Dylan Dzikowski, left, of Jefferson Township, and his friend Jacob Hernishin of Baldwin, Allegheny County. Both are seniors at The Children's Institute in Pittsburgh and received Volunteer of the Year awards from the Jewish Aging Association for their efforts.

SAXONBURG — Don't tell Dylan Dzikowski that he can't achieve a goal or pursue a vocation just because his muscles refuse to cooperate with his brain.

“I think to myself, I can do that,” Dylan said with the help of the augmentative communication device attached to his adaptive wheelchair.

That can-do attitude earned Dylan, 21, who will graduate this school year from The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh, a Volunteer of the Year Award from the Jewish Association on Aging.

Dylan, who has cerebral palsy, has spent the last two years volunteering each Friday at the Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

There, he and other students from the Institute greeted visitors and new patients and interacted with them using the care services there.

Dylan's mom, Christen Turley, said he once used an iPad to communicate, but it was a long and laborious chore to stop the scanning cursor each time it came to a letter Dylan wanted to use to spell a word.

About a year ago, he got the Accent 1000, which recognizes the individual letter Dylan is choosing when his eye rests on it. After he chooses just a few letters, the device suggests words he might be spelling, and he can choose a word with his eyes.

When a sentence is formed, Dylan clicks a button just by looking at it and the sentence is read aloud by the device.

“Now that he has the Accent 1000, he's a talker,” Turley said.

Dylan, of Saxonburg, his friend Jacob Hernishin of Baldwin and one other Institute student received the awards from the Jewish Association on Aging at its annual meeting in November.

“I was ecstatic for him,” Turley said. “He never ceases to amaze me. It's a great accomplishment.”

She said the patients at Charles Morris will miss the three boys once they graduate.

“The residents there cannot wait until these boys come in on Fridays,” Turley said. “They just brighten up the rooms.”

Wendy Pardee, president and CEO at The Children's Institute, said Dylan had the opportunity to serve as an active participant in the community through the school's transition program.

“We appreciate our transition program partnership with the Jewish Association on Aging and are thrilled that they recognized the impact of Dylan's volunteer work at Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center,” Pardee said.

Lisa Paglia is the community-based instruction facilitator and job developer at the Institute's day school. She said community involvement is a huge part of the school's transition plan.

“We have been very fortunate that the surrounding community has been welcoming to have our students come and volunteer,” Paglia said.

She works closely with many individuals in the volunteer placement program who have collaborated with her as a team to make the students successful volunteers.

“We thank the Jewish Association on Aging for recognizing Dylan and our other students for their amazing work,” Paglia said.

Turley said Dylan is not sure what he will do once he graduates from The Children's Institute in the spring, but Jacob has an idea.

“Make money,” he said to the delight of his mother.

For now, Dylan, who enjoys watching wrestling on TV and attending heavy metal concerts, is grateful for the Volunteer of the Year award.

“I was excited,” he said through the Accent 1000.

He also enjoys his volunteer hours at the Charles Morris center.

“I meet new people,” he said.