Devices and Apps for Communication:
"Everyone has a right to communicate. Everyone has a voice." - AAC Connection
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Boardmaker lets you create valuable print materials, like communication boards, with Picture Communication Symbols™ (PCS) and other pictures and graphics
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This is a great technological resource for students who are challenged by speech.
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Different variations of Boardmaker have unique capabilities, such as adding natural sounding voices, word prediction and abbreviation expansion.
Sample Visual Schedules
Students with autism benefit greatly from a predictable environment and visual schedules can help provide this structure as well as assist with transitions. With over 30 onscreen templates and over 50 print templates a range of schedule formats and strategies are represented.
Many students with autism benefit from a visual representation of the time remaining for a specific task or activity. In Boardmaker Studio simply drag one of the six timer bar gadgets onto the workspace to provide an instant and automatic onscreen visual timer for your students. The Timer Bar Gadgets are located in the Time Gadget folder and are available for 30 seconds and one, two, three, five and ten minutes.
Video can be a powerful learning and behavioral tool for students with autism. Whether it's used for video modeling, social skill instruction, or curriculum instruction, videos can easily be integrated into Boardmaker Studio.
Students with autism are often presented with symbol supported text. When done appropriately, this can be a very valuable support. Sometimes, however, full symbol support is presented which may result in symbols for abstract words, misrepresentation due to limited symbol access and symbols for words for which the student already has a clear understanding of the meaning. In Boardmaker Studio you can specify which words will receive automatic symbol support: nouns, verbs, adjectives, content words, words on list, words not on list and noncommon words.
Sample Show Symbol
Symbol support can be a beneficial support and reinforcement when students are creating their own writing. The symbol review support is a unique way for student driven symbol support when symbols are hidden. The student can select Show Symbol, click on a word and a symbol prompt will be presented for two seconds and then disappear.
These are different communication symbols that students can use on their Boardmaker to express their wants and needs throughout the day if they are non-oral.
Learning Needs it Supports:
The app helps students to express feelings, opinions, wants and needs through pictures that speak when tapped.
Benefits of the App:
Allows students to communicate basic daily needs.
Speaks out loud whatever it is you type in the white space.
Learning Needs it Supports:
This is a symbol-supported communication app.
Benefits of the App:
The app has the ability to personalize vocabulary, and includes activity-specific pages.
5. Switch XS - Assistive Technology
Learning Needs it Supports:
Benefits of the App:
This app can help students who have difficulty verbally communicating by allowing them to communicate their wants and needs throughout the day.
The app uses pictograms to help individuals construct sentences.
It has seven English-speaking voices, and sentences can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, text message and email.
Meet Jared, and listen to his experience with Switch XS
6. Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) Technology
There are 4 categories of AAC technology:
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No Tech (sign language)
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Low Tech systems (PECS)
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Mid-Tech (battery operated with voice output)
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High Tech (accessed by touch, switches, or eye games)
Learning Needs it Supports:
This is an affordable AAC application that is catered to people with difficulty in speech.
Benefits of the App:
Designed to be simple and efficient, allowing users to express their views and thoughts with natural sounding voices.
