When Joshua first came to the Little Light House, one of his favorite activities was to throw or push away anything placed near his hands. As you can probably imagine, this made presenting a communication device to him a little challenging. So, we put our heads together and decided to make a communication game out of toy throwing. Joshua would happily throw a toy, then use LAMP Words for Life® to request "more."

Before long, Joshua began to see that the device gave him power. Joshua started accepting his new voice, and not only did he not want to push it away, but he wanted it to be near him at all times.

Joshua’s parents were initially hesitant to consider using an AAC device with their son. They had a clear vision of their son waking and talking and were cautious about doing anything that might prevent this from happening.

Working closely as a team, we allowed Joshua to explore what worked and we guided his family to resources to help expand their knowledge about AAC. Pretty soon, Joshua's parents became believers and advocates for the power of AAC and LAMP Words for Life.

In 2018, Joshua was nominated to receive an iPad with the LAMP Words for Life app from a local organization called Ability Connections. We were so excited when he was awarded the AAC system! His private SLP took on the task of acquiring a ChatWrap and wheelchair mount, and provides ongoing support to Joshua and his family.

Joshua is an amazing little boy who has so much to share with the world. He and his family are so active in the Tulsa community and he always has his "voice" ready to ask for a "hug" or to make a comment about what he is experiencing.

The mission of The Little Light House is to glorify God by improving the quality of life for children with special needs, their families and their communities. We accomplish this mission by providing tuition-free educational and trans-disciplinary therapeutic services to children with special needs ages birth to six. We are a LAMP Words for Life Center of Excellence and are excited to help all of our students expand their communication skills!