June 1, 2009
Sponsored Silence and the Big Box of Words
This video was put together by the Ohio Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center to promote awareness of augmentative communication. The 2008 Sponsored Silence Event was made possible in part by support from Cincinnati Children's, and by DynaVox and the Prentke Romich Company, the two industry leaders in AAC speech technology.
On a personal note, I really hope you'll set aside ten minutes of your day and watch this. I've seen a lot of presentations like this, but for some reason this one reached me in a deeper place. Which is my way of saying that I sat here like a weepy little girl when I watched this. I don't know, maybe I have Issues.
In the next few weeks, I'm planning on putting together a video project similar to what Nancy Zimpher, President of the University of Cincinnati, discusses in the video. Will you watch because you want to learn more about AAC, or do you simply want to watch me look like a tremendous dumbass? I think there are possibilities either way.
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11 comments:
Thank you for this moving video, Robert. It made me cry, too, and remember that I have to work harder to help my own daughter learn to communicate. This has been one of the most difficult things dealing with her disability and, to tell the truth, I've never lost the feeling of being overwhelmed by AAC. I so value the work that you're doing -- it's inspirational.
I like to think that the best example I can offer is for other parents and teachers to look at me and say "Hey, if THAT dumbass can do it..."
Yeeeah crying like a big girl.
Lovely.
Thanks! That was truly wonderful.
As soon as it started, with the girl singing the National Anthem, I dissolved.
Thanks for sharing this.
Cincinnati Children's rocks! We moved to Cincinnati 11 months ago specifically to be closer to this hospital as well as a deaf school that has a great program for hearing children with speech and language difficulties. I remember Timmy (in this video) at Christmas time, I had an opportunity to watch him interact with Santa using his Dynavox. They were talking sports and teasing one another about a recent game and I recall being moved to tears by the whole scene. I'm psyched to learn more about your project Rob!
This is brilliant! I would love do take on something like sponsored silence in Australia....Thanks Rob, yet againfor my motivational kick in the ass! To get started on something like this, do you think it would be best to start with contacting a company like Prentke Romich?
my son is in Cincinnati Children's hospital for a liver transplant, which he just got yesterday woohoo :)))) he's only four and half months old. Anyway while we have been here for the last month and a half they had a convention downstairs and one day in the cafeteria there was a whole group of children at a table using their Big Boxes of Words. I didnt intrude to find out what exactly was going on but I did think you guys. As somebody else said this hospital is beyond amazing and Im very happy that they are caring for my son. We actually live four hours away but it is worth being away from home to have his care here.
This is a very touching video. I just read about Nancy Zimmer the other day, ironically enough—she just took over as chancellor of the State University of New York system. Thank you so much for sharing.
Woops, Nancy Zimpher, not Zimmer.
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