New AAC equipment

Posted on 21/06/2021

Hello, my name is Jill and I am 29 from Glasgow.  I am a volunteer Blogger for TAG and also I am a volunteer with Pamis as a changing places campaigner.  I love music especially country music I love going Horse Riding and skiing.  I have been a AAC user since I was in nursery.  I am on my 6th Communication device and I just got my latest device just in December 2020.  I am going to share my experience getting my new device. 

I get a new Communication device every 5 years so I was due to get a new device in 2020.  Back in August 2019 my speech therapist came to visit me to talk to me and see what I am thinking about terms of new devices.  I knew what I wanted as every time I get a device it has always been just an up to date device from the same company which is Liberator.

In February 2020, I had a meeting with my speech therapist and the man from Liberator where I got to try devices.  I had an accent 1400 at the time and I thought I was getting a up to date version of that but at the meeting Mark, the man from Liberator said that a smaller device would be better for myself because I use a head tracker. So I tried the Accent 100, and I liked it, but I wasn't going ahead to get it at the time as I tried it just for a half hour or so.  So in summer 2020 Liberator gave me an Accent 100 to try for 2 weeks.  I got to use the Accent 100 and I decided that I would get an Accent 100 for my next Communication device.

The insurance for my old device wasn't up until the November so my speech therapist waited to put in for the funding until September or October time.

My speech therapist emailed me in September to say that the funding request has been put in.

It was coming to end of October and I hadn't heard anything so I contacted my speech therapist but I discovered that she wasn't working at this time but the S.C.T.C.I. contacted me to say they were taking over my case and the funding was accepted and my device was ordered.  It was about 6 weeks later until I got my  device by the time it was ordered and it came from Liberator where it is down in England.

On the 17 December S.C.T.C.I. brought my new device out to me and set it all up for me and it is working great!

I can honestly say I had no problems getting my new device - and had great help along the way. Asked if I had any advice to give to anyone else who uses AAC and thinks it might be time for a new device, I would say:

Yes, just make sure you try devices and make sure that you chase it up if you haven't heard anything for a while - and ask for help to set it up.