I have FINALLY decided to start teaching Lahksa to use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) buttons! I wanted to document the journey from the beginning so it will 1) keep me accountable and not give up 2) be nice to see how the whole journey develops. I will be documenting Lahksa’s journey through videos and also blog posts.
So why did it start this journey?
In June 2020, I came across Bunny, a dog that talks through these recordable buttons, on tiktok. It was amazing to see her communicate with her owner. I talk lots to Lahksa and he does respond in his own way but I wanted to be able to communicate more especially when he meows to ask for something, which he does very often. But because Bunny is a dog and Lahksa is a cat, I was not too convinced that Lahksa, a cat could do it. So I shelved the idea, but in the back of my mind I said I will do it one day! Then in July, someone one Instagram shared with me BilliSpeaks, a cat that has learnt to use these buttons!!! I was so excited and now am convinced that Lahksa would be able to do it too so I placed an order on Amazon that some day. Plus Amazon.nl just opened, so it was easy now to get the same buttons!
This is our journey so far:
I placed my order on the 8th of July and the delivery was expected on the 13th. However on the 13th I received an email to say that it was delayed and is now expected to arrive on the 18th. The 18th came, still no package and the status on Amazon said to ask for a refund if this happened. But thankfully on the 20th it arrived!
From the 8th to the 20th, while waiting for my buttons to arrive, I started talking to Lahksa more consciously. Repeating words and being consistent in my use of words with him. I also tried to verbalise actions and emotions that he might be doing or expressing.
Now the buttons are here, it is time to start working on the use of the buttons! Below is a short video of our first day with the buttons.
If you are interested to know more, here are some resources I used:
HungerforWords – Christina Hunger, a speech-language pathologist, that started this movement.
Theycantalk.org – A community-generated site dedicated to helping people teach learners to communicate using sound board Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices, inspired by the work of Christina Hunger.
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