I am in rural Minnesota--where most would close if they charged as much as your other post stated. Many even have scholarships.

Sorry it has been so long! Our local district is really bad--we quit the speech they offered because it seemed only to frustrate us more. We felt like we were having better results with medical speech therapy--but insurance quit paying when he didn't improve. I have found the SLP we used before--now, she is almost an hour away--but said she could evaluate him and perhaps he would qualify for at least awhile. Anyway, our school district kept suggesting our SLP was going about it the wrong way--and while he never learned to speak, we did find he tried harder with her methods (even at home), and he was more frustrated at the school. The other thing was that at the school, they told us he should NOT be using an AAP of any kind at the other therapy--but were using it with him themselves. They also said he should not get to use games to learn, but the day I quit taking him there, she was showing me the games she used for other kids to learn. Really weird. We did purchase a new (cough, cough!!) iPad. Need suggestions for what apps to add. We cannot afford the expensive ones yet, but should be able to in a couple of months. I have "Reading Really Rocks"--and while my ASL sign-language interpreter friend talked it up, I felt it was a bit "meh". But, in the defense of the program, it might be my child isn't at the exact level of learning or intellect.

I cannot find a link to sample pages--can anybody help me? I need to buy math but not without seeing it.

Thanks for your suggestions, people! I do appreciate it. I have used the PECS for my other disabled child (who is NOT non-verbal, but very low-functioning autistic). I like the idea--we even had them in the shower so that he could know the order of washing. However, my concern with them is that they aren't always fast enough--and having to flip through boards to find the pictures to communicate more than just one word. But I see they can be useful in some situations. My friend is an ASL interpreter (and also adopted an older child--he was 11 and deaf. He had received a cochlear implant while in the orphanage in south America, but money was donated only to implant, and has never been "activated" (I sound dumb, but my point is that he has never used it to hear), and they had nobody who knew ASL or how to help him after it was implanted). She has suggested to teach him sign language, but to understand that the ASL word order is different than English and doesn't use many of the words we use to complete sentences--it is based more on deducing what the "speaker" of the ASL meant by the way it was phrased. So my son signs in ASL "speak", but understands complete phrasing of English language. Am I making this understandable? I think I use too many words and confuse things. LOL. I appreciate the ideas. I don't know anything about any AAC consultants helping us. I believe the gal who sold us the Dynavox Maestro was from 2 hours away, and did this on the side because she was pregnant and not wanting to work full-time. It felt actually kind of sketchy in retrospect. Ha ha. So to find a consult, would they only be people selling them? I honestly prefer not to get another, but to maybe use apps on the PC or iPad. I will look into the suggestions you all offered. It is nice to find helpful people here. :)

I probably didn't give enough information--I apologize. I still appreciate all the ideas here! He is currently unable to write--although he pretends to do so. We have tried 'writing" letters in pudding, sand, etc. He also has fine motor issues, so struggles with it--but he sure tries and has the willingness. When he was in speech, we did get his insurance to buy him a Dynavox. Unfortunately, the speech therapist who pushed hard for it was a temp, the other came back, and we each struggled for hours trying to find ways my son could use it most effectively. It ended up being a $4500 toy. We didn't get any support for the rep who convinced the temp therapist that this was THE remedy for all the worries of the world (sigh). I plan to try YouTube for ideas on how to use it for him--but even the regular speech therapist said it wasn't something likely for him to use until he could read. Some of the ideas for it were that he could sweep to each page to find the picture to define what he wanted--but ASL was faster and less frustrating. I don't want to use it in the tub when he wants to ask "questions" there--LOL. The current model may be obsolete--I think ours is 5 or 6 years old. The frustrating thing was the rep kept saying how it would help with speech, but we felt it was more conducive to an older, spelling mind than a late toddler. And the rep was pretty non-existent after we got the machine. She never answered calls our SLP would make to her for help. We have an old iPad--with not much storage for apps, but any suggestions for apps for him? Most I find are pretty "babyish" for him--in that he gets bored so fast with them. I am willing to actually BUY apps (ha ha!) if I can find some that can be used on our old iPad. I agree with Hive Mind Queen Bee, in that I'd rather invest in that than any other kind of Dynavox sort of device that has more limitations. Our son has random diagnoses--main one being FAS, but that doesn't really completely explain everything. His birth parents were 12 and 14, and siblings who admitted to getting drunk about 5 times a week, and using street drugs. He also has Rubinstein-Taybi. He is unable to use a toilet--although with a LOT of prompting, he can sometimes squirt in there. He has chronic constipation--he may not eliminate for 12 or 13 days (yes, he has been seen by every specialist, and all only recommend Miralax--which caused HUGE mania in him, and didn't work, anyway). He began puberty at age 6 (he is 9 now). He is likely to be ADHD and autistic, but who cares at this point? But he is beautiful, and usually kind, and super stubborn to get his needs met, which I consider a huge benefit.

I am sorry if this has been discussed, but I am new to the board and haven't seen this topic. I have homeschooled for over 20 years, but not classically. We plan to start that this fall. That alone is going to be hard because due to two disabled children, my "neurotypicals" have been allowed (by me, my fault entirely) to slack, after I was too easily influenced by unschoolers I know. That is NOT the lifestyle that is going to be working for us. A totally different thread. My biggest issue is that our 9 year old is disabled in several ways, one being non-verbal. He is willing to sit and listen to reading, and signs (somewhat) that he wants to learn to speak and read so that he can become a cop or priest (LOL!). He no longer receives any services, as insurance cut him off because he never improved. I admit I haven't had him re-evaluated in a few years (honestly, our home life and school life was suffering from so many appointments!). At any rate, we are very rural, and would like to figure out suggestions about teaching him reading. I have just recentlyl started the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"--which he actually loved but is unable to speak the sounds. This throws me for a loop--how do I know he "gets" the sounds they are to make? I read to teach just sight words--so far he can pick out his name, Xbox and Wii U (LOL--I know!) from a pile of printed-from-the-computer cards I made of words that would be familiar to him. I am totally unsure what to even do--but sending him to the pathetic district school isn't an option.

I joke that it feels like a MLM homeschool. When I hear how people try to drag you in so they make money teaching your child and don't have to pay to teach their own--seems sketchy. One person in an area group is really scattered and poor at teaching--and was teaching ONE YEAR to get it cheap or free for her kids. She tried to get people to buy in and some did, but I feel like as homeschool moms, it would be fine to buy their products but feels weird to be charged so much--and then the materials become obsolete. Having said that, a new gal I met is starting a group up--teaching only so that she can get like-minded moms and families involved so her kids have friends. She will probably be an awesome teacher--but the whole thing still goes against my grain. Perhaps I am the problem, though. I found that the cost for my oldest to be in the teen group was the same as a parochial school around here. Ha ha.