Photo by Charlene Corson Selbee
If you’re not, you should be following 25-year-old influencer, Lydia Grace Dawley. It is a lot of work to become a recognizable influencer, but Dawley is a natural influencer and makes it look easy. Google her name, and you will see entry after entry of what she has been up to since she moved from Winneshiek County.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary describes an influencer as one who exerts influence: a person who inspires or guides the actions of others.
Dawley exhibits all five of the characteristics of an influencer as described by www.insighssuccess.com in the article “5 Characteristics of an Influencer who others turn to for opinions.” Influencers are trustworthy, bold and assertive, creative, a people person, and responsible.
As a loyal follower of Dawley’s, the 1971 song “I am Woman” by Helen Reddy comes to mind:
If I have to,
I can do anything.
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
Photo submitted
After graduating from Decorah High School in 2015, Dawley attended college at the University of Wisconsin (UW) – Whitewater. Dawley earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with a specialty in Communication Sciences and Disorders. In May of 2020, Dawley graduated from UW.
Photo submitted
Dawley is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Click. Speak. Connect. a company she founded. She is also the company’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Interaction specialist/consultant.
Dawley explains that there are two parts to the business, “One is my consulting business. I consult with speech-language pathologists, teachers, parents, and clients in access methods, faster access, device experiences to help learn new apps, and language skills related to Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Also, I do sessions with children who talk with communication devices. We practice social skills to improve their confidence with their devices. The other side of Click. Speak. Connect. We are launching a new product called NadPen. A NadPen is a stylus device adapted for multiple grips, with an interchangeable tip for manipulation of any mobile device.”
Dawley continued, “I called it NadPen because the letters, NAD, are the initials of my dad’s name, Nathan Arthur Dawley. On November 5, 2017, my dad passed away from a heart attack. So by doing this, I want to carry on his legacy with my brother.”
Noting where the idea of the NadPen came from, Dawley shared, “I came up with the stylus because I can’t use the other styluses since I have cerebral palsy. I push down so hard that I would tear the rubber off the other styluses.
“I designed the NadPen, which is thicker to hang on to so that your hand doesn’t slide down. I also designed the NadPen that has a bigger end on it, and it is more secure and easier to press down to select. The NadPen has a wrist strap, so the user doesn’t have to worry about dropping it and picking it back up.” The stylus works with any mobile device.
Dawley met her engineer in Madison. He checked my website out and emailed her, saying he would love to help her. They have been working together since October. After running a small production of 75 NadPens, she will have her manufacturing company produce them.
The interview for this article was conducted via Zoom in order to see Dawley use the stylus. She was using a pink stylus, which is her favorite color. The stylus comes in other colors, black, blue, and purple, but Dawley hopes to eventually offer all colors.
Dawley has not yet applied for a patent, which is very expensive.
There have been about 40 NadPens sold since January 10. The basic NadPens costs $25.00, the finger grip, which people can hang on with their finger is $10.00, and the T-Handle, which people can grasp differently with their hand, is $10.00.
To get started, Dawley raised $10,000 on Kick-Starter, where people donated to help her get started.
Regarding the future, Dawley shared, “I have a lot of goals. One of my goals is that the NadPen is available to the whole world for anyone with any type of need. NadPen can help with successful communication. Another goal is to open my own clinic someday where people with disabilities can come to get help finding their voice. Whether it is using an AAC device or not. I would hire others with disabilities, and my plan is that Click. Speak. Connect. would become part of that business.
“I have always wanted to do stuff because I want to show the world that people with disabilities can do anything that they might do it differently.”
Being independent is important to Dawley thanks to the values modeled by her family and their continuous support. Dawley shared that she would like to live in Arizona where it is warmer, which might be more than her mom expected, who thinks Arizona is too far away.
Follow Lydia Grace on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Her company web address is www.clickspeakconnect.com/nadpen/ where you can buy your own NadPen.