When our beautiful son was born with cerebral palsy with communication and intellectual disabilities, we pursued many specialized programs for him. He never developed the ability to speak, read, write or walk independently and uses assistive technologies throughout his day. When he became an adult, I worried about how he could communicate to his caregivers that he was uncomfortable, bored or wanted to switch activities. Would his caregivers know how to use his high tech communication device?

We were extremely fortunate to have had support from many dedicated special educators, speech pathologists and occupational therapists when my son was in school. From them, we learned how to use pictures to support my son's understanding, choices and communication. We learned to use picture-based supports and augmentative alternative communication (AAC) aids, low tech to high tech to enable my son to communicate. Over the years, I've created hundreds of communication boards to help my non-verbal son communicate about his care needs and participate more actively in his life. As he aged out of school, we found there were no easy-to-access communication boards available that addressed grown-up situations.

From that knowledge and lived experience, Say it with Symbols was born in 2008. SayitwithSymbols.com is the only resource dedicated to providing easy to use communication boards appropriate for adults in care and community settings. My no tech, adult-appropriate picture communication books and boards can be used safely in any care setting.

Communicating is Caring

Communication enhances person-centered care and improves health outcomes. My products are used with adults and seniors who are recovering from temporary or long term speech disabilities. They are used by professional and family caregivers in nursing homes, rehab settings, hospice and home care. They help adults with aphasia from stroke, Parkinson's disease, dementia, brain and spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's as well as people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

All my products are created, printed and shipped in Massachusetts. You can find a wider selection of speech aids at SayitwithSymbols.com. Thanks for being a proactive caregiver.