Finding the Voice to be Heard

Jeff Winks reacts with delight at his increased ability to engage in conversation.

Finally feeling that he was being heard, Jeff Winks' life has changed dramatically through committed Mosaic staff members and the technology of an augmentative speech device.

Anxiety, combined with disability, made Winks, 25, withdraw from others, socialize infrequently and avoid personal interaction unless necessary. Staff members who worked with him, however, knew that he loved movies and music, and was a trivia buff so they set out to find a way to help him get past his anxiety and feel more comfortable with himself and others.

"One idea was to get Jeff involved in speech," said Elizabeth Grabowski, Direct Support Manager. "We believed that if he could communicate his wants and needs more easily, perhaps he would want to interact more often."

The idea was on target, as the initial consultation at Western Illinois University in 2008 proved. Meeting with two speech instructors, Winks became engaged in the process and surprised both the instructors and the Mosaic staff member who were there.

 "He flipped through the booklet that they held, and read all the questions back to them," Grabowski said. "All three of us were very surprised at what Jeff was already capable of."

After that, Winks began attending class two times a week and developed a good relationship with a teacher named Jordan. He was eager on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to "'go speak with Jordan," Grabowski said, and began speaking more and withdrawing less. At home, he began imitating people around him and making requests. Staff members found that the more his requests were honored and followed, the more he spoke.

At WIU, the speech department felt that Winks was a candidate for an augmentative speech device and incorporated it into his speech classes. He was successful with it and began taking it home. With the device he realized people no longer had to guess what he wanted, Grabowski said. An example of this was staff asking if he wanted to go eat at Pizza Hut, a usual favorite, and he responded, "No. I want my computer now." She said he turned on the device, typed in "Ponderosa," and burst into laughter.

"It was as if, for the first time in years, people were really hearing him, and really listening," she said.  The overall change in Winks' life is "enormous," Grabowski said. He now spends less time alone and more with his housemates and staff. He asks to go places and buy things, and asks for different foods, clothes to wear and even a changed routine for his shower. He also has learned to do things for himself more, instead of waiting for help.

Honoring his achievements, the speech team helped Winks get a device of his own and he is learning to program it. In addition to speech assistance, he uses it to listen to music and play games.

"His team is eager to see him continue to grow and develop, and surprise us with each new request he makes," Grabowski said.