Finding Aidan's Voice

Finding A i d a ,ns

Voice

diagnosis

When Aidan was three months old, his family’s life began to change…

In May 2005 Aidan was born, and his parents brought their new baby home to join his two big brothers. Very soon, his parents began noticing that Aidan was not doing the things his older brothers did when they were infants.

For the next three years—several doctors, countless tests, and for a long time—no answers. Aidan was a “puzzle”.

Then Aidan was diagnosed with Leukodystrophy H-ABC. It would affect the development of his brain, his muscle movement, his ability to talk, and his ability to learn.

Diagnosis—the first piece of the puzzle—was put in place. Extremely rare, there were only 20 identified occurrences of this condition in 2008.

The great thing about puzzles

movements from pushing a button to gazing

is that they can be solved!

into a camera. The best for Aidan were

Together with his family,

buttons that were mounted near his head and

P.G. Chambers School would

activated with a slight head nod, and looking

be the place to help solve

into a camera to activate a switch.

Aidan’s puzzle.

Another puzzle piece for Aidan, is that we

Aidan was enrolled in the school

need to learn to wait. Specifically, Aidan needs

at age three, and his mother

time, and if we give him that time, Aidan

Susan recounts, “Aidan was

comes to understand. He is always listening

t i m e

finally in a place where he was happy. For the first time, people were

and constantly processing and filtering the world around him, and when

not focused on what was wrong with him, but what was right.”

that happens, his head turns, his eyes light up, and we get that signature

From the start, the staff found Aidan to be an inquisitive little boy,

Aidan smile!

with a great sense of humor and a sparkle in his eyes. They knew that

Speech pathologist, Laura has

Aidan had so much to say—and began to find the next puzzle piece—

been working with Aidan, trialing

t o o l s

matching Aidan with the right tools

AAC devices and switches,

for communication.

helping him discover and use

One such set of tools at P.G. Chambers School is called Assistive Augmentative Communication (AAC), or voice output

an ever growing vocabulary

This truly is our mission, our goal, and our responsibility.

To give every child a voice.

Most recently, Aidan’s voice is coming through the NOVA Chat 12* device, and his family, teachers, therapists, and friends are more than thrilled to hear what he has to say.

You can help the children at P.G. Chambers School find their voices, discover their potential, and say “I love you” to a special person in their life by making a gift to our Spring Appeal.

Voice

and delivering more and more complex communications.

devices. These devices work with

For Valentine’s Day this year

simple to very complex switches that

at 10 years old, Aidan said,

can be activated through a variety of

“I love you” to his mother for the first time.

* NOVA chat 12 is a speech-generating device that offers the well-known Chat Software on an Android platform. A variety of vocabulary configurations allows us to tailor the device to meet our students’ needs.

The NOVA chat includes thousands of symbols and allows further customization by using our own photos. https://saltillo.com/products/nova-chat-12

Officers of the Board of Trustees Unjeria C. Jackson, M.D. President Thomas J. Walsh Vice President Lori Solomon Vice President and Treasurer Susan Seamans Secretary and Executive Director Board of Trustees Joanne Balady Anthony Bonanno James J. Brazel Patricia Chambers Eric C. Elbell Pavan Mehta Eric Monsen John Mulhearn Wendy Tait Steve Vittorio

Each year, your gift helps P. G. Chambers School provide special education and therapy services for more than 800 children and their families, changing lives by instilling a love of learning, encouraging independence, and most importantly, developing unshakable self-confidence. contact: Andrea C. Quigley, Director of Development 15 Halko Drive, Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927 973.829.8484, ext. 109 e-mail: quigleya@chambersschool.org website: chambersschool.org facebook: facebook.com/PGChambersSchool twitter: #pgchambersschl online gifts: www.chambersschool.org/en_us/donate/

P.G. Chambers School is a private, nonproďŹ t, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code.

Tax ID #22-1551480. Information concerning charitable solicitations may be obtained from the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey by calling 609.292.4925. Registration with the Attorney General does not imply endorsement.