News & Tips

This AzTAP story continues our series highlighting loaner AT and the powerful services provided by State and Territory AT Act Programs.

A parent called the Arizona Assistive Technology Act Program, AzTAP, interested in borrowing an iPad for her six-year-old, “Sarah.” Sarah’s mom explained that her daughter has a developmental disability and difficulty with speech. Her iPad is her means of communication.

Her iPad was broken.

The good news was the state’s developmental disability organization would repair or replace her tablet. But in the meantime, Sarah’s mom was anxious. The iPad out for repair meant that her daughter no longer had access to the extensive customized vocabulary loaded onto her TouchChat communication app. She knew AzTAP could help her daughter with a loaner device as they waited, but she had no idea how to transfer her daughter’s vocabulary to a borrowed tablet.

At age six, Sarah was learning new words, what they meant, how to use them, and where to find them on the dynamic display of this robust communication software. Time away from her device meant not only limiting her communication and risking frustration, but also a loss of momentum to her learning and development.

Time is different when you are six years old. Weeks matter.

Short-term device loans are an important service of the State and Territory AT Act Programs and often they are provided with deep knowledge of how the equipment works or can work for their intended user. AzTAP assured Sarah’s family they would borrow an iPad that generates the same voice Sarah had grown accustomed to on her own equipment. The family was even more relieved to receive in-person technical support to transfer the backup of Sarah’s custom vocabulary!

If AT you rely on breaks or goes missing … don’t stop working your job, studying, communicating with friends and family, or accessing your community.

Find your State or Territory AT Act Program!

AzTAP device loans offer free round-trip shipping (or pickup from AzTAP’s office in Phoenix) for loan periods of two weeks at a time. There are also two Arizona loan program inventories: a device loan library serving students K-12, and a device loan library serving the general public.

Learn more about Speech Communication Technology – The What, When, Who and Why from AT3 Center.