EVAN’S STORY

Would you trade a dream for a blessing?

No two are the same

Pitching mechanics are like a puzzle with a thousand pieces. Figuring out how they fit together - replacing the ones that don’t, with ones that do - is how you maximize a player's potential.

The key is understanding that each individual is a unique puzzle.

No two are the same.

Little did I know then, how my dream was preparing me for my blessing.

The blessing

I was coaching baseball long before the birth of my youngest son Evan in August 2010. I had no idea how one would be forever linked to the other.

Evan is nonverbal and on the Autism Spectrum. He is also the sweetest, most peaceful child you'll ever meet.

I am no physician, I’m not a teacher, a speech therapist, or any kind of expert in the field of Autism. I’m just a father who loves and wants what’s best for his son.

Evan as a baby, holding a bottle

His story began like that of any child. Through twelve to sixteen months, Evan hit every milestone on time or early. And then something changed. Evan began to regress. After starting to say Mama and Dada and happily playing with his toys, his attempts to speak began fading away.

By his second birthday, the patterns were clearer, and the diagnosis soon followed: Autism Spectrum Disorder, fine motor skill delays, and nonverbal.

We did not understand what was truly blocking him until Evan was seven. That was when Childhood Apraxia of Speech came into sharp focus. His mind knew exactly what he wanted to say, but the neurological signal simply could not travel from his brain to his vocal cords.

That led to his first dedicated AAC device: an iPad running LAMP Words for Life. I want to be unambiguous: that device worked. It taught a small boy that words exist, that they carry meaning, and that they can be combined. Every therapist who worked with him has our lifelong gratitude.

We use a puzzle piece to signify their struggle.

The great contradiction of special education is that we write "Individualized" plans, but then we force compliance through standardized assessments.

We say autism is NOT a one-size-fits-all diagnosis, yet we use a rigid and limited set of tools to help.

There are 10,800 minutes in a week but somehow, we think 30 minutes will lead to significant progress helping a nonverbal child speak.

The wall

I spent a year homeschooling Evan. He had hit a wall, we had not seen any significant progress in 2 or 3 years.

Over time, he used it less and less and only when we insisted. He was back to pointing to communicate his needs.

And then, one day, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I saw the pained expression as he clicked each button, opening screen after screen to find a single word, only to be sent back to the home screen to start the process all over again to find the next word. The same screen, same visual cues, same navigation since 4th grade. He was 15 now, preparing to return to school for 11th grade.

I asked myself what I would do if I had to repeat the same exact thing over and over again every day of my life for 5, 6, 7 years... The answer was clear.

I would have smashed that iPad - years ago.

But what if it were you?

What if YOU were locked inside yourself, unable to effectively communicate? What if YOU knew your alphabet since pre-school, but because you could not display it the way you are being asked to, you are subjected to the same exercise day in and day out, week after week, month after month? What would you do?

I can only see two paths: frustration that leads to outbursts, or withdrawal.

I became his student

It was in this moment, I decided to stop trying to be his teacher and I became his student. I decided we have this all backwards. It is on us, not them, to find a way to unlock the knowledge and gifts trapped inside them.

It is up to us to MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE.

Who says I have to follow everyone else? Why can't I make it up as I go until I find what my son responds to? Why can't I invent a new approach? After all, who spends more time with my son than me?

What we built

In creating and developing myEZvoice and EZspeak, I am simply stepping out on faith.

I went into the lab and built a system that put his real-world phrases one tap away, while keeping the traditional sentence builder and speller underneath for new thoughts. I loaded photos of his actual family, his actual meals, and real rooms in our home.

Then came the evening I knew everything had changed. I had shown Evan the prototype only two or three times. As I worked at my desk, Evan walked up unprompted, took my phone, opened the app, scrolled straight to the TV section, tapped Netflix, and selected the exact show he wanted to watch.

Sixteen years, and that had never happened. Nobody cued him.
myEZvoice home screen on a phonemyEZvoice, the speaking app for a teenager’s own phone
EZspeak home screen on a tabletEZspeak, a modernized AAC device for children ages 4 and up

See the app →

Gifts beyond words

Well, I thank God it is me. And I live my blessing every day of my life.

My son has gifts beyond words, even beyond comprehension. I have seen him do things I cannot explain.

Evan today, smiling, with a rainbow behind him

I've watched as students chant his name when he walks up to get an award at school. I have sat and watched teachers tear up at the unexpected way he influenced their classroom.

And that's the missing puzzle piece none of us see, despite it being right in front of our face. We are ALL different. Every single one of us is unique in our own way.

Can you say the same?
Evan and Frank on a balcony over the beach at sunset

God let me touch a dream, so I could live my blessing.

When will we finally learn to stop trying to teach them, and start being their students?

I'm the lucky one.

See What Evan Guided Us to Build

See the app in a short narrated demo.

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