After several months of waiting and fighting insurance, it finally happened!

I got my new AAC device!

When I found out it finally got approved, I honestly cried.

The “over 21” state law that Medicaid used to deny it at first no longer exists, but I’m not surprised that insurance still tried to use it to deny the device. I’m far from the only one who has had this problem.
That said, I’m one of the lucky ones.

Many people can’t access or afford AAC – or they’re not given the option to begin with, due to being underestimated.

My last device was crashing during conversations, draining the battery, the case was barely clinging on, it was very quiet, and I was stacking my medicine box and phone together as a makeshift stand for it constantly.

It was definitely better than nothing and I never took it for granted, but it wasn’t ideal for me as a full-time AAC user. Getting a new dedicated device was beyond an upgrade!

I’m especially excited because the case has a built-in speaker to be louder and a shoulder strap, which is something that will make it so much easier for me as a wheelchair user. It also has a handle and a kickstand, so it won’t hurt my wrist anymore holding it or having it propped up on random objects from my bag.

For those who have been following me on Instagram, you might remember the AAC trials I did of the different programs.
We decided on the SC Tablet from Tobii Dynavox with TD Snap, along with Assistiveware’s Proloquo2Go, and Proloquo4Text!
Each program has different aspects that all work together to best support my communication needs!

I changed up the core word page for TD Snap to look similar to my P2G home page, with the addition of some symbol word prediction – which will help my aphasia tremendously. It took a lot of work and my brain needed a long sleep after I did it, but it was worth it!

It also turns out that my “voice” I’ve been using is an older option, and newer ones are more expressive! Because of that, I’m exploring newer ones too!

Choosing a voice that I feel fits me can be a little challenging, so we will see!

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