Mind Express Case Studies

Lauren’s Experience of Mind Express: Lauren has been working on switching through ‘cause and effect’, simple message devices, simple 4 message scanning devices, for many years, and now, at 15 years old uses her Mobi 2 via single switch autoscanning with auditory prompts and enlarged cell. Lauren has quadriplegic cerebral palsy with high muscle tone, epilepsy and severe visual cortical impairment. She activates a jellybean switch with her hand or if she has very high or low tone, the switch is repositioned and she activates it with her head. Lauren has a very simple individualised communication programme in Mind Express with 5 choices + ‘stop’ on each page. However within this Lauren is making independent choices of activities (things to do), places to go and people to see! She can play her own music, choose and watch a dvd, control two televisions and access BBC iPlayer. Lauren can give simple instructions to make her Speech and Language Therapist a cup of tea(!), tidy her room or read her own self created stories using photos that she has taken using her Mobi 2.

Lauren’s diagnosis is PMLD but with intensive, repetitive, highly motivating switch and communication work, she is now able to access a complex communication system set out in a simple logical way, giving her independence, control and a better quality of life. However, the loveliest part of working with Lauren has been watching her personality and sense of humour develop with her interaction and communication skills.

With thanks to Judy King B.Sc. Cert HCPC MRCSLT MASLTIP
Independent Specialist Speech and Language Therapist – AAC
www.judykingslt.co.uk

Cake Therapy with Maria: Maria is 10 years old and such fun to work with! She is highly motivated to use her Mobi 2 with Tobii eye gaze to ask questions, guessing which cake has been made and brought to her Speech and Language Therapy session, make comments on the cake made, choose the next cake to be made, or give instructions to make her own cakes! Not surprisingly, Maria would like to be a chef one day!

Maria has a lively, friendly personality, attends a mainstream school where she has many friends, and somehow persuades everyone around her to get involved and work very hard to support her in a way that doesn’t feel like work. Maria is learning how to create long and complex sentences following a structured expressive language programme. Her eye gaze skills are amazing to watch as she uses a highly personalised 144 Picture Word Power. Maria has some internalised language skills and can be very pedantic about including all the ‘little words’ in her sentences. She has two sessions of individual S&LT a week and many extra hours of programming have been, and are still required. Maria received her Mobi 2 in January 2014 and we have downloaded many of the Mind Express activity bundles and linked them to PWP. Maria enjoys these different activities to support her learning and playing with the fun pages created for her such as an eye gaze keyboard, drums and playing the recorder.

The extra features of the Mobi 2 are being used on a daily basis as Maria takes photos, sends texts, controls the televisions in her kitchen and lounge, watches DVDs, listens to music and accesses the internet. She has even talked about mounting the Mobi 2 over her bed so she can lie there and still chat to anyone who will listen!

With thanks to Judy King B.Sc. Cert HCPC MRCSLT MASLTIP
Independent Specialist Speech and Language Therapist – AAC
www.judykingslt.co.uk

About Hannah: I am Hannah James. I’m 29 years old, and I have Cerebral Palsy. Because of my disability, it is not always easy for me to achieve what I want to achieve. But I do achieve – with the help of my PAs.

I have a great life. I work. My job is to train students and others who work with people with disabilities. I volunteer at Joy of Sound as a co-facilitator. I go there every Friday. I also like swimming and going out with my friends. I am passionate about art and painting.

Why I use Mind Express and the Mobi 2 Communication device
It is difficult for me to communicate verbally, but I still think, and I love to talk – and that’s where my Mobi 2 using Mind Express comes in. By using it I can say what I need, and what I want. My Mobi is my best friend.

The Film
Filming Hannah’s Dance has given me the opportunity to show viewers how I love to dance, and how I communicate. The voice I use on the Mobi is called ‘Lucy’, and I use this voice to narrate the film, which gives it a personal touch. The Mobi played a big a part in the making of the film, as it does in my life.

See the trailer for ‘Hannah’s Dance below.

Speech & Language Therapists using Mind Express: Mind Express software can also be used by speech and language therapists to provide assessments for new clients that lead to selecting the most appropriate talking technology for the needs of the client.

Andrea Kirton, Simon Judge and Zoë Clarke, from the Barnsley Assistive Technology Service details their new Mind Express based assessment tool, CARLA (Computer-based Accessible Receptive Language Assessment:

Download the CARLA poster as PDF file.

With thanks to: The Barnsley Assistive Technology Team and Devices For Dignity for allowing us to use this information.

Lydia’s Experience of Mind Express: Up until the age of six, Lydia was not able to communicate verbally. An intervention was made at her school by a speech and language therapist and she was presented with a Tellus Mobi communication aid from Jabbla.

Using Mind Express software on the device enabled Lydia to develop her skills in initiating verbal communication. At first, she started to verbally communicate with small or partial words and this process developed over time. Another benefit of using Mind Express is that Lydia uses her knowledge and her use of symbols to gain a better understanding of time which enables her to organise her daily activities.

Bethany’s Experience of Mind Express: It is important to Bethany to be able to express herself. She enjoys communicating with friends and family, as well as keeping in touch with friends via email or SMS Text messages. She also enjoys being part of a classroom environment and is improving with contributing at school. Bethany uses a Tellus 4 communication aid powered by Mind Express to be able to achieve this.