The long-awaited first word
Pancevo, Serbia - Four-year-old Srna Staic is sitting on the living room sofa, surrounded by toys and a blue device that looks like a tablet. She keeps tapping on it determinedly and then turns to her mom smiling. This “blue device” is a Cboard Communicator that helped her start pronouncing understandable syllables for the first time. After using…, “ At one point she was upset, and I handed her the communicator and asked, ‘what do you want?’ Until then, Srna has never asked to eat. Those are huge things for children with a [ developmental ] problem ,” Ivana says emotionally. “ Every mother of a child with developmental disabilities can't wait for her child to start speaking and when it…, Srna Staic, 4, with the Cboard Communicator The Cboard Communicator, is a free app that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and installed on any Android tablet. It is used by children and adults with speech and language impairments, aiding communication with symbols and text-to-speech, in this case, into Serbian. Each family, together…, "Using assistive technology can be very useful and important for children at an early age. [Srna’s] parents were very successful in using the communicator because they used it, not only when working with experts during their sessions, but at home, every day, all day. [They used the communicator] when they were engaged in daily routines, during…, Srna and Natasa, her speech therapist, are working together. During a break in their game, Srna is clearly telling her mom words such as "moon", "baby", "to eat". Ivana says that she is quite sure that what helped Srna was starting to use the Communicator at an early age., “I think the right moment is crucial when it comes to children with developmental disabilities. But with them, sometimes, you don’t know what the right moment is. And sometimes it doesn't hurt to start something even much earlier because that right moment might come earlier”, Ivana believes., Ivana Marković, Srna's mom, with Srna while they are using the communicator Many children like Srna have difficulties developing communication and speaking skills. That is why UNICEF Serbia, in cooperation with partners, is developing and piloting the first Communicator in the Serbian language to support children. The Cboard Communicator, with…
Serbia
