[jacki]

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You should turn this into a ctrl-V thread. Where everyone just pastes whatever is on their clipboard at the time.

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Name: Julie Gamradt
Age: 46
Job: Outreach Program Manager/augmentative and alternative communication specialist at the Communication Aids & Systems Clinic (CASC) and Communication Development Program (CDP) at UW-Madison’s Waisman Center - among the first programs in the nation to provide augmentative and alternative communication services

I got interested in speech-language pathology (SLP), or what’s also called “communicative disorders”, during college when my roommate was enrolled in SLP classes. I secured my first real job as an SLP in a small school district in northern Minnesota. The principal of my school informed me that most of the children who would be on my caseload had disabilities that didn’t allow them to speak. Oddly enough, in my training as an SLP, the issue of helping people who couldn’t communicate using speech barely came up – of course, this was over 25 years ago and it’s different now. But then I didn’t feel prepared to help the children who were to be assigned to my workload. In a panic, I went to the library and found one book on adaptations for people who were “nonspeaking”. It was written by Gregg Vanderheiden from the Trace Research and Development Center here in Madison. This book described some simple ways that you could use to help people communicate if people were unable to speak or - in some cases - even use their hands to point to things, like words or pictures.

One of the children at my first job had a dramatic effect on my life and career direction. His name was Brian. He was a 12-year-old boy who had severe cerebral palsy. Brian used a wheelchair and because of his physical disability was unable to speak. I found that Brian could communicate “yes” and “no” with the movements of his head - and that was pretty much it. I had never met anyone like him and he changed my life.

At that time there were precious few options to offer students like him - there weren’t any fancy communication devices or adapted computers. So, even a simple communication board had a dramatic effect on his ability participate in school and life. It was then that I was hooked into helping people who had limited abilities learn to use alternatives to help them communicate.

Eventually I went on to pursue a master’s degree in communicative disorders and now I work at the Waisman Center at the Communication Aids & Systems Clinic and with the Communication Development Program through Dane County. I work with people who have a wide variety of disabilities, including ALS, cerebral palsy, autism, people who have had strokes or who have sustained brain injuries, people who have other types of developmental disabilities…many of whom have multiple disabilities. The people I work with have one thing in common - they aren’t able to communicate adequately through speech or handwriting alone or they’re unable to use computers effectively due to their disability.

When I meet a person who can’t communicate well, I have them try a range of options, which often include voice output communication devices (also called speech generating devices or “talking computers”) and simple things such as boards and books which show words or pictures that they can point to for communicating ideas. I often work closely with occupational therapists that help me determine which tools a person may need to physically operate a communication device or computer, especially if the person has difficulty using their hands.

I’ve been able to witness significant “firsts” in the lives of people I have served….being able to communicate “I love you” for the first time, being able to use a voice device to communicate independently over the phone for the first time, or restoring abilities that were lost because of disease or accidents. It’s a profound privilege to have the opportunity to work with people in this way.