Finding a Voice:  Soon after Megan entered kindergarten, her care team discovered that her static eight-button communication device fell short of her desire to use language more fully.

“She was ready to put letters with words and words with sentences,” said her mother, Andi.

Megan switched to the DV4 and went straight to its Gateway 40 scanning pages. Now a first grader at Glen Loch Elementary School, she appreciates the ease with which the technology allows her to say virtually all she wants to say.

“She used to depend on me to talk for her,” her mother said. “Now we have conversations.”

Megan chooses her vocabulary by pressing a switch because her unpredictable hand movements, a trait of her cerebral palsy, prevent her from accessing the DV4 directly. She especially likes the Gateway spelling keyboard page because it helps her with favorite activities—learning new words as someone spells them out, writing stories and sharing her observations spontaneously.

Quality Time:  Megan looks forward to her weekly horseback riding lessons and enjoys ski trips with her family. She rarely misses an opportunity to play outside with her sister Lauren, 9, or to play chess with her father Peter.

Breakthroughs:  With encouragement from personal aide Sandy Horn and teacher Cindy Parker, Megan has come to realize that the DV4 is truly her voice. Megan continually surprises them with her increasing efforts to use the device without prompting from others. A breakthrough moment came one recent morning when Megan said “Mrs. Parker, I like your necklace.” Five minutes later, she used the device to say “I am so proud of my sister” in reference to the solo that Lauren performed in a fourth grade holiday play.

Learn more about the DynaVox DV4!