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Dynavox and Tobii Merger FAQ Other News • We have a local LinkedIn Page! Visit Kentucky and Southern Indiana AAC to post questions, connect with other professionals, and have quick access to updates I will regularly post • Compass For Professionals is now available to students! By using your NSSLHA number you can create an account on the www.mydynavox.com website and can then download our App once your account is approved. • Office Hours are here! Every Friday from 10am2pm EST our Headquarters speech team is available Here for Compass Professional subscribers to ask questions and help you learn! • Upcoming Web Classes – Free! June 19 th , Core Word Lesson Plans June 24 th , Implementing Compass Communication Tools • Background on the excerpt > As a parent of a child with autism, Randy Lewis was told the limitations his son would have throughout life and the things he would “never be able to do” After seeing how his son kept progressing, he realized we underestimate the abilities and contributions people can make and vowed to change that view His recent book chronicles this journey and is meant to inspire change June 12 th , 2014 Ben Henry Cell: 5024752030 Email: [email protected] “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud” ~Maya Angelou What does this mean to the customers? This is great news for all DynaVox and Tobii customers. First, as one company, we will be stronger than ever, with access to world-class researchers, clinicians, engineers, designers, and innovators that will allow us to support our customers even more. Second, over time our customers will witness the integration of both companies’ expertise in AAC and assistive technology, benefitting from the vast advancements and brand new innovation that result. How does this affect the funding process? It doesn’t. Customers from both companies will still have full access to our broad range of provider agreements and payer contracts, and will most likely see an expansion of the existing payer network. Please stay in touch with your current Dynavox or Tobii funding representative for any updates as neither company will share responsibilities in the funding process for now. Will my current device still be supported? Yes. Both DynaVox and Tobii will continue to offer support of all current devices listed on our websites. Please continue to seek support from the company that provided your product or device. To view additional FAQs, please click here . Also, if you have any questions that we have not answered, we encourage you to call our customer support team at 1-800-344-1778. This is a very exciting time for both companies and we are happy that you are here to be a part of it. You have always believed in us and we can’t wait to share the next chapter with you. Stay tuned...amazing things are coming! An Excerpt From: “No Greatness Without Goodness” by Randy Lewis “This was the chance I'd been waiting for. Why couldn't we build this super center in such a way that people with disabilities would be able to perform as well as anyone in the world? I believed we could and that we could do it at no additional cost. As the dream grew, I began to believe we could hire not just a few people with disabilities but lots of them. We began to believe we could do something that had never been done: one-third of the workforce, 200 people with disabilities working side-by-side, performing the same jobs, held to the same standards, earning the same pay. And if we were successful, we promised, we would open our doors to the world and give away everything we've learned. Employing people with disabilities unleashed a tremendous source of creativity – the kind that can only come from a lifetime of having to learn how to do things differently because you can't do things like everyone else. Everyone benefited, not just people with disabilities. We learned a lot about employing people with disabilities effectively. More importantly, we learned a lot as leaders and we learned a lot about ourselves. We found that we were all better people than we thought we were – more resourceful and more compassionate, more willing to work together and more intent on bringing out the best in all of us. This was a success because it tapped into that deep longing in each of us to become part of something bigger than ourselves and to leave the world a better place. That inborn desire is a great force just waiting to be set free. Not only in private life but in the work world. And as this story shows, business can do good and be profitable too. Although the circumstances of our lives differ, I am more convinced than ever that we all underestimate our own abilities in making a difference. All that's needed is for people who want to do good to step forward. Others are waiting join in. I have only one regret: that I didn't start trying to change the world sooner.” *Randy Lewis is a Senior Vice President with Walgreens. *More than 40% of the people employed at the new distribution center currently have a physical or cognitive disability.
