special ed classes waiting the favorite peer tours who was be my friends for day for play my communication dev...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC Blogger Being 18, soon to be 19, year old boy with CP has given me the opportunity to come across some interesting adventures in some of the strangest places. In fact you wouldn’t even think that simple day to day events would give me such amazing adventures. Just like a few days ago, I was lay...

By Chelsea Hagen, PRC Blogger I have wanted to write about parents that are overly protective of their disabled children, and why, WE the children, let them get away with it. I’m not sure I have the answer, but here is my funny story anyway. When I was eighteen I asked my overly protective mother if I could read the...

By Danny Gonzales, PRC Blogger Hey bloggers, I want to tell what happened to me at Six Flags Over Georgia. I was told I couldn’t ride due to my disability in case there was an emergency and I can’t evacuate the ride myself. This is BS because I have been to Universal Studios and I was able to ride everything there ...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC Blogger Sometimes life can be disappointing and not work out the way you think it will. It is easy to get frustrated and angry, but feeling sorry for yourself and getting bitter hurts only you in the end. Last fall my family and I were at a sporting event in a nearby city when we came across a bo...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger I have a lot of friends who I love. But the one who is dear to me that is not only like a friend to me but who is basically like my “sister ” is my friend named Shanna . Shanna was one of my babysitters when I was 7, and was my babysitter until I was 12. She didn’t only babysit me, sh...

_ By Chelsea Hagen, PRC Blogger_ I was recently asked to give a speech at a playground fundraiser. I was asked to talk about how having an adapted playground could benefit a child like me. My answer was… Surprise! It was the same! The same for me as it is for every child that hears the recess bell. It was my chance...

By Darryl Porter, Saltillo Blogger AAC Devices. An augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device is any low-tech or high-tech device that provides a nonverbal means of communication. These range from picture cards to electronic devices that emit spoken words and sentenc Imagine you’re a nonverbal person; y...

By Ciara Withero, student Ciara is a 16 year old student who uses the Grid 2 device and is from Dublin, Ireland. Its set in Yorkshire England most things happen in the pub and on the farm. Some of the characters are old and young. Some of the Young are party animals They like to dance in the night club. It is My fav...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger Last Thursday I flew to D.C. with my mom and my brother. My uncle Keith flew in too. My uncle basically rented a giant Lexus . We drove to the hotel. I didn’t go to Washington for just a “get away” – I went because I had some “business to do”. That “business” was a not a hal...

By Anna-Marie Beard, PRC blogger and parent Growing up, I was scolded for one thing far more than any other—talking. I’ve just always had so much I want to say. It’s like the valve between brain and mouth has always been open for me. I studied English throughout college. In a former life, I taught writing and spe...

By Darryl Porter, Saltillo Blogger The system needs to change. The system is not perfect or even ok for a disabled person. The system should be for disabled people and their families who require some help and equipment to live their lives in their way. The state requires the disabled population to get certification and...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC Blogger Do you know how to swim? If so, did you learn to swim on your own or did you take swimming lessons? I like the water. It doesn’t matter where as long as I have my floating device I’m ready to jump in. Last year I was in a triathlon, where I swam 50 meters, but this year I want...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger My first semester of high school was Awesome! I became a manager for the football team which meant that I had to stay after school 3 days a week and I had to go to all of the football games and I had to take salt to the football players. I also had to take a clipboard around with me and documen...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC Blogger How would you act if you were to meet someone whom you admire? Some people may cry, some may scream, some may stand in awe, while others may just play it cool. I don’t think anyone know how they would act until they are in the situation. A few years ago one of my favorite authors w...

By Kerri Adamic Curtice, PRC Ambassador I’ve been a PRC User for thirty and some years with five different communication devices, and I have been an ambassador for eleven years. I do learn fast about some new features on these wonderful communication devices. It’s pretty amazing to know what the nonverbal people ar...

_By Chelsea Hagen, PRC Blogger _ My name is Chelsea Hagen. I was born on a beautiful summer day in the month of July. That day almost didn’t happen for me. My umbilical cord was caught on my arm and I had very little oxygen. My body was the colour of a bluish black. The doctors didn’t know if I would live. ...

By Darryl “Kippy” Porter, Language Lab Blogger Some people could call me a Renaissance man. I have numerous passionate interests. I’m Chicago born-and-bred. I have two brothers, although my father, mother and eldest brother are deceased. I like people to have a fair chance, especially disabled people. ...

_ By Danny Gonzalez, PRC Blogger_ Hey bloggers, I want to tell what happened to me and TJ (my aide). On Saturday November 4th 2017, we went to an event called Firs Annual Purple and Green Gala. It was an event for all kind of disabilities from CP to all kinds of disabilities. Here is a little background of the fo...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger This summer I went to camp McDowell for the 3rd time. It was a lot different because none of my close friends went. I found out about this camp via my neighbors. My favorite part about camp is the huge swing and my other favorite part about camp is the outstanding staff! This camp is differen...

By Jacob MacAinsh, PRC Blogger Hi, everyone! It’s Jacob and I’m going to talk about my weekends. I like to play the Wii U sometimes. I like to watch the TV. I like to hang out with my brothers. I like to play the Wii U sometimes. I like to play Skylanders on the Wii U. I also like to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe....

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger Last Tuesday, I got to go a state conference at Gardendale First Baptist. My mom and Mrs. Hauser went with me and I talked to high school students and their teachers. I talked 3 times through out the day. I loved telling people about what all I do. My title of my presentation was called Drea...

By Lee Papierowicz, PRC Blogger In April 2017 I got my new device and my father missed the drop off from Fed Ex so I had to wait until the next day for it! (If it was UPS they would have signed off on it because my dad knows everyone and told them it was ok). I tried all different kinds of devices and landed with the A...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC Blogger It is funny how we judge someone by looks. We always think that a juicy, red apple is good. Even though it looks good, inside it may be brown with worms climbing out. My mom and I watched an interesting movie named The Real Beauty and the Beast. I love the classic story where a beaut...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger This morning I did the Georgia half marathon. I did it with the Kyle Pease Foundation out of Atlanta. I ran with random people as my team. We had a pre race dinner the night before at our hotel that we stayed at. I also got to hang out with some of my friends that I met because of the Kyle P...

By Kyle Dinwiddie, PRC Blogger Hello, this is Kyle Dinwiddie. In a couple of months, I’m going to be eighteen. And this made me think of last year’s birthday, which was amazing. I was chosen by the Sons of Baseball to be their VIP for a Cardinals’ game. I happen to love the Cardinals’. In fact...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger I went to Chicago last Wednesday through Saturday for the beginning of Spring Break. I was there for a doctor’s appointment but we had fun also.I went with my mom and my sister.The first day we went up to the Willis Tower. I went out on something called the Sky Deck. It was all glass and it ...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger Last Tuesday I began my first real job at Urban Cookhouse in Tuscaloosa. I have a tray on my wheelchair that I bring people’s food out to their table. I also take to-go Orders to the drive thru. I refill people’s water and tea. I see a lot of people that I know come in. My Co-workers ...

By Hank Poore, PRC Blogger So I’ve been taking sports medicine at Tuscaloosa center of technology. I was in Mary T’s class for 18 weeks. I learned all of the bones in the human body and I also learned how to do CPR! ( yea call me a doctor) and I learned how to do spine boarding. I went over there every day by bus. ...