Brittany's Quest to Communicate
Donation protected
“I love you Mom and Dad”, I hear my daughter Brittany say as she walks out of the door with a group of friends. The door closes, the fogginess lifts, and I wake up from a dream I have often. I stare through the rain drops on the bedroom window and pray today will be the day: the day that Brittany will verbally speak her thoughts or be able to express her feelings. It’s a daily prayer for her mother and I.
Brittany Berry is sixteen years old, has severe Autism, and is non-verbal. She has little way to express her needs and wants. The lack of a way to communicate is a great frustration for Brittany every minute of her life: she will yell, scream, hit, pinch, kick, throw, laugh, cry, or simply cuddle to find a way to get her point across. The meltdowns caused because of the lack of a way for Brittany to truly communicate is a large, heartbreaking, stressor in our household.
In July, we have the opportunity to attend a RPM workshop with Brittany in Mentor, OH. For Three days, Brittany will have the opportunity to work with a top expert therapist in the RPM Field. Our hope is to expose Brittany to a way of effective communication to relieve the communication struggles she lives with with daily. We have always wanted to attend but the workshops have mainly been in Texas and not possible for us to attend for many reasons. When we saw this workshop pop up in OH we were so excited at the possibility of attending.
The Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) for Autism The rapid prompting method (RPM) is a prompting technique used by some parents and educators in an attempt to help their (often non-speaking) child or student with autism or other disabilities to communicate through pointing, typing or writing.
We are asking for help with the workshop fee and lodging while we are there. Unfortunately, anything dealing with special needs comes at a hefty price. We will be staying in an airbnb home while we are there which is actually much cheaper than a hotel suite. A home also allows us to not worry about upsetting other guests in a hotel as Brittany tends to scream when she is upset or stressed. We are also hoping that being in a house will limit her anxiety at bedtime since going to sleep is an issue in her own home. This will be our first attempt at traveling with her since she was around 3 years old. We will also be able to make all of our own meals which will cut down on our costs.
Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated!! Please share the word with those that you may know that would be willing to help. We need to make full payment by July 1.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Brittany Berry is sixteen years old, has severe Autism, and is non-verbal. She has little way to express her needs and wants. The lack of a way to communicate is a great frustration for Brittany every minute of her life: she will yell, scream, hit, pinch, kick, throw, laugh, cry, or simply cuddle to find a way to get her point across. The meltdowns caused because of the lack of a way for Brittany to truly communicate is a large, heartbreaking, stressor in our household.
In July, we have the opportunity to attend a RPM workshop with Brittany in Mentor, OH. For Three days, Brittany will have the opportunity to work with a top expert therapist in the RPM Field. Our hope is to expose Brittany to a way of effective communication to relieve the communication struggles she lives with with daily. We have always wanted to attend but the workshops have mainly been in Texas and not possible for us to attend for many reasons. When we saw this workshop pop up in OH we were so excited at the possibility of attending.
The Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) for Autism The rapid prompting method (RPM) is a prompting technique used by some parents and educators in an attempt to help their (often non-speaking) child or student with autism or other disabilities to communicate through pointing, typing or writing.
We are asking for help with the workshop fee and lodging while we are there. Unfortunately, anything dealing with special needs comes at a hefty price. We will be staying in an airbnb home while we are there which is actually much cheaper than a hotel suite. A home also allows us to not worry about upsetting other guests in a hotel as Brittany tends to scream when she is upset or stressed. We are also hoping that being in a house will limit her anxiety at bedtime since going to sleep is an issue in her own home. This will be our first attempt at traveling with her since she was around 3 years old. We will also be able to make all of our own meals which will cut down on our costs.
Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated!! Please share the word with those that you may know that would be willing to help. We need to make full payment by July 1.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Organizer
Tammy Ginder Berry
Organizer
Fort Wayne, IN
