Dog Talk

Our yellow Laborador Retriever, Anastasia Ophelia Maxine (Anya), is 5 years old today.  An Almost-Independence-Day dog, she wears pride and honor quite well.  However, her high-bred self-importance dissolves around children, especially children in distress.

Among all of her disabilities, my daughter Kyra’s inability to speak is often the most distressing.  For the past 16 years, we have tried countless communication methods and devices.  Because of Kyra’s lack of fine motor skills, she cannot use sign language.  Her inability to grasp small objects prevents her from using a picture-exchange system, or turning the pages of a communication book. Her inaccurate arm and finger movements make typing and pointing ineffective.  Her head and neck instability make eye gaze difficult to interpret.  Her impatience and poor motor planning make switch-scanning a frustrating chore.

But none of that matters to Anya.  She understands Kyra’s body language perfectly.   Anya’s favorite place to be is wherever Kyra happens to be.  She doesn’t flinch when uncontrolled arm movements result in a smack to the head, and patiently endures Kyra’s stiff fist grasping an ear a bit tightly.  Anya sits and waits politely for Kyra to swipe a doggy treat off her lap, even when that treat is inches from her nose.

More importantly, Anya topples social walls built by wheelchairs and disabilities by riding to school with Kyra almost every day.  Each morning, her ears perk up when we put our shoes on, and she dances in front of the wheelchair when it’s “time to go!”  In the school parking lot, Anya wiggles her rear end in joy, trying desperately (but rarely succeeding) to obey my “sit” command as I transfer Kyra from our van to her wheelchair.  So many kids to greet!  So many doggy hugs to relish!  So many pats on the head to enjoy!
With Anya’s help, Kyra is not someone to ignore or pity, but someone to envy and engage in conversation.

Recently, Kyra started using an iPad with the GoTalkNow communication app.  The slim, lightweight iPad slips into her backpack easily, and slips out just as easily whenever she’s ready to use it.  After researching over one hundred communication apps, I chose GoTalkNow, by Attainment CompanyAttainment Company has been providing communication devices and other products for special needs populations for many years.  Their GoTalkNow app has the blend of features I was looking for: It has both recorded and text-to-speech voice options; grid or scene page setup; integrated graphics, personal photos, and Internet graphics search support; an optional sentence bar; gesture control options; switch-scanning capabilities; media/video playback; unlimited number of users/books/pages; local or iCloud backup; PDF output options, and book/page sharing among other GoTalkNow users.

While Kyra is extremely motivated to use her iPad, we have not yet found the perfect gesture controls and positioning, so her efforts are often met with fatigue and frustration.  At those times I wonder if all that work to learn to speak will be worth it. After all, if the relationship between Kyra and Anya is any indication, communication is essential to any relationship.  But words? Maybe not so much.


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