Monday, January 2, 2012

Help R2 tell us what he WANTS

7 comments:
 
** UPDATE ** WE MADE IT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS!! **
(donations over the goal line will be put in an R2 account)


R2 reacts!

Most of you know R2, either in person or from the ol' blog here. For a recap, he was born at 24 weeks, and suffered severe brain damage as a result of his prematurity. He's amazingly functional, despite having large gaps in his brain and being legally blind.

One of the hardest things for us has been his gradual move towards being completely nonverbal. In the last several years, he went from being able to answer questions and talk in brief sentences to where he is now, totally non-verbal except for the occasional grunt and, on bad days, screaming.

We've been researching communication options for a while, and the old technology would have cost thousands of dollars, so we never considered it an option. When the iPad came out, we started hearing stories about breakthroughs in communication with autistic kids, and that research has been growing. There are a lot of apps designed specifically for this purpose- giving a voice to special kids!

We were able to get his school to allow him to use one on campus, with good success at expressing his needs; he's skilled with computers. Now we're hoping to continue his success by buying an iPad and apps to use at home. I can't tell you what it would mean to be able to communicate with our son again, and to be able to teach him.

Over Christmas, 2 people spontaneously gave donations toward an "R2 iPad Fund", which surprised and blessed us, since we've been trying to find some way to budget for this and have been unsuccessful.  Our goal is to raise $800, for the iPad, the heavy-duty case, and several apps that have been recommended. If you want to be a part of helping us reach this goal, you can email us for a mailing address or give online through ChipIn.





7 comments:

  1. I can't afford it at the moment, but I'll try to make a smalle donation within a couple weeks. I'd love for R2 to be able to communicate easier!

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  2. Hi Jess,

    I'm an SLP, and have just recently been learning about all the apps for speech-language and their implications for helping kids like R2. My friend Amanda started a website that reviews speech-language apps for the iPad, which you might find helpful: www.speechlanguageneighborhood.com I will also ask her if there are any scholarship programs or discounts for children and families in need of the technology. Hugs! Karon

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  3. If you are thinking about giving, thanks so much! We just met our goal! Praise God! And thank you all! Here is a rejoicing R2 vid: http://www.twitvid.com/RZGSQ

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  4. I think we just put you over your goal. Use the extra money for whatever else you might need for R2's needs. :)

    Jenn's mom

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  5. Well, how awesome is that? Congrats Richy!!

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  6. Jess, what's the name of the app that R2 is using? Specifically the one in the video (if you have the name). The family that I care for would benefit greatly from an app similar to the one in the video and I'd love to share the information with them! Thanks!!

    Also, I keep rubbing my eyes and taking a second, third, fourth look at that total! What a blessing it is to see an abundance! R2 is so very loved and so is your family and it gives me great joy to see that God gives great favor to your crew. :)

    Katey R

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  7. Katey, somehow I missed this comment! He's using Proloquo2go.

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