International AAC Awareness Information Center

2008 MANY STORIES ONE VOICE WRITING CONTEST

ONLINE COLLECTION

Orlaith Mangan, Age 13, Ireland

Click HERE to download the story in Microsoft Word

I am a single switch user. I wrote my story using a keyboard on my Dynavox. The Dynabeam puts the words from the Dynavox onto the CoWriter programme on the computer. My resource teacher helped me to structure the story and to fill in the top part of this form. All of the ideas and words in my story are mine. I put a lot of work into my story, I write about twenty words an hour.

Going to Secondary School!

Orlaith Mangan

My name is Orlaith, I am thirteen years old. I live in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. I live with my Mam and Dad and my two brothers, Ruairi and Cathal. I like to swing in my own special swing. I like the trampoline the best. I go to Girl Guides every Friday. My favourite thing is reading, I read at home and at school.

I am in sixth class in Saint Oliver’s National School. My teacher is Mister Lynch, he is lovely. I have a resource teacher, her name is Miss Chute she is lovely too. The principal of the school is Mister D’Arcy, I love him because he chats to me. Elizabeth works with me, she helps me with my Dynavox and with lots of things at school.

I am going to secondary school next September. I am excited about it. I have a Dynavox. I talk with my Dynavox. I write with my Dynavox and do my homework on it. I use it for telling people all about me and my family. I like to use my Dynavox to chat. My favourite thing is chatting to people. I talk to Mam and Dad about school. I tell my news to my teacher and Elizabeth most days. I read books on line and I need my Dynavox for that. It is fun to tell jokes from the jokes page! The most important thing I use my Dynavox for is for telling people when I need something. When I go to secondary school people will not know about a Dynavox, I will have to show them how I work it. This will be hard in the beginning but it will get easier after the people there learn about it too.

I hope to go to the Killarney Community College to make friends and learn new things. I want to do Geography and Art. I would like to do reading there also. I will have a new uniform too. I am really excited!

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