A special thank you to Lost Barn Event Rentals for the gorgeous sunflower backdrop for our Staff Appreciation Day! We had so much fun taking photos in front of it. They provided a seamless set up and take down and were a joy to work with. Thank you! @lostbarnrentals #event #staffappreciationday #photobooth #thankyou #community #compassion #inclusion #respect #kitsapcounty #localbusiness (fb)

DJ is a 2 1/2-year-old child with Autism receiving various therapies from Holly Ridge Center, including ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and in-home sessions with his Speech-Language Pathologist. In his sessions, DJ was introduced to the innovative Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device (Quick Talker) which has made a huge difference in DJ's ability to communicate. "The thing that has been really cool with DJ is that as soon as we gave this to him (the “Quick Talker” AAC device), he started exploring it and figuring out how it worked. We learned that he knows so much more than we thought he did. We knew he was smart, we could tell from the way he interacted with the world, but he did not have a way of showing us a lot of what he knew." - Staci Imes, Holly Ridge Speech-Language Pathologist "When we got this device, we really saw a correlation with (DJ's) speech, with his pointing, and he started verbalizing a lot more. Being able to have this extension of communication, I believe, has given him a broader understanding of language. It's been absolutely a blessing to see his growth. It's been absolutely amazing." - D’Angelo, DJ’s Dad Learn more about DJ’s experience with AAC here: https://youtu.be/A-j9vPeGj0M?si=GbJnTpMXQ3EmMBeb #Autism #appliedbehavioranalysis #quicktalker #speechlanguagepathologist #communication #innovation #respect #inclusion #compassion #Autismawareness (fb)