A Pandemic Is Scary. Even Scarier Without A Voice.

The pandemic has caused a lot of changes, especially to the way Variety reaches eligible kids and distributes equipment. However, as soon as these changes needed to be implemented in March, we got to work and we haven’t stopped since, especially to provide kids with a voice.

I hope you can take a few moments to read some recent stories of how we are changing the lives of our kids and their families through THE GIFT OF COMMUNICATION!

Presley’s New Voice

Presley’s family told us what this device would mean, “A communication device will help Presley by aiding her to express her needs more clearly and helping our family to better understand her so that we may meet these needs to the best of our ability. We also feel that the device will help Presley learn new vocabulary and apply it in situations in which she might otherwise not be able to.”

John Immediately Asked For A Drink!

His SLP, Lucy shared, “John’s device was delivered today. John and his mom were both very excited!  He told her ‘drink’- went to get a drink container from the fridge, and then said ‘please drink’ on the device.  We were both so happy!!  Above is a picture of him with his drink!”

A Device Allows Eli to be Heard & Understood

Eli’s SLP, Katie told us, “Elijah will be delighted to be able to communicate with his family. He gets very frustrated when trying to let us know what he needs. He is a very friendly person and loves to interact with us and I believe this device will enable him request what he wants without us having to narrow down what he is requesting.”

What do you think Aiden requested first with his device?

You’ll love what Aiden’s SLP, Jennifer shared with us, “After only a few minutes of me demonstrating with mom and giving her instructions, Aiden spontaneously approached the device and requested to “go” and when asked where… he requested “trampoline”.  So of course, we went outside and he was happy as can be. On behalf of his family… thank you so much for the gift of voice for Aiden.”

THANK YOU for sharing in these special moments and being part of Variety’s team.