DynaVox Supports Speech-Language, Hearing Clinic

BUFFALO, N.Y -- Giving so that others can communicate, DynaVox Technologies has donated equipment and systems valued at nearly $116,000 to the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences in the University at Buffalo's College of Arts and Sciences.

The hardware and software will support UB's Center for Excellence in Augmented Communication (CEAC) in the areas of clinical practice, teaching and professional training, says Jeffery Higginbotham, Ph.D., center director and associate professor in the UB Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences.

"Without this gift from DynaVox, we would not be able to serve nearly as many clients as we do, nor offer as complete an educational opportunity," Higginbotham said. "Now we can provide hands-on, high-quality training for our graduate students, who will become the profession's leading practitioners."

The center trains speech-language pathologists, and each year serves many Western New Yorkers with a variety of complex communication needs due to laryngectomy, Asperger's syndrome, autism, traumatic brain injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

In addition to training students and serving individual clients, CEAC conducts research, hosts support groups, provides workshops for professionals and consults with area agencies.

"It's very exciting for us to share our technology with UB," said Joe Swenson, president and CEO of DynaVox Technologies. "Professor Higginbotham is a leading researcher and clinician in the field and his work not only benefits those in need, but it also advances the profession and provides companies like ours with feedback that leads to ever greater innovations."

Based in Pittsburgh, DynaVox Technologies is a privately held company that develops software and hardware technology to improve the quality of life for the nearly 4 million children and adults in the U.S. with severe speech disabilities.

For more information on the CEAC and its activities, call (716) 829-2795 ext. 633 or email ubceac@gmail.com. The Web site address is http://ubceac.org.

To learn more about DynaVox Technologies and its products, visit http://www.dynavoxtech.com or call 1-866-DYNAVOX.