How struggling in school can help you succeed in life.

This is a link to a great article written by Don Johnson, a man with severe learning disabilities who founded and owns one of the largest assistive technology companies in the world, Don Johnston Inc. (makers of Co:Writer software).  He describes how struggling with dyslexia actually gave him an edge over his peers, to whom school came easily.  He also describes how a caring teacher became the "change agent" that changed the course of his life forever.  This is a quick and inspiring read, and would make a great mini lesson for students to discuss disability, perseverance, and overcoming adversity.  You can access the article by clicking here.  Enjoy!

SoundingBoard-Easy (and free) AAC app for iPad

Sometimes, you don't want an AAC app that comes with thousands of buttons and lots of complex menus to have to learn.  Sometimes, you just want to quickly and easily create a board with a few pictures for your emerging communicators.  And sometimes, you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on an app that you're not even sure will work for your student.  If any of those "Sometimes" applies to you, then you might want to check out a FREE app from Ablenet called SoundingBoard.

SoundingBoard is an easy to use app that lets you quickly make communication pages (or "boards") for students.  These boards can be linked together to make a more complex communication system, or can just be selected as needed based on the setting and task.  The AbleNet website describes the app this way:

SoundingBoard is ONLY available for download at iTunes stores.

SoundingBoard transforms your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch into the latest in communication technology. In just minutes, you can create custom boards using AbleNet symbols or your own photos.

• Create boards with up to 20 message locations
• Virtually unlimited capacity; create boards for any situation
• Use the built-in AbleNet symbol library for instant access to hundreds of symbols
• Record messages of virtually any length for each symbol
• Use your own photo library for even greater flexibility and options
• Take your own photos using your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch and use them in a board immediately*
• Increase the physical size of the boards by using the iPad

If you haven't checked out this free resource yet, you should add it to your AAC toolbox.  It is a great app to have for many different situations.  My only caution about "build your own pages" apps is that, for students who have a lot to say, it may be a very frustrating experience to only be able to say the things my teacher and SLP get around to programming for me.  For those kinds of students, you may want to check out a more fully featured AAC app.

2 new fully featured AAC apps for Autism: AutisMate and Avaz

When most people think about AAC and the iPad, they usually think about Proloquo2go.  It is a great app that offers tons of preloaded vocabulary, along with a highly customizable interface to support lots of different levels of communicators.

  I have recently learned about two other apps that share many of the features that make Proloquo2go so popular.  They are called AutisMate, and Avaz.  Both apps are designed for students with autism, but would support many other students with cognitive and communication impairments.  It is always good to have options when individualized supports for students, and I hope this info will help you expand your AAC toolbox a bit today!

First, let's talk about  AutisMate.  It costs $149.99 and is available on the Apple app store.  This app is a unique blend of visual behavior supports and communication.  The AutisMate website says:

AutisMate is an iPad app for autism that improves communication and social and behavioral skills (life skills) for individuals with autism by reinforcing autism treatment through a comprehensive approach, offering all of the Visual Supports, including Visual Scenes, Visual Schedules, Video Modeling, Visual Stories and Grid-Based AAC.

The idea is that, since communication and behavior are so intertwined, why not combine them into the same app?  The interface is clean and easy to use, and the visual supports are great.  Check out the AutisMate website to see some great videos of the app in action.  I have also included a video demonstration by a mother of a child with autism showing how she uses the app at home.



Next up is the Avaz app. It costs $99.99 and is available on the Apple app store. Unlike AutisMate, which is a hybrid between a behavior and communication app, Avaz is an AAC app designed to rival Proloquo2go.  It offers many really nice features, including:

• 3 levels of vocabulary (500 - 5000 words)
• Easy customization
• Multiple types of vocabulary and communication strategies, including Core Words, a Keyboard with word prediction, a Mistake button, an Alert button (for getting someone's attention), and Grid based AAC.
• Can start with only 2 buttons on a page and grow from there.
• Can hide buttons and zoom in on buttons when tapped
• High quality voices
• Automatically tracks how the app is used during a session (instant data collection!)
• Lots of ways to adjust and change settings based on the student.

 This looks like a great app, with lots of great features, and at a very reasonable price for an app of this caliber.  Check out the Avaz website for more info.  I've also included a brief 1 minute video overview of the app for your enjoyment.