About Us
Prentke Romich Company (PRC) is the worldwide leader in the development
and manufacture of augmentative communication devices, computer access products,
and other assistive technology for people with severe disabilities.
Located in Wooster, Ohio, PRC has representatives throughout the
United States and the world to provide the best customer support in the industry.
- Mission: To help people with disabilities achieve their potential in educational,
vocational, and personal pursuits.
- Method: By providing quality language and assistive technology products
and services to people with disabilities, their families and professionals.
- Manner: By treating each person with whom we interact with the highest
respect.
Our mission started in 1964 when Barry Romich, a freshman engineering
student, met Ed Prentke, an engineer at Highland View Hospital in Cleveland,
Ohio. Partnership papers were drawn up and Prentke Romich Company was formed
in 1967. In 1969, we produced our first communication device, a typing system
based on a discarded Teletype machine.
We began working with Bruce Baker in 1981. Bruce introduced Minspeak,
a new concept for coding vocabulary in communication devices. The first Minspeak
system (Minspeak 1) was introduced in 1982. The TouchTalker and LightTalker
were developed in 1984 and retired more than 10 years later. The Liberator was
introduced in 1991 and also retired 10 years later.
In 1995, strategies for standardizing the vocabulary evolved through
the development of Unity. This is now the foundation for vocabulary in all of
our products.
In the year 2000, Prentke Romich Company remained the leader in
providing augmentative and alternative communication systems by releasing Pathfinder,
which features a static keyboard plus a color dynamic display for a new generation
of augmentative communication solutions. In 2001, PRC continued to meet the
challenge with the release of Vantage bringing a dynamic choice for powerful
language and portable design. The enhanced operating system makes Vantage easy
to customize and support. SpringBoard was introduced in 2002 as our most versatile
and easy to implement device featuring the same dependable operating system
as Vantage.
In 2003, the newly re-designed Vanguard II was released featuring
synthesized and digitized speech, computer emulation, infrared environmental
controls, and an integrated headpointing system making the device an excellent
option for both children beginning with AAC and adults with acquired disabilities.
For nearly four decades, Prentke Romich Company has developed
products that help people with disabilities communicate and gain independence.
Today we proudly serve the AAC community with a complete line of AAC devices:
Pathfinder, Vanguard, Vantage and SpringBoard.
