Testimonials

My daughter Katy           is a 30 year old
woman with severe Apraxia due to autism.
She has been working with Phoebe Tucker at
the Montano Center since August, 2006.
         When Katy started this summer her
communication was by handwriting or pointing
to letters on a keyboard while her hand was
being held. This was very limiting for her since
she only had a couple of people who were
successful in helping her with this method of
expression. She longed for independence and
often felt depressed and fearful because of her
concern for the future if she did not have
someone who could help her communicate.
        At the Montano Center, Katy started to use
software for the purpose of developing reading.
Initially, her hand needed to be held as she
pointed to the touch monitor. She would only tolerate this activity for 5 minutes at the most before she became distracted. In four months that Katy has been attending sessions regularly she has been able to access the monitor with no one's help. She needs no touch and can attend to the activity for 50 minutes. She would like to work longer but time does not permit. Besides the independent computer skills she is attaining, Katy loves the relaxation time where she can look at the 6-foot tube of bubbles and fish or be in a pool of vibrating balls. She also has been receiving help with her personal daily living skills and has shown improvement with these tasks.
         To help develop her speech, she has been using specialized software that creates visual feedback in the form of colored circles which she can see as an outcome of her own speech. She has had a notable increase in using words in the past 2 weeks that we feel is directly related to work with this program. She also has started using descriptors rather than a single word. Last week she verbally requested “meditation tape” when before she would only say “tape”. There is much more spontaneous and un-cued speech. Many people are telling me of things they have heard her say that have been meaningful communication. There have been simple conversations with several people who have never had that experience before with Katy
         When I asked Katy if she wanted to say anything about working with Phoebe she wrote using “facilitated handwriting”:

“ NICE TO HAVE NEW HOPE TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE MYSELF.MY WISH IS TO BE ABLE TO HELP OTHERS BECAUSE MY LIFE IS VERY LOVING AND WILLING. MUCH NEED TO BE UNDERSTOOD. ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP ME SPEAK IS WANTED AND NEEDED. MUCH INTELLIGENCE INVITES HOPE. WISHING TO BE ABLE TO SHOW MYY KNOWING AND ATTRACT FRIENDS WHO EXPERIENCE HAPPINESS BECAUSE WE ARE TOGETHER IN SHARED THOUGHTS AND DREAMS. LOVE MY TIME WITH PHOEBE. I AM ABLE TO THINK DIFFERENTLY. IT RELAXES ME AND IT IS FUN. NEED MORE.”

It is with grateful hearts that we would recommend this center to anyone who needs alternative ways to learn and communicate. It only gets better as the days go on.

- Mary Ann A. and Katy H.