Go-Talk

Brycen is doing great with the Go Talk communication device during speech therapy so the SLP agrees it's time to go ahead and order him one for at home!
For those that don't know much about communication devices, they can range from around a hundred dollars all the way up to over $10,000. It really just depends on the developmental level of the child/adult that needs one and the purpose of it. In Brycen's situation, we have discussed how easily distracted he is and how he gets frustrated very fast. Our goal with a device is to get him to make choices, communicate these choices, and to hopefully encourage single word (possibly stringing 2 words) verbalization. Therefore after reviewing many different products, the SLP and I agreed that the Go Talk 9 seems to be a good fit. I have attached a link below that will explain what it is and shows a picture of it.
The Go Talk is a low tech device that is usually considered a starter device and is very common with children around Brycen's age and level. My concern with anything simpler would be he would outgrow it too fast and we would be requesting for Medicaid to pay for another one in a year or so. My concern with anything more high-tech is that he gets too distracted with too many things in front of him.
When we first tried the Go Talk 9 at therapy, the only pages they had were 9 pictures to choose from. The first time they tried to work with him on it, he didn't want anything to do with it more than likely because it was just too much for him to grasp. The second week of therapy, they covered up a couple pictures so there was less to overwhelm him, and he did do better with that, but he thought it was just a game and wanted to push every button over and over and then would giggle. It had to be taken away from him at that point because we do not want him thinking this is a toy to play around with. He needs to learn the purpose of this device and only be allowed to use it for that purpose...it's the same way with all the other consistency we have in his life to ensure we are setting him up for success.
Once we actually get the device, we will only use 3 of the picture boxes and 2 of the smaller boxes but we know eventually we will need to give him more options so that is why we went with the 9 level over the smaller ones. This device will easily fit into the diaper bag when we leave the house and will be easy for him to turn on and off, as well as easy to reprogram as needed.
Our goal is for each page to have 3 options of activities, food choices, or maybe a 3 step schedule. The other two smaller boxes will have the pictures for "more" and "all done," to encourage him to string together two pictures. The SLP said he was able to string together the "more" and an activity picture multiple times on his own at the session on Monday after only showing him a few times! I'm excited to see what will happen once we are consistently using the device and what the progress will be!
http://www.attainmentcompany.com/product.php?productid=16147&cat=337&page=1