In his world without words, 50-year-old Keith Cooper finds basic ways to communicate.

He uses sign language, for one thing, and he carries with him a "picture book" – a small manual filled with pictures of some of his wants and needs. Food, for example, or his need to take a rest from work.

He understands what people say to him, but like 24-year-old Justin Shimizu, he cannot speak.

Both are clients of InAlliance, a Sacramento nonprofit founded in 1952 to work with people with developmental disabilities and brain injuries – to train them and help them find employment and, more than that, to help them live fuller, more independent lives.

"We get a lot of clients with behavior problems," said Diana DeRodeff, InAlliance executive director. "Our philosophy is that behavior is based on communication needs.

"These guys can communicate. The dream is that certain behaviors will go away when they can say what it is they need."

What Shimizu needed during a recent interview was a break: He had been patient, but sitting still can be hard for him. So employment training specialist Koua Vang, who works one-on-one with Shimizu, took him for a quick walk around the InAlliance campus in south Sacramento.

Sign language does not work for Shimizu, nor the picture book. He grunts and smiles when he's pleased, and when he's not, or when he's had to sit for too long, he starts rocking and scratching at his arms.

But he's sharp, a hard worker who is dedicated to finding every last scrap of trash at his volunteer litter abatement job at Sacramento's Southside Park, and he regularly walks with people as part of an exercise program at the Samuel J. Pannell Meadowview Community Center.

Likewise, Cooper is personable and sweet, thrilled that he makes money working a few hours each week picking up trash at Regional Transit's Florin site. He's a devoted library volunteer as well as a music fan who loves to line dance at the Hart Senior Center.

"We want to tap into their minds and hearts and communicate with them," said Bill Carmazzi, InAlliance program director.

New technology can help.

Both Shimizu and Cooper have taken training sessions with the Communication Technology Education Center, learning to operate devices that can open a new world of communication for them. InAlliance representatives have asked Book of Dreams readers to help pay for the devices.

For Shimizu, that means an iPad specially outfitted with a program that allows him to touch picture-only icons that express his needs.

For Cooper, increased communication comes in the form of two devices, the GoTalk 20 and PenFriend, which verbalize his needs at a touch.

"Little by little, we can stand back and let them do things for themselves," said Steve Pierce, the employment training specialist who works one-on-one with Cooper.

Technology can let them speak for themselves at last.

"We're at the threshold of a breakthrough," Carmazzi said.

Needed: An iPad 2 with accessories for Shimizu; a GoTalk 20 and PenFriend for Cooper. Total: $1,000.

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