2. DYNAVOX MAESTRO Terri Lloyd

3. The DynaVox Maestro is a speech generation device designed for children or adults with communication difficulties. Such conditions might include autism, ALS, cerebral palsy, stroke, or any other conditions that may impair speech.

4. The Maestro is lightweight, durable, and portable. It comes with a rechargeable battery. It has an easy to use touch screen but it is also compatible with many different types of alternate input devices including visual and auditory scanning, joystick, head mouse, Morse code, and more. The device may be customized to meet the needs of the user.

5. The Maestro comes with approximately 25,000 preloaded pages. Users may also create their own pages to match their personality or meet their specific needs.

6. The Maestro comes in two different configurations. The dedicated configuration meets the Medicare and private insurance specifications for speech generation devices. The standard configuration comes with a built-in camera, wi-fi, and bluetooth capabilities. It is basically a Windows 7 computer. It allows users to access the Internet, check e- mail, load music files, run Office suite software and more.

7. The cost of speech generation devices is often covered by Medicare or private insurance. There are also grants available to help cover the costs. Consequently, it was difficult to find a price for the device. According to Temple University Institute on Disabilities, the cost for the Maestro is $7,565. Due to the high costs of such devices, the state of Pennsylvania has an assistive technology lending library where a qualified user may try out a device before purchasing.

8. I believe the Maestro is a wonderful tool for those with communication difficulties. However, with the advancement of free and very low cost apps for i-pads, and other mobile devices, they may be pricing themselves out of the market in the very near future.

9. For More Information DynaVox Maestro http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/maestro Temple University Institute on Disabilities http://disabilities.temple.edu/programs/assistive/atlend/borrow.shtml