ABSTRACT
This article reveals through personal narrative that be detrimental to women’s mental health, considering that communication impairments are the least amenable to medical treatments (Baker, 1983; Baker, Stump, Nyberg & Conti, 1991). Speech therapists contend that with enough therapy I won’t need a device. While speech therapy has its place, exhausting therapy does not enhance life (Sacks, 1989). After many years of therapy I have plateaued without meeting speech standards and still face stigmatization from society (Van Riper, 1972). Therefore, it has become clear that I need technological intervention to improve the communicative quality of my life (Hahn, 1991). Extending augmentative communication devices to other verbally-impaired women will mean discovering new ways to solve old problems, i.e., giving women more choices in determining whether to use technology for their communication difficulties (Scherer & McKee, 1990). This self-determination is in contrast to the medical profession making choices for them (American Speech and Hearing Association, 1991).
