Quicky Update.....

Just a quick update! I finally called Apple, today, to find out what was going on with our Ipad. I got the news I was praying for!

It will be in our hands tomorrow by 4pm!

I am sooooooooooooo excited!

I just checked the tracking and it is en route in Tenn., just a state away!

Did I mention I am soooooooo excited?

Faith's world is about to open up and I feel like I have wings....

I am sending off an email tonight to the AAC therapist to prepare to start our new therapy next week (I hope).

Be sure to check back tomorrow....I have the camera all ready to photograph the big event!

Faithy I sure hope you are as excited about it as I am!

Preparations and Ipad update...

So we are preparing for another trip to the coast in a couple of weeks, to have our second appointment at the Epilepsy Center in Charleston. I think it is a safe assumption to make that our choice to go down there has been a great thing! When they wanted to start Faith on a second seizure med. I was sceptical that she would do well. But since January 22, she has only had two brief seizures. So I guess that's proof positive! I am thrilled and actually feel like things are coming back to "normal" a little....but I always keep my guard up, in the background. Now we have another decision to make with what we are going to do with our current neurologist set up. We have our local neurologist, whom I am NOT happy with, and now the new one in Chucktown. I think we could continue to see both because the epilepsy center is a specialty clinic and on the other side of the state but I don't really want to. I would like to just transfer everything down there and just go there for all our treatments. But it's a little risky because it's so far and if we need MRI's, EEG's or anything else....I think we would have to drive down. I think it's the best choice since the team in Charleston genuinely seem to care about what happens to Faith...and in my book that is the most important thing. I was thinking of asking them if they could wrangle tests to be done, here at home. Then that would alleviate all the problems except the long drive.
On to Ipad issues...
We placed our order, yesterday for the Ipad 16BG with wi-fi and 3G along with an SD converter so we can download pictures. I am so excited to get this in Faith's hands, that I can hardly stand it! I have been getting all kinds of emails with links to educations and aug. com apps and I think this thing will be a HUGE help when we start homeschooling in a few months! We have been talking about it a lot to Faith and I think she even recognizes the name now, LOL! When I spoke with the rep at Apple she seemed confident that they would be shipping these out this month. I was kind of worried that they would be back ordered and we would be waiting for a long time. She said that Apple was pretty consistent with release dates and if anything they may push it back a few days or a week. We decided not to get the extended Apple plan that was $99 since it does not cover human error...so we are going to go with a private insurance policy called Square Trade who provides Ipad warranties for just $95 for two years and they cover accidents and manufacturer defects. We felt like it was vital to have some additional protection since Faith likes to chuck things! So now we just have to wait........

A little help, please...

OK all of my tech savvy Apple friends out there....

I need some help!

We are trying to identify which size Ipad we should purchase for Faith.

There is a 16GB, 32 and 64.

We know we don't need a 64 so the choices are 16 or 32.

Trouble is I don't know how to gauge how much room that is! I have asked quite a few folks but get conflicting info. I sure would like to get the smaller one and save some money for accessories but I am afraid that it may not be enough. It's not like we can get another one!

We plan to use it primarily for Faith to communicate and for school for her, so a Proloquo2Go app and several others I have seen that I think will work for her. We won't be watching movies but we will put pictures on it for her as well as a calender and some things related to her medical needs.

So if any of you out there can give me any good reliable input I would be eternally grateful!

I have been holding off in fear that I will make the wrong decision!

More Augmentative Communication stuff....

Today, we met with the Aug. Comm. therapist at our therapy office. She is incredibly knowledgeable and up to date on all kinds of neat, new stuff. We have known her for years and off and on had evals with her for different things. Today we met to discuss the Ipad and what our options were and what she thought about our ideas. She is totally excited as we are! She had another speech therapist there to work with Faith on the Dinovox V, another touch screen device that uses the PECS system. Faith had never tried this particular one and she had so much fun! They tried using a stylus pen with her, since she cannot isolate her pointer finger. She picked right up on it and within minutes was tapping away at different pictures. After every successful touch she had to stop and get my attention to show me that she had done it.

So Stinking Cute!

This was JUST the confirmation I had been looking for. Now I feel so much more sure that the Ipad will work for her! I can see her window of opportunity open with the birds flying in and she is ready for something! We discussed all our different options with the Ipad and some of the smaller, cheaper apps that are now available that work similar to Proloquo2Go. I have found two that are under $25 and she suggested trying a few of them first when we are first starting out. Which I think is a great idea to test the waters.

In response to a few questions I have gotten Faith has had some experience with aug. comm devices like the Logan, PECS and a few switch programs. But she has not done well with any of them. We felt like she was just not developmentally ready to understand how they worked but now things seem different. She is receptive to anything with touchscreens and lots of pictures and technology! Not to mention that I have HATED every single one of them for various reasons including bulkiness, weight, ridiculous recording apparatus and stupid PECS books that must be dragged along with various devices just to name a few. So after seeing her responses and the promise of this new technology on the horizon I feel like it is the perfect time to introduce a device to her and so do the therapists. So it looks like this is the path we will go down. I am excited and thrilled at the prospect of Faith being able to tell me things with real words.

IPAD.....FAITH IS IN LOVE....AND SO AM I!

WOW...

Today, we finally got our hands on a demo Ipad at our local university Apple store!

I didn't even know there was such a place until last week!

Faith was instantly in L-O-V-E with this cool toy/device/(hopeful communication tool)
It is pretty lightweight, compared to other aug. comm devices we have tried (about 1 1/2 lbs). The pictures are crystal clear and incredibly fast! Much faster than our laptop, here at home, with DSL.

We didn't get to play with any of the apps we are interested in but there was plenty to enjoy. Faith preferred the photo galleries (she is VERY visually stimulated, even with her vision issues)

She could move the screen pretty well with just a little practice and was so proud of herself when she scrolled through the pictures!

I know that Proloquo2Go has updated it's program to run better on the Ipad, with larger pics. So we are looking forward to getting our hands on our own device. We had pretty much already made up our minds to purchase this tool, but when I got to see her playing with it, I was SOLD!

We played a few animal youTube videos, which were fantastic, fast and crystal clear!

She seemed to do better, holding it in this position, but I think that the horizontal way will be better for her to see and use. I know, for sure, that we will have to have a platform to put it on her wheelchair. I have been investigating several varieties that may work...one of them was the Ram-Mount tough tray tablet holder.
I know there has been mixed reviews about the Ipad but for what we are looking for....it seems like the BEST option. No papers or PECS symbols or bulky recording devices. We are going to meet with our aug. comm therapist tomorrow to discuss putting this thing to work for her. Luckily, I made friends with the college Apple Rep, who was super nice, and he gave me his card to call them today, to be sure it was in. I called and he said they weren't busy and it was a perfect time to come down. It did get busy while we were in there but we got to play with it as long as I wanted (about an hour!). It was so much fun and I felt so guilty when we had to put it back and leave and little Faith started crying. But we can wait a few more weeks.....
I HOPE!