Interview with the President of Dynavox

I finished typing up all of my questions tonight for the initial interviews in Google Forms.

http://www.theautismlife.com/interviews/interview.joe.swenson.dynavox/
I came across this awesome interview that really gave some great ideas and insight into what the company does and understands about its own product. These are all quotes of the President Joe Swenson.

"The AAC market is so small, that it’s very expensive to provide direct sales consultant coverage across the USA. We know that less than 10% of the children who would benefit from a DynaVox-like device ever get a device, and for the adult population, the penetration is even worse."

"The device has the flexibility and power to grow with the individual for years."

Key V Features:

· Rate Enhancement Features

· InterAACT page-sets – supporting both language use & literacy with a solid framework, structure & vocabulary

· AT&T Natural Voices

· Forward-firing speakers with increased output

· Email (free DynaVox account)

· Text messaging (via Bluetooth)

· Internet Access

· Environmental Control

· Drag-n-Drop Editing

· Boardmaker Bridge
· Digital Image, Video & Sound Import

· Speaking Dynamically Pro Included

· On-Device How-To Video Tutorials

"More recently, that age had dropped to 3 or 4. Janice Light's research has demonstrated success using high tech AAC with kids as young as 9 or 10 months. There is no upper age limit either."

"One mistake is starting to program the device without having a clear idea of the end goal. This can result in more work (programming and then reprogramming or programming something that already exists somewhere else on the device) and pages that are not organized well. A second mistake is spending too much time programming new vocabulary and not spending enough time teaching individuals how to use the vocabulary that is already on the device. A third mistake is not doing enough modeling with the device as a teaching strategy."

• We conduct training seminars called DynaVox University across the country for Speech Language Pathologists and Assistive Technology specialists
• The Yellow School Bus Tour has focused on training education professionals to the advantages of AAC
• We co-sponsor events across the country called a "Voice for Living" focused on families with a non-verbal loved one at home
• We have also been very aggressive in promoting AAC through our web-sites (I invite you to check out our website at dynavoxtech.com and watch the DynaVox testimonials).
• We are also involved in every major national and most state Assistive Technology Conferences
• Lastly, there is still no substitute for having local sales consultants across the country.
  

"One thing I have learned in the last five years if that it is the loving, but aggressive, parent that gets things done when it comes to getting an AAC device for a child. If I had a non-verbal child, I would demand to get a speech evaluation from my child’s school. If the school told me no, I’d keep pushing regardless. If I continued to run into roadblocks, I would have my child evaluated by a private Speech Language Pathologist that has experience with AAC and call DynaVox to ask for help in finding a funding source."

(1 hr, 15 minutes)