Communication Options... Archos vs iPad

We have been thinking about getting an iPad for several months now after attending a training workshop in Orlando Florida at the national convention for The Arc in November.  It was really exciting to see all the possibilities on that unit for people with special needs.  Vision impairments, hearing impairments, speech aides, there were alot of really cool things the iPad could do.

The price of the iPad is minimal compared to say a DynaVox but they are still rather expensive when your talking about getting them for five year old identical twin boys who can be very naughty and end up throwing things for no apparent reason on a daily basis.  My husband Tom has been researching the Archos 70, 250GB Tablet Computer.  The price of that is even better yet at about $350.

We have been told recently that they (speech therapist and behavioral specialist) think that my boys are good candidates for an iPad.  For those that are just reading this doing a search from google on comparing iPad and Archos, I have 5 year old identical twin boys BOTH with PDD Autism and Down Syndrome and who also both happen to be non-verbal.  We have been communicating with them via sign language for the past 4 years.  We are very proud of that.  From the mouth of an educator who works with my boys we were informed that "this is another disability in itself".  When I asked what she meant by that she said, "Well nobody knows what they are saying when they sign."  That truly cut me to the heart.  She was right.  We can only teach so many people sign language... and let me say I have truly done my part by bringing Sign Language Workshops to The Arc of Jefferson County.. But really when the boys goto school the kids will not know how to sign to them and everywhere we go now a days, everyone can tell they are signing, but they ask us what they are saying.  It makes me sad that we have come so far and its still not enough.

Not only are my boys signing as well as they do, they are also reading more than 150 words thanks to the Your Baby Can Read program.  So after some discussion we have decided that since the boys are reading and starting to understand words.. they can identify all of their letters.. we may try to get them to begin communicating with pictures and words on an iPad or Archos.  There is software out there that will "speak" the words for you, I think this is probably becoming very socially acceptable to carry around a computer gadget with you wherever you go.

Looking for feedback from those that have used one or the other.

31 for 21: Teaching a Child with Down Syndrome Sign Language

We have been questioned by several people over the years as to why we would choose to teach the boys sign language instead of focus more on speech.  We began signing simple signs to the twins when they were about 10 months old.  It took approximately 8 months for us to even get a sign back out of them.  Ironically, it was Caleb in the hospital with pnemonia sitting in his crib, and looked at his daddy and signed "Cracker"..  He knew what he wanted and he figured it was time to let daddy know what he wanted.

They have never slowed down since that day.  Today we estimate they know about 300 signs.  The communicate daily with us using sign language.  We primarily learned all their signs from an awesome sign language program called Signing Times.  Since January of this year we have also been doing the Your Baby Can Read program and there we have had to look up signs on a site called www.aslpro.com.  They amaze me and all of their workers at how quickly they mimic new signs and learn them quickly.

This is the best story that I have to share about teaching them sign language.

Tom's grandmother and grandfather were one of the people who could not understand why we choose to teach them sign language.  They commented on it almost every time they saw us signing to us, let them talk.. if you teach them to sign they will never want to talk.. things like that.   Tom's grandfather passed away in April of 2009.  As he was laying terribly ill with cancer about to take his life, we took the kids to see him and love on him one last time before he was unable to recognize them anymore.  We sat and enjoyed some cookies that I made as a treat for grandpa and we laughed and we cried.  As the kids were all lining up to give grandpa hugs and kisses, it was Isaacs turn to kiss PaPa goodbye.  Without prompting he signed "I Love You" to Papa.  Grandpa looked at him and then looked at me and asked what he just did.  When I said that he just signed I Love You, Grandpa was full of tears and he THANKED us for teaching them to sign.  Without that Isaac would have never been able to let PaPa know before he passed that he did indeed love him.  It still makes me weepy to tell this story. 

We still do not have any words out of the boys.  We still hold onto hope that someday they will talk, but if they should never speak a word, I am so happy that they are learning everyday more and more ways to express their feelings and we will continue teaching them sign language until we run out of words.  If anyone is on the fence about teaching their child sign language thinking that they will deter them from speaking words, remember that communication in any form is better than none.  I have been told and have seen with my eyes, that signing is more difficult that speaking and when the child learns to speak they will mostly likely no longer use the signs anymore.

You Baby Can Read Month 6...

We have done it.. We have completed 6 months of using this program with my 4 year old twin boys who happen to have both PDD-Autism and Down Syndrome.  Who only communicate via sign language and who have a busier schedule than almost every child that I know.  We endured a fractured femur and a SPICA cast for 8 weeks, learning and gaining strength to walk again finally after having the cast off for 5 weeks now, transitioning back to preschool and starting speech therapy with a new rehabilitation facility.  Its been a little tough to get the time and energy needed to dedicate to doing volume 4 with the boys.  We did, progress has been made again, and we are so VERY HAPPY to have been given the chance to try this out on our boys.  They amaze me, they amaze those that we show them off to, they amaze themselves I think :)

Volume 4, however, has proven to be more difficult for the twins.  Not because of the vocabulary words introduced, but the speed at which the words flash across the screen.  I presume they are able to read them, but they can in no way sign them fast enough to communicate them to us.  When shown the words, they can sign them one at a time, but when shown three words, they will only sign one of them.  This is another hurdle we face with them being non-verbal.  They know well over 250 to 300 signs, but they still don't put them together in sentence form at all.  I will continue to use volume 4 with them for another month. 

Just for fun, both boys LOVE for me to write words on the magna doodle.  They love to show off.  They love to learn new words. My husband Tom has even written words down that are not on the flashcards, books, or video and they have signed it right.  We were amazed!!!! I think because they watch Signing Times videos as well... these videos teach children to sign with animation, music and sign language BUT they also have the written word on the screen.  I believe the boys are learning those words as well now. 

I am totally happy with this program.  I would totally recommend the program to anyone on the fence about starting it.  I plan on continuing with the program and beyond.  I thank Dr. Robert Titzer, Ph.D. for coming up with a program that teaches children who are very visual learners to succeed in their reading journey.

Your Baby Can Read - Month 5

We are still keeping up the Your baby Can Read Series this summer, although I must admit we have slacked off a bit due to so much going on.  Caleb in his SPICA cast, five kids at home with their own busy schedules, gardening and canning, and just everyday chaos that finds us here at home...ends up being my only excuse for this.  The one new development that we tried to catch on camera and didn't manage to do too well is that I am writing words on a MagnaDoodle and the twins are signing them almost before I even have the word entirely written. I will try again to get this on video as its so darned cute.  When I mentioned that we are slacking off I meant that we have not progressed to Video #4 yet.  They are still watching Video #3 and doing the 1, 2, and 3 flashcard set and books as review.  I went ahead and got the next series out of the box tonight and we will begin them this week with the new video and new book.  Now that the all the kids are back in school and I can get back into a routine that I can control I plan on including this program into their daily routines again.

Keep checking back, keep with us here, we ARE still making progress, we ARE still totally amazed that our almost 5 year old non-verbal twins both with PDD Autism and Down Syndrome are responding so well to this program and are beginning to read even before starting kindergarten.  They still have another year to learn to read.  I am hopeful that their future has been changed just by one program that is teaching them in a way that we would have never thought of on our own.  We have put ALOT of work into these boys over the past four years, they amaze us each and every day and they give us so much to brag about to those that didn't think they could do what they are doing.  I have three older "typical" children before the twins and I can tell you they were not reading the word elephant, arms up, point or hippopotamus before they started school.

Your Baby CAN Read... Month FOUR

Well, better late than never.  I am trying to update my blog monthly on how the boys are doing with this program.  I am one week late today.  As some of you may know, we have dealt with ALOT the past 5 weeks with Caleb having a broken femur and being in a 1/2 body cast, so being one week late is pretty good.  With Caleb being in a SPICA cast and not mobile at this time, he's been watching alot of tv.  The boys usually watch way more tv than my other three children ever did, but Caleb is watching hours and hours of television everyday.  This being said, its good for him using this program because he loves watching the Your Baby CAN Read DVD's.  He claps when I put them in, so I know its not a chore to watch them, its enjoyment for him.  Isaac enjoys them very much too, but he's really into running around and playing with toys alot now too, so he may not sit and watch the whole video but he definitely knows his favorite parts as you will hear his little feet pitter patter across the house to come and listen when his favorite song being sung.

We still goto Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy twice a week.  One boy in session for 1/2 hour the other boy in the waiting room for 1/2 hour doing flash cards or reading through the books.  As I mentioned last month, its still completely priceless to see the jaws dropping on the other people in the waiting areas watching the boys reading and signing the words and the pure excitement the twins show by being right.

I am not having the best luck with capturing this on video.  I cannot figure out how to get my video from my video recorded to my computer and the cell phone that we used this month seems to not have audio??  So I apologize for the quality of this video but even without sound you can see what words they are reading by their signs.  And if you don't know sign language.... well, trust me.. They ARE reading!!!  Our tally is about 50 words now that they are recognizing and reading.  Its so exciting and still very encouraging that these boys WILL be readers!!!

The first video is them watching Level 3 DVD

The Second Video is them reading from the My First Words book which contains 30 words for growing minds, they can read every one of the words.  We are still working on signs with them for zebra, umbrella and bucket, but they recognize the words, just can't communicate them to us yet.  I am VERY happy about this!!

I am still totally amazed at the response we've seen out of the boys with this program.  I am anticipating great things from both boys in the future!!!

Your Baby CAN Read Month 3....

We have continued our journey with teaching the boys to read. Its actually quite funny to see the jaws drop when people see how well the boys are doing. We take them to outpatient Speech and Occupational Therapy twice a week. Each boy is given 1/2 hour sessions. While the first twin is back in the room, myself and the other twins TSS is in the waiting room doing the Your Baby CAN Read flashcards and/or books. The people sitting in the waiting room see the boys and literally their jaws drop.. its hysterical, but encouraging. Not only are my boys actually learning to read these words, learning new signs to go along with them and associating the pictures with the words to do a command (arms up, clap, point to you nose...ect.) but they are also showing people who know nothing about them, about Down Syndrome, about PDD Autism, about sign language... that they are capable of reading. It truly brings tears to my eyes to see the progress they have been making over the past three months. It gives me so  much encouragement for their future.

We have opted to start each new stage after about 6 weeks of reviewing and learning the current stage. With that being said we began Stage 3 on June 9th, after we were comfortable with what they have learned about Stage 2 was sticking. Here is the routine I have the boys in now.

Monday- watch Stage 3 video in the morning, watch Stage 2 video in the afternoon
Tuesday- (Therapy Day) Read Stage 3 book, do Stage 3 flashcards, review Stage 2 Flashcards, then let them look through the my first words board book. This book is so awesome. It has the word with a sentence, once the boys sign the word the reward is that they slide the word to the left and see the photo. They love this part :)

Wednesday- video in the morning and afternoon. Usually try to review Stage 1 on this day.
Thursday- (Therapy Day) do the same today as Tuesday
Friday- Preschool today, they take the book out and reinforce the words from the flashcards and book for us. They are so impressed by this program they are seeing if they can get the funding to purchase the program for the Autism Preschool Program Caleb and Isaac attend there.
Saturday- video if we get a chance, but usually this is an OFF day
Sunday- during church services this is a GREAT way to get them to sit and be quiet for a bit. They love looking at these books and flashcards so much that when we get them out of their backpack, we literally have to shush them from clapping so hard during church.

In case you have not kept up with my blog over the past few days, we've had a bit of an accident and have Caleb in a SPICA cast right now due to falling and breaking his right femur last Thursday. I had planned on taping them on Friday to show off a video of their progress, but I will hold off a bit and get it on here as soon as I'm able. Its a bit of a challenge getting Caleb around right now, but I can honestly say, this little guy will be watching WAY MORE TV than he usually does over the next 8 to 10 weeks. I'm certain that Your baby CAN read will be part of that tv time and sitting time he will be doing.

Your Baby Can Read: Month Two

So honestly this month, mama has been sick for the better part of the month.  I have sat and watched the videos with the boys, talked them through it and have still been amazed at how easily they seem to pick up these words.  The challenge that we are faced with is that since the boys are both non-verbal, not only do we have to teach them to recognized the written word, but we have to teach them the sign and have them understand that as well.  This is a learning experience for them as well as me.  Stage Two is somewhat of a repeat of Stage One with several new words added.  The boys are such visual learners which is why I know this is something that is going to work for them.  At this point I have calculated that they are reading and recognizing more than 25 words.  I do believe that they recognize a few more but do to fine motor issues are unable to do the signs just yet.  For example, the word BIB they would sign the word eat (which they can do) and then draw a bib on their chest... unable to do that.  However, I do think that they know what the word is and what it means.

I finally figured out how to get some video on here and its not from my $500 video camera... its from my cell phone... go figure technology!!??

Here are the boys watching the video, I apologize for my froggy voice, I should have NEVER tried to sing on video with a sore throat.


And then here are some of the flashcards that the boys have mastered from Stage Two:



I plan on staying on Stage Two for another week or two and then moving onto Stage Three.  Both boys watch the video at least once a day, followed by either the flashcards OR the book.  Occasionally I will sit down with them and do the flashcards from Stage One as review and Stage Two.  I am trying to show them signs daily for new words we are learning and they seem to be trying to imitate me the best they can.  I have the TSS workers working on this program with them while we are at Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy twice a week.  The boys each have 1/2 hour sessions and the twin not in therapy sits in the waiting room and does cards and reads the book with their TSS worker.  They get very vocal and very excited when we get the cards and books out for them.  I believe that they are actually proud to show off to the other people in the waiting room and seem to flaunt their stuff extra dramatic like.

The Parents Guide suggests that children age 12 months to 3 years do Stage 2 for 2 months and children ages 3 to 5 years to stay on one Stage for one month at a time.  I will modify this a bit due to the sign language that the boys are learning too.  I will stay on Stage Two for 6 weeks and transition into Stage Three in week six.  My boys are smart guys, they are getting it, I just want to make sure they are getting the most out of the program.

Month Two Impression:  AMAZING!!!!

Your Baby Can Read Update - Volume One

Ok, I have been trying to figure out how to upload a video from my camcorder to my computer for two weeks now and that has been my excuse not to blog about this program.  So enough is enough.  I will post a video as soon as I figure it out and with the help of my brother in law who is an IT I hope that it will be sooner than later.

Now about the program.  I won the starter DVD package from a great blog give away in December on a blog called Pink Nothings .  We received the DVD and it was slow getting the boys started with it as they are VERY MUCH set in their ways and like to watch their usual tv programs and sometimes are resistant to watching new things.  This program caught their attention rather quickly but as quick as it caught their attention, they lost their attention at the beginning.  As I continued to put in the video and get excited about it myself they started really focusing and paying attention to what the children were doing and to what the man was saying on the TV.  We watched this for about two weeks and I started seeing amazing things happening.  The boys were putting their arms up when the words came on the screen before they were being spoken.  I saw them pointing to body parts as the words appeared on the screen and before they were spoken.  I stood there with my mouth wide open not believing what I was seeing.  I was cautious not to get to excited thinking that perhaps they were just memorizing the order of things on the tv screen.  At week three we went ahead and got out the flash cards to show them.  Again... I was open jawed and teary eyed when they signed every word they knew.  I was certain that they knew all the words but I never formally taught them the signs.  Words such as tiger, elephant, gorilla.  I got onto ASLpro.com and looked up these words myself to teach to the boys and they were signing them correctly within the week.

I kept this up and was certain that this program was going to work for us.  I just had to come up with the money to purchase the package, but I was going to try to do that as soon as I could.  Then I was contacted by Pink Nothings to give my testimony of how the starter package is working for us.  Here is what I wrote:

Okay, Okay, I WAS THE DECEMBER WINNER!! I want to tell you that my 4 year old identical twin boys both with PDD Autism and Down Syndrome AND they are both non-verbal are really getting it. They sign each word as it comes up on the screen. We have the starter DVD and they already knew all the words to sign except for tiger, gorilla and elephant but they know them now :) I am going to give it about another week or two and then I will video tape them and blog about it. I am sold!!! I think I am going to buy the rest of the program for them very soon!! Thank you SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!

~Stacy 

Your not going to believe this... but within minutes of me posting this, I was contacted again.  This time, I was given a Your Baby to Read Representative to discuss getting the deluxe package for FREE!!!  WHAT??!!!  Yes, for free.  I have agreed to work with the boys, document their progress, blog about it and hopefully post some videos of their progress to show that this can and will work for children of all abilities.  I am a big fan of this program.  I have taken it to the boys preschool and they were AMAZED and have already put into their wishes for next years budget to get this program for the children.  I too may purchase one for the lending library at The Arc of Jefferson County.  I am excited to move onto Volume 2 while continuing to review Volume 1 with the boys.  They are BOTH getting it, they are BOTH reading random words shown to them on the cards and in the book.  They are BOTH making their mommy so proud!!!

More to come soon.... (with a give a way coming your way!)