Caitlyn is a strong-minded and insightful teenager who has made excellent progress in the last year. Caitlyn used to see her communication systems as something she could use to get what she wants. This was incredibly powerful for her but didn’t allow her to connect with others in the way that she wanted. After a great deal of determination and hard work, she now sees her device as her voice.
Caitlyn has always wanted to connect with others. However, it has taken her some time to understand and learn how to use her communication system to match her internal thoughts and how she wanted to interact with her world. She can talk more about the things she loves and why she loves them, which are her photos, videos, and toys at home. She can have a conversation, ask questions of her friends, and tell them what she thinks about their new haircut (she thought her friend’s new haircut was beautiful, by the way). She is also able to argue extensively about things she’s passionate about, such as wagging school and getting out of class assignments. However, this is not the extent of her achievements! Now that she sees her device as her voice, Caitlyn can have richer and more varied conversations and relationships with the people in her life.
After a great deal of persistence from Caitlyn and her support network, she is now able to use her voice to say all the things she has really wanted to say.