Unlike many of us, 15-year-old Brad Flewell has never been able to take the ability to speak for granted. Because of his cerebral palsy, he was not able to speak clearly until he found a gadget called DynaVox.
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The DynaVox is a speech generating device that allows people with conditions like cerebral palsy, autism, ALS, stroke, or brain injury to make meaningful connections with the world around them. Users are able to type in a sentence and a voice speaks it for them.
Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns ipod “Brad has never been able to use his own voice,” said educational assistant Darlene Crawley. “This had enabled him to be an active participant in the classroom, be out and order food for himself; he is able to write his own journal, which he was never able to do before. Back in January, he didn’t even know there needed to be space in between words, now he is writing letters.”
Brad’s first words, “Hi grandma,” were spoken through an artificial voice that has now become associated with him.
Because he has restrictive ability to move his muscles, he uses the side of his head to hit a little yellow button attached to his wheelchair to select the letters and type the words. Once the sentence is complete, he hits the yellow button again to select “Speak” and he is able to say it out loud.
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Brad was even able to give a speech and introduce his class at his Grade 9 graduation. While he was openly preparing his speech for weeks, the school had a surprise for him. The Grade 9 students went through three rounds of fundraising to help Flewell get an extra part for his DynaVox instead of using an on-loan one.
