VOCA-Speech Impaired – Ezer Mizion

Giving a Voice to Those Who Cannot Speak

“Mommy, did you see that airplane? It looks so little. How can people fit in it? When I get big, I’m gonna go in an airplane and I’ll wave to you when I pass our house. Can we have meatballs ‘n’ spaghetti for supper tonight? And can I stay up late now ‘cuz I’m five and a quarter? Mommy, how come babies don’t have any teeth? Mommy, I have a big boo-boo on my finger. See! It’s giant! Can I have a band-aid? Mommy, how come my thumb goes out sideways and all the other fingers go up straight? Ooo – Abba just came home. I’m going to show him my boo-boo.”

Mommy breathed a sigh of relief as the kitchen became quiet. Finally. But it wasn’t always that way. It was less than a year ago that little Eli*’s vocabulary consisted of a total of ten words. Four years old and only ten words! Even those were unclear and difficult to understand. E. was born with a chromosome deficiency that manifested itself in severe developmental delays. They were advised to begin an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) program and borrowed a communication iPad from Ezer Mizion’s AAC Lending Library which provides hi-tech communication devices together with guidance, advice and support. The family’s efforts to boost his speech soon began to show results and Eli* began repeating words he had never spoken before. The family was amazed but their amazement soon turned to disbelief when Eli*’s vocabulary broadened and he uttered his first sentence. Things began to snowball after that and one year later, the family returned the ipad. Why? It was no longer needed. Their child had become fully verbal.

Communication Devices for Ukrainians

Communication. A frequent everyday occurrence. Hardly a blip on our radar. Until it’s not there. Until one needs a simple drink of water and cannot express himself. Until a soldier’s face is contorted with pain and he cannot relay to his nurse where the pain is coming from.

Mrs. Yonit Hagoel Karnieli,, head of Ezer Mizion Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Division presented on Zoom to 380 speech and language professionals, parents of children with communication impairments and governmental representatives in the Ukraine. The topic was “What is AAC and how it used in Israel.” Following this presentation, the Ukrainian government is interested in further collaboration which is being discussed.

Communication board to be translated into Ukrainian

Israel is considered one of the leading countries in high tech and the Ukrainian government was interested in learning from Ezer Mizion how to raise the bar of AAC use in Ukraine, particularly to benefit their soldiers who have been injured in combat in the current military conflict.

Dr. Rachamim Melamed-Cohen

Ezer Mizion’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication Program: Giving a voice to those who cannot speak

“There’s a very special person I’d like to tell you about. He’s written many books.”

“Very nice,” you reply with a slightly bored expression.

“With his eye.”

“With his what???!”

“Yes, with his eye. His name is Dr. Rachamim Melamid-Cohen.

Twenty-five years ago, at age 58, Dr. Melamed-Cohen was diagnosed with ALS. He was married with six children, a PhD in Special Education, a leading position in Israel’s Ministry of Education, a pioneer of special education programs throughout the country when his world fell apart. He had felt weakness in his shoulder which spread down to his arm and then his fingers. One Friday night, as he was making Kiddush, the cup shook and the wine spilled. Something seemed very wrong and he, together with his wife, Elisheva, began to make the rounds of neurologists until finally receiving the dread diagnosis of ALS. He was told that all of his organs will eventually lose their ability to function. Eventually, a fly will land his nose and he will be dependent on others to brush it away. ‘You have 3-5 years to live’ said the doctors, three of whom were no longer alive themselves 12 years after his diagnosis.

Within two years, he’d lost the ability to eat using his mouth. Seven years after diagnosis, he was totally paralyzed and connected to a respirator. All too soon, only his eyes were functioning.

But he refused to give up.

Ezer Mizion’s Alternative Communication Division was at his side. He was provided with an eye-tracker system, a highly complex device which Ezer Mizion was able to successfully train him to use. This gifted him the ability of communication, learning, social involvement and constant personal growth – despite his debilitating disease. The Click2Speak eye gaze controlled virtual keyboard, which was developed by Click2Speak in collaboration with Ezer Mizion, was another device that he enjoyed using, claiming that this tool truly improved his quality of life by enabling communication and environmental control through eye movements.

Since then, he wrote 20 books on many topics: research, poetry, education, and prose. Filled with joy of life, he learned how to create pictures digitally. Ten exhibits of his pictures, drawn with eye control, have been displayed in Israel and abroad.

Dr. Melamed-Cohen corresponded with people around the world, wrote articles for newspapers and used vast digital resources to prepare for Torah classes that took place in his home every day – all accomplished using computerized eye control.

Dr. Melamed Cohen passed away in November 2020 at the age of 83 after a fulfilling life that was enriched through Ezer Mizion’s AAC developments.

Ezer Mizion provides services to over 660,000 of Israel’s population annually in addition to its Bone Marrow Registry which saves the lives of Jewish cancer patients the world over.

Giving a Voice to Those who Cannot Speak

Yonit- AAC- Bulgaria conference - 11 19b — International AAC Conference held in Sofia, Bulgaria

Life goes on. Tuesday is similar to Monday. We know what to expect. And that knowledge brings us security. And then one day, life falls apart. He becomes a stroke victim, lying on a hospital bed. Nothing is the same. Even his body has changed. What he could do easily in his past life now may be impossible. He is trapped in a nightmare and can’t seem to wake up. He needs explanations, he needs reassurance and he needs simple basic needs fulfilled, needs he cannot do on his own. Now, when he needs so much, he is unable to express himself. He tries to tell the nurse that he is thirsty but she doesn’t understand his garbled sounds. His loved ones try so hard but they, too, are unable to communicate. His daughter cries in frustration. She wants so much to help. She tries several possibilities but he continues to ask in his unintelligible speech, becoming more and more upset that he is unable to convey his thoughts and needs with those around him. More than 62% of stroke patients suffer through this demeaning and discouraging challenge. The stress, the anguish greatly hinder the healing process. But he remains at an impasse, unable to move forward. Continue reading Giving a Voice to Those who Cannot Speak

Playing Twenty Questions in the Hospital Room

Sara felt helpless. Her grandmother felt helpless. Each one frustrated, until Sara remembered a course she had taken three years ago.

Sara obtained the email address of her former university teacher, Yonit Hagoel Karnieli, Director of Ezer Mizion’s AAC (Alternative Augmentative Communication) National Center and sent her the following message: Continue reading Playing Twenty Questions in the Hospital Room

When ALS Robs Its Victim of Every Skill He Had

pr voca AAC conf 4 17 f — Communicating via Ezer Mizion AAC device

We tend to take our abilities for granted. Scratching a mosquito bite, calling out to a friend across the street, running for a bus, licking an ice cream cone…these are all simple daily activities until one finds he no longer is capable of performing these previously effortless actions.

Muscular movement is controlled by the neurological system. Motor neurons ‘tell the muscles what to do’. But if they don’t? That is when we begin to realize just how complex our bodies are. A person finds he can no longer perform actions that have been part of his life since infancy.

This is what happens in ALS. The motor neurons are gradually lost and the muscles they control become weak and then non-functional. ALS stands for amyotrophic (without nourishment to muscles) lateral (affecting the side of the spinal cord) sclerosis (the hardened nature of the spinal cord). Its onset is gradual and, at first, the symptoms are merely annoying: dropping things, tripping, perhaps slurred speech. Slowly, other muscles become involved including those that help us breathe. Up until five years ago, life expectancy was short with death often due to respiratory failure and lack of ability to ingest nutrition but due to recent technological advances in prolonging life, some ALS patients can now live for decades.

ראובן חולה ALS — Reuven maintains his connection to his world using Ezer Mizion AAC equipment despite the ravages of ALS

The question then arises regarding the quality of life of these patients. A typical end stage Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis patient is not mobile at all. He lies in his bed or recliner, unable to lift his arm to reach for a tissue, unable to swallow food, unable to ask for a drink. He is completely dependent on his caretaker for every need. Continue reading When ALS Robs Its Victim of Every Skill He Had

Momentous Conference on AAC (Alternative and Augmentative Communication)

Ezer Mizion, a leader in the field of Alternative and Augmentative Communication, recently hosted a major conference whose purpose was to bring the latest innovations to both professionals and family members. The plight of those who were never given or who have lost their ability to speak has long been on Ezer Mizion radar.

One cannot imagine the anguish of an intelligent, hitherto productive adult with opinions of many subjects who is forced to remain silent as discussions take place around him. His dignity is further reduced when obliged to accept as his daily needs what others provide for him, unable to make his basic wants known. Continue reading Momentous Conference on AAC (Alternative and Augmentative Communication)

Is “He” Still There?

“It could happen to anyone. Maybe to the person who passes your house each day on the way to work or the man sitting across from you on the train. This time it happened to my ozeret. A very nice lady who has been coming to clean for me for years,” relates Yonit Hagoel-Karnieli, Director of Ezer Mizion’s Speech Generating Devices Lending Center. “She was telling me about her brother-in-law who had a sudden heart attack. The heart attack led to a stroke which resulted in almost complete paralysis. From being a beloved member of a family, an active community member, he became a nothing- a “vegetable”. My ozeret was so upset. Continue reading Is “He” Still There?

Google Chooses Ezer Mizion

Google.org has announced the allocation of grants to promote technological innovations that will make the world more accessible and focus on solutions for people with disabilities.

Ezer Mizion was chosen by Google for its project with Click2speak, an Israeli start-up, to develop an on-screen eye-tracking operated keyboard that will enable people with high cognitive function and limited mobility to communicate and control their environment. Continue reading Google Chooses Ezer Mizion

Speak for Yourself by Kobi Arieli

Do me a little favor. As you read these lines, look up for a moment and say something. Out loud. For instance, “Pizza with olives.” Someone will come into the room in a panic and ask if you lost your mind. You will laugh aloud and say: “It’s nothing. Just that weird Arieli with his nonsense. Everything is fine.”
Communication. This handy word that we instantly associate nowadays with an exclusive interview with a government minister or a strike by workers at the TV channel or a news bulletin. We’ve almost forgotten that it also has a basic meaning, more basic than any other: The ability of man to maintain a connection with those around him. To benefit from others, to give to them, to ask, to express emotions, to reflect other people’s emotions. To live. That is what you did just a moment ago. You produced a sound. Someone asked you something. You answered. That is how human society lives.
We have almost forgotten that some people lack this basic ability. Ezer Mizion National Headquarters. Fourth Floor. The Speech Generating Device Lending Center. Ezer Mizion’s remarkable place for technological solutions for the speech impaired, one of only three of its kind in the entire world. This floor of Ezer Mizion provides responses for the almost infinite spectrum of people who were not gifted with – or lost – the ability to communicate with those around them through speech.
Just before, they brought here a 43-year-old fellow, precisely my age. Continue reading Speak for Yourself by Kobi Arieli