Miles, a 29 year old man with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, joined our augmentative and Alternative commination class on March 29,2016. He explained to our class what his life as a person with a physical, and no mental, disability was like. He explained his journey with a communication device and the emotional reactions that went along with it. Firstly he was jot able to attain an AAC device until he was 8 years old. This was an extremely frustrating time in his life as he had limited ability to communicate. When he was 8 years old, he started with a no technology communication board with words, letters, and common phrases on it. Although he was able to communicate with people more easily, there were a finite amount of things he could say due to a combination of the amount of space on his board and his communication partners ability to wait for him to point to his massage. Even when he eventually obtained a Dynavox system, he still became frustrated, as people would walk away before he could type his …show more content…
He even explained how in the 5th grade his teacher, who was not knowledgeable about individuals with disabilities and AAC users. He conveyed his annoyance when the teacher seated him in the back of the room, made him leave the room during complex tasks, and taught him in a rudimentary style. He explained how thankful he was that his parents advocated for him and in this scenario because he would not be were he is today if not for them.
He was eventually enrolled in a residential school with other individuals like himself so that he could utilize his AAC and learn as much as possible in a setting that best suited his needs. He even attended a summer camp for AAC users. These social interaction and friendships he made at school and camp truly increased his confidence in himself and facilitated his ability to become his own advocate as well as teach other to advocate for