#speech therapy

This. Feel just so. HelpLess . Discouraged . Full of despair . Pixie's AAC device still not actually finished setting up yet because of . Whatever happened with ONLY local place what takes Medicaid insurance where Pixie live . Pixie been all ready feel abandoned and alone. And . this just makes everything. So much worse...

One popular form of no tech AAC are called communication cards. communication cards cost money though, and you can diy them if you have the right materials, and i bit of help if you need it. (my grandma helped when i made mine) anyways, there are lots of ways you could make communication cards, but for now im just going to post a little of phrases that are good to start with on your communications cards, and you can add more as needed.

here’s the list of phrases i thought were good to include, becuase when u started making mine, my brains sort of froze and couldn’t think of anything. it’s taken me awhile to refine this whole list, and took lots of trial and error to find out phrases that i might need in the moment, so having a starting point might help, and i love to help people out!

I’m

in pain

dizzy

hot

cold

thirsty

hungry

on my period

overstimulated

unable to talk right now 

not ready

I feel

sick

okay

happy

overwhelmed

upset

confused

sad

uncomfortable

scared

I need

a break

space

help

to rest

something to keep my hands busy

new pants

time

I want

to go home

to be left alone

my headphones

my blanket

Can I

have Tylenol

have a hug

have a pad or tampon

go to the bathroom

Can you

please lower your voice

please talk for me

explain

repeat that

rephrase that

Please

stop

stay with me

I have

a headache

cramps

It’s too…

loud

bright

much

What…

are we doing next?

is that?

should I do?

Where…

is the bathroom?

are we going?

can I sit?

When…

are we leaving?

will it start?

can I go?

will you be done?

How…

do I do this?

does that work?

are you feeling?

Why…

is that happening?

can’t I go?

are we doing this?

not?

Standalone phrases

yes

no

maybe

I agree

I disagree

I don’t know

please

thank you

you’re welcome

hi

bye

I love you

soon

later

btw, you probably noticed at some point that there is a few afab specific phrases relating to period needs, so if you don’t get a period then your obviously more then welcome to not add that into your list .

i really hope that i can help people benefit from this!! 🖤🖤🫶

Of course you want your child to communicate, that's fine, that's GOOD. But oral speech isn't the only way to do that, and refusing to give your child a way to communicate because it isnt the form of communication you favor isn't okay.

Its OKAY if your kid never learns (or relearns) to use oral speech. ITS OKAY.

"But I put them in speech therapy to learn to talk! I don't want them to use that tablet all their life. They need to learn to talk using their mouthparts." Why??

First of all, AAC is proven to actually help people develop language skills and oftentimes oral speech. So any concern about AAC hindering development of oral speech is uncalled for and irrational. But along with that, ORAL SPEECH ISNT THE ONLY GOOD FORM OF COMMUNICATION!! AAC is good. Sign is good. Etc.

I was born deaf-partially deaf, in both ears.. And before me, my parents didn't know about deafness. I was also one of the few disabled people in my family. So I don't blame them completely for not understanding-I blame the speech therapist for that.

I have been working with my speech therapist for over a year. My primary goal this whole time has been to improve my verbal fluency, so I don't stutter as badly or as often, and don't lose my words as frequently. AAC was always sort of a side quest. In that time, I have made huge progress with using my AAC, and almost none with my speech.

Today, we talked about it, and my therapist asked if I wanted to continue working on verbal fluency, or if I'd rather focus my energy more on AAC.

Now that I'm finally moving away from my parents, who don't understand AAC and tell me, "You could have spoken that faster" when I use it, I feel safe to relinquish the last of my feeling of obligation towards verbal speech.

In much the same way that I freed myself from the demands of mouth food by getting my feeding tube, I am freeing myself from the demands of mouth words by leaning even more into my AAC.

Mouth words are still there if I want them, but they're no longer a requirement when I don't.

Stepping away from my goal of improved speech doesn't mean I gave up on it, it means I reevaluated my priorities, and moved towards a different goal that will serve me better.

My speech therapist is fully on board, and encourages me to use whatever communication method works best for me. When I mentioned how slow AAC is, she said fluent AAC is faster than non-fluent speech, and she's right.