Wilby is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Apraxia of Speech. He is able to walk but has limited use of right hand and limited verbal speech.He has excellent receptive language.
Wilby is an amazing little boy. He was adopted at age 6 from Haiti. It was known at the time the significance of his abilities. At the time of adoption Wilby could not speak, he could not stand, or walk. With significant therapy, including physical, occupational, speech he has made great strides. He now walks without assistance. The amazing part of Wilby‘s story is the way he is determined to fit in with his peers. His peers are so inclusive of him. They include him in football and basketball games and they love to eat lunch together. Despite the difficulty in communicating they never hesitate to include him. Wilby never stops trying to get his words across. In combination with his verbal language, his AAC at school, and sign language Wilby is able to participate in the conversation and ask questions at school.
Unfortunately, the AAC is only able to be used for school purposes. It is district owned and we do not have the ability to add pictures from our personal devices. This makes it difficult for Wilby to talk to his friends about his weekend plans or communicate about his family, etc. Over the past 8 years we have a way of communicating with Wilby that has always worked for our family. However, we are discovering he has so many more complex thoughts and ideas and his ability to communicate these with us is limited without the use of an AAC. We feel like this equipment would allow a greater opportunity for us to grow together as a family and give Wilby a voice in his own home that is more complex.
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