“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.
Mommy smiles as Eli* dashes back into the kitchen. Thinking back to the old days, she doesn’t really mind the steady barrage of bandaids and airplanes, thumbs and meatballs. Her son can speak!
This Lending Center is the only one of its kind in the Middle East for speech generating devices and one of the few existing in the entire world. Every year, thousands of devices are loaned to children with special needs and adults with a range of communication impairments.
Like Elchanan Malka: 37 yrs old
At age 24, I was stricken with a tumor which paralyzed my entire body. I use a mouth-operated mouse and that way, I feel that I can do everything.
It fills many hours of my day and I don’t know what I would do without it.
Like Bat-Tzion Binyaminson: 61 yrs old
I have ALS. I am unable to type, but I am writing a book. I am unable to speak, but I
am able to manage my household and my own care. Because I am a single mother, my
functioning is vitally important to my whole family. I can function only because of
the expert technical support that I have received from Debbie Ben Tal of Ezer Mizion.
Like Reuven Kagan: 75 yrs old
I have ALS. I gradually lost my ability to function to the point where
I couldn’t use a computer at all. Today, thanks to Ezer Mizion and through their
accessibility devices, I can use a computer. Thank you to Ezer Mizion for always
doing the maximum to help.
