We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kendra Frank. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kendra below.
Kendra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
As I was taking my son to his well check-ups, I noticed that he was progressing through his height/weight checks but he was behind when it came to baby age related activities such as speech and forming sentences. He was not talking and daily activities were also difficult because I didn’t know what he wanted to eat or play with or what books he wanted to read. I trusted my instincts and I called my local Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) office and scheduled an evaluation for my son. My suspicions were confirmed after the evaluation when he was diagnosed as non-verbal. The two individuals were really great and helpful and recommended some websites and apps for me to look at. I started researching and found some basic apps that Elliott could use by pressing on pictures and the app would talk for him. One day, while at the zoo the iPad ran out of battery power and wouldn’t charge because it was too hot. When I got home i started doing some research and discovered the Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) boards. I started making personalized boards for Elliott but at the same time I discovered that these boards were almost non-existent at local businesses and local attractions such as the zoo and museums.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am just your every day mom motivated by my son to make the world he lives in more inclusive and accessible. I want this form of communication to be accepted like Braille or ASL not only for my son but for everyone who also has the same issues.
Through my journey, I have encountered many great individuals and parents that were not aware of what ECI can do or anything about AAC Boards and how that can help their child communicate. I decided to become an advocate and work with local businesses and attractions along with first responders and city officials to make them aware of the problem and to provide low cost solutions such as AAC boards.
So far we have successfully advocated for places to have their own AAC Communication Boards
1. Fort Worth Zoo
2. Dallas World Aquarium
3. Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
4. Keller ISD- Playground boards are very expensive because of material ($2,000+). I found an alternative way they could make them by printing on Vinyl and using zip ties to secure to the fence which would only cost $30 a board. Now all their elementaries have a playground communication board.
5. Keller Library
6. Fort Worth and Dallas Parks-added an accessibility page with a downloadable and printable Playground Communication Board-making all their city parks more accessible.
7. Inclusive Play Space in North Richland Hills- Colors of the Alphabet- I designed and made their Communication Board
I am currently working with:
Dallas Zoo
Perot Museum
Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Amon Carter Museum
Kimball Art Museum
Dickies Arena
UNT Mobile Pediatric Unit
Fort Worth Library
Fort Worth Fire
Hurst Library
Grapevine Library
Fort Worth Community Centers
DFW Airport
Before we visit places, I think of words my son might use at that location. I then check and make sure that the words are on his iPad and if not I add a button for him and upload a picture. I also create an ACC board that he can use which allows me to see if it is accurate and useful. I will then approach management and introduce myself and show them what I created specifically for their business.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When you are advocating for something that businesses and people are not familiar with it takes persistence, resilience and patience to overcome their doubts. You need to keep accurate notes of who you called and when so you can send follow up emails or make in person visits. There are several businesses that I have been attempting to contact and after a year they are finally starting to answer emails.
It is easy to feel dissuaded and deflated when people don’t see what you see and have the same passion and that is where the resilience comes from. You learn from each attempt and make adjustments so that your initial approach is shorter and simplified so you can plant the seed of curiosity
How did you build your audience on social media?
I started by accepting invites to vendor fair for autism and special needs. I would show examples of boards and projects that I was working on. I also noticed that many groups had banners with logos and websites so that is when I decided to try the same. I created a social media page specifically for Elliott’s Voice and I made business cards to hand out so they could reach me and follow me while I updated events and projects I was working on. I also posted different boards that I was working on so people could show their friends and colleagues and teachers could use in their classrooms. Word of mouth would pass and people would email me asking for advice and help
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliotts_voice
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558098462517
Image Credits
Kendra Frank