Hunter was born on a hot summer day in July 2021.  Hunter's parents couldn't have been happier to add this boy to their little family.  Hunter was growing and meeting milestones as expected up until about 6 months old when his mother noticed he wasn't babbling like his peers.  Hunter was making sounds called open vowelizations, which means he was only making vowel sounds and not adding any consonant sounds. 

 

Hunter's mom, a pediatric Occupational Therapy Assistant with 7 years of experience at that time; sought a colleague for help with Hunter's speech.  This speech therapist worked with Hunter and his family to focus on joint attention, as well as using PECS (picture exchange communication system).  Hunter would rather eat the picture or throw them around the room.  It wasn't an effective way for Hunter to communicate his wants and needs.  Hunter was having daily meltdowns that included head banging due to not being able to communicate.  Hunter continued with speech for six months, with very little progress, so the decision was made to stop outpatient speech and look into Early Intervention speech through Hunter's local county. 

 

During this time Hunter's mom spoke with the AAC specialist at her work about introducing a Speech Generating Device (SGD).  This speech therapist agreed it could help.  Hunter's mother began bringing home loaner devices on the weekends.  Hunter's family saw a shift in Hunter.  He was using the device to request preferred movies and snacks.  Hunter's family was seeing a decrease in his meltdowns.  Hunter's mom then requested a formal evaluation in order to submit a funding request for an SGD for Hunter.  When Hunter was 19 moths old he was approved funding, and received his device!

​

Things didn't end there.  Through Early Intervention therapy Hunter had a few therapists who didn't understand how to use a communication device for someone that young.  Some therapists wanted Hunter to sign and ignored the device; however, due to Hunter's motor planning issues he was unable to use sign.  Another wanted his family to force Hunter's hand to use the device if they wanted him to say something.  Hunter's family believes in bodily autonomy, so this didn't work for them. Hunter was then sent Danielle.

​

Danielle quickly gained Hunter's affection and his mother's respect.  Danielle worked hard with Hunter and his family for over a year to see his speech system grow from 15 buttons, to 42, and finally to 60.  During this time, Danielle and Hunter's mom quickly formed a bond and were able to discuss the pitfalls in the system when it comes to funding SGDs for children, especially under 3.  Hunter's mom had the idea for a non-profit and Danielle jumped on board!

 

***

​

While this is Hunter's story to getting funding approved and receiving a device, Hunter's mom, Kendra, realized this isn't everyone's story.  Due to Kendra's background as a COTA in pediatrics, she has seen first hand families be denied funding for devices for various reasons and/or have extremely high deductibles to meet.  Danielle has also shared her own stories of client families being denied and having to find ways to give her client's voices. We believe every child deserves a voice, and it is our mission to see that happen.