Hi Tracy,

My 4 year old has athatoid CP.  Last Dec he got an electric WC (my worst
nightmare...a motorized preschooler!)  The PT and OT are working on
teaching him to SAFELY operate the WC and not run over his brothers or
classmates!  He thinks it is a lot of fun to watch the PT's expression as
he turns to go down a steep embankment!

He also uses a Dynavox, as he has a verbal vocabulary of only 4-5 words and
signs about 4-5 words.  The teacher and therapists tell me he is using it
fairly well at school, when they can get him interested...he is very
self-determined (and a little stubborn).  ;)  The speech therapist recently
increased his pages from 6 to 9 picture "words".  He has a lot of
difficulty with fine motor control as well.

I have not been able to integrate the dynavox into our home routine.  Do
you have any suggestions?

Also, I have been thinking about how to teach him to read.  Would you have
any suggestion or recommendations you could offer in this area as well?
What types of approaches work when I can't expect him to repeat phonics
sounds?

Thanks and best wishes,
Kim

At 12:59 PM 6/15/1999 EDT, you wrote:
>        Hi, I'm new on the list so I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is
>Tracy Rackensperger. I am a senior at the University of Central Florida
>majoring in Radio/Television.  I live at home with my parents and my sister,
>Sara, in Altamonte Springs, Florida. I have mild to severe CP. I use an
>electric wheelchair, a Dynavox to communicate, and Intellikeys to type.
>
>Tracy
>