November 12, 2020
by Carole Zangari -
We’re always excited to see innovations in assistive technology and AAC, and today, we welcome Charlie Danger of The Children’s Trust to tell us about one of them. Charlie is an OT and ATP who has been working with people with disabilities for over 20 years. In this post, he introduces us to Google Action Blocks and discusses some of the ways it can benefit those with AAC needs. A Look at Google Action Blocks When most of us consider the use of modern portable devices as communication aids we’re likely to refer to iPads running popular apps such as LAMP Words for Life or Proloquo2go. It is relatively rare that people first consider Android AAC apps, most likely because there are so few of them. Android Worldwide, Android devices outsell Apple by a factor of 3 to 1. In South America and Asia this is as high as 10... [Read More...]
Filed under: Featured Posts, PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC Apps & Software, Apps, device customization, mobile devices, phones, picture-based communication, SGD/Speech generating devices and AAC systems
November 6, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Should iPads and tablets be used both for communication and other things? That’s a question we hear rather frequently these days. Our answer will probably frustrate you. Ready? Here goes: It depends. It depends on the learner. Consider these two students. Tia is 6 and very much a beginning communicator. She has had her mobile device with a core language based AAC app for a few months. Tia uses it independently to ask for a few of her favorite things, like music and bubbles. With prompting she can use it to ask for a wider variety things, and can also use it for commenting, labeling, greeting, and answering ‘what’ questions. She does not yet combine two symbols to make short sentences. Yvette is 15 and has been using AAC since she was a toddler. She uses a text-to-speech app on her mobile device and knows how to program phrases and... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: mobile devices, tablets
July 25, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
There are so many great apps to use for building communication and literacy skills: games, utilities, e-books, photos, storytelling, etc. There are too many gems to list! Did you ever start to plan a therapy session or some home practice activities using specific apps, only to realize that you don’t know if that client’s mobile device actually HAS the app you plan to use? As you can guess, this has happened to us a time or two. If you are using your own device, this isn’t problematic but often we are trying to build skills with an app that we want to client to use outside of the therapy session. Here’s a quick tip for avoiding that scenario: Take a photo showing the apps the client has on their device and send it to yourself or upload to a cloud (taking care to follow privacy policies if you do the latter).... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: home program, mobile devices, tip
May 23, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
– For some people with significant communication difficulties, mobile devices and AAC apps play an important role. When selected after a process of careful evaluation, they can be incredibly useful in building communication, literacy, self-regulation, and other important skills. Here are links to organizations that provide support to families seeking mobile devices and communication apps for their children. – 1. The iTaalk Autism Foundation 2. Babies with iPads 3. Apps for Children with Special Needs 4. Different Needz Foundation 5. Gift a Voice Program from Different Iz Good™: iPhones only –
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Apps, families, iPad, mobile devices, resources