Julia had her Augmentative Communication Evaluation this afternoon. It was a little over two hour appointment where the speech therapist evaluated her and made recommendations on assistive communication devices. She kind of narrowed it down to two different ones. (which range in price from $5,000 to $8,000). Julia seemed to catch on pretty quickly to each which was great. She says it will likely help her frustration level, and her aggravation, (and my frustration level and aggravation too!). We are going to get her set up for a further evaluation, and likely change her ST and OT to a different location where they can train her (and me) to use the device. This means I will once again have to revise my work schedule if possible, as they only have a few time slots open for this and it is in Highlands Ranch, not Parker.....I am going to ask work about it tomorrow....they have been nothing but great with my schedule so far, so hopefully they will work with me here. This means she will be out of PT for a while, but honestly, I think her mobility is fine (often TOO fine for her cognitive function!!!). Anyway, this therapist said she was very impressed with Julia's understanding of things that are said to her and thinks she is very intelligent...most of her problems stem from 1. an inability to focus her attention to anything, and 2. her lack of ability to communicate. I asked what she thought of her future ability to talk, and she said, once again, that she has no crystal ball, but she thinks her speech /(communication?) will get "better". That is about all she would say.
I am glad to hear she thinks Julia is cognitively more "there" than she appears. I am thankful there are devices to help her communicate. It was a relatively positive appointment.
Susan
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That's awesome Sue! Good luck with work, will be praying for it all to work out!
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