Can a person have a Free laptop with speech therapy

Question

I know a person who is 5 and has a disability of speech therpy and i would like to help him by. Maybe finding out to gain access to a free laptop or PC and internet in the hone to help him learn and support his disability. Can any 1 help me with number or websites of any kind or telling me were i can go localy.

I just want to help that person.

Sorry for any spelling mistakes

Answer 1

I'd buy it for them if I had the money!!!

Answer 2

First of all I need to provide a little bit of education.  Speech and language therapy is what a individual receives when they have a type of communication disorder.  Speech therapy is not a disability BUT articulation, language, voice, and fluency disorders are types of speech and language disorders.  If this child is receiving therapy, is he getting it through a private clinic or public school?  Why is he receiving therapy?  Is he nonverbal or difficult to understand?  If he is in public school and is having trouble verbally expressing messages, then he could get an Alternative and Augmentative Communication evaluation through the local school district's Assistive Technology Team.  They can provide a voice output device (similar to a computer) that will help this young man express his thoughts, needs, and wants.  If you are actually wanting a computer to help him learn vocabulary, grammar, concepts, and critical thinking skills you could purchase a refurbished/used laptop from Dell, Apple, or other local computer retail dealer.  If this child has other disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism, etc... then you may be able to get some assistance through Medicaid (if the child has Medicaid) or through your state's Assistive Technology program.  The child will still have to have some type of evaluation by a Speech/Language Pathologist and an Occupational Therapist to determine what kind of technology would best meet his needs.  This would be an outside AAC or AT evaluation (or done as a school evaluation if he is in school).  There are plenty of funding resources but you will have to have a medical diagnosis and the AAC/AT evaluation in order to qualify for the funding.  Each state is different.  You may e-mail me if you have further questions.

Answer 3

I'm not sure how to go about this to provide these in the home, but for school the parents  can request the childs school to provide this, but it will be very hard since most schools in US are very corrupt with special education.

Schools only have to provide this if a child is in special ed, and even then it's very hard to get them to provide it.

Go to this message board, you'll get lots of help there --

http://www.millermom.proboards107.com/in...

Answer 4

My son has issues with speech some issues with developmental delay. At one time, the school and I considered a laptop-like machine to assist with schoolwork, but in the end decided it was going to create more problems in our case.

At 5, you are probably preparing for school.  Have you had an early intervention specialist evaluate him yet?  I would contact your school about that asap if he's going into kindergarten this year. They will schedule speech therapy and write up a special education plan (IEP) just for him.  If he qualifies, the school system may even provide him a laptop if there is proof that he needs it.  The machine we were considering wasn't a traditional laptop, and it was called an Alphasmart.