Forum
new to my tobii
my daugther Isabelle was brain injured at birth 16 years ago . We never believed doctors prognosis that she would be a vegetable that best is to be placed in an institution , all we saw was our hurt baby needing a special care so we pulled up our sleeves and we embarked in long journey looking for ways to help her reach all her potentials .
thankfully isa's mind was not impaired and she grew up to be a smart loving caring strong person who cannot do anything and is locked in a jail the size of her body .
after years of physical therapies her hope of achieving more physical milestones is fading away , she knows and we know that our work with her now is mainly to keep her healthy and pain free , 2 years ago we went to germany and tried the eye gaze with her for 2 days and it was very positive experience according to the center where we used the device , they told us they were very impressed from her ability of using the device and that all she needs is further practice at home , but still I wasn't confident enough to commit and pay the huge cost and bring it back home without more trial .
now that Isa is 16 I could feel her frustration over communication , therapy is taking long , it might never end for her , a device like that will give isa her voice , it will mean the world to her to be able to communicate , for now I feel she is giving up , she can feel her chances of huge physical improvements are getting low , I want something to bring back love for life for her , and I cannot think of anything better than to be able to communicate . I put this on hold for a while but I feel now I need to look at seriously and from the gambia where we live ( west africa ) it is not very easy to find more information so I hope you can help directing me . isa has no control over her body , cannot use any switches , that is why the eye gaze might be our only answer . I will need to try the device for longer than 2 hours to make sure it is what our daughter needs . I hope i get some advice from this forum.
looking forward to read from you
love and blessings
viviane
Hi Viviane,
I don't know much about your daughter's level of disability, but I can tell you one thing for sure. I have cerebral palsy and the only way for me to be able to communicate independentaly is to use a P10 or a C12. I know it costs a lot of money and the best is to have a device out on trial first for a couple of weeks first... still I have to say as soon as the device is positioned properly the software on it is so flexible that it can be adjusted to any users needs.
From my personal experience I can say this. Your daughter would love to have a P10 or a C12. Why don't you ask her?
Check out one of my videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6wO0Q_hrM8
Chris
pro tobii user
amazing Chris , thank you for directing me here . isabelle and I loved watching you using tobii with tears in our eyes. isabelle is very severe , she cannot sit up on a chair and will be using whatever device from lying down position with an overhead screen . i know for sure she would love to speak . she did use her hands before to type when she was younger but with increase spasticity and difficulty to position her sitting because of hip problem we couldn't do it anymore that is why an eye gaze system will be ideal for her . can we chat privatly so we can read more about your experience with the device .
we live in gambia in west africa so basically we'll have to fly out to UK or other european countries to try the device. i do have friends in england so this is an option for me if i want to spend longer time trying the device . last time we went to germany we were in a hotel and we couldn't stay more than 2 days and i found it very short time to decide .
cannot tell you how excited isa is reading your email , i know she dreams she could one day reply back .
where in uk do you stay ?? and are you able to get me in touch with the company you got the device from so we can negotiate my visit to UK and the possibility to try it for a month maybe
love and blessings
viv
Hi Viv,
thanks for your kind words. You made me excited that now it is clear that I can help you with my experience.
Please check your private messages.
Chris
pro tobii user