AAC Apps: Deep Dive and Demo is part of the Pennsylvania Tech Accelerator webinar series, Assistive Technology Basics. This session explores the features of popular AAC apps. Recorded November 2024.
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This video includes captions and ASL interpretation. The transcript is below.
CAITLIN MCKENNEY: Welcome, everyone. Thank you all for joining us today for November's Tech Accelerator webinar. Our topic this month is Alternative and Augmentative Communication, or AAC Apps. This session is being recorded and the video will include picture-in-picture ASL translation, as well as a full transcript. You'll be able to access that on our website at disabilities.temple.edu, where you can also register for future webinars.
TechOWL has a wonderful series of 18 topics running from July 2024 through December 2025, and each one is offered the third Thursday of the month at two times, 12:00 and 4:00. This series is part of the Tech Accelerator Program. This is an initiative funded by the Office of Developmental Programs and the Office of Long Term Living, here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is made possible through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The Pennsylvania Tech Accelerator Project includes five major focus areas-- training and resources to build capacity for stakeholders, readiness evaluation to develop tools for successful adoption of remote supports and assistive tech, statewide assessment to plan and benchmark a technology-first systems change, a provider survey to assess technology awareness and resources among providers, and finally, two technology summits, which will be live events hosted in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh this coming March to enhance awareness of tech solutions.
You can learn more about all of these fantastic projects on our website, and I will post that link in the chat as well. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce today's speakers, Hali and Cassie, two of the wonderful speech language pathologists on the TechOWL team who have joined us today to share their expertise on communication apps.
HALI STRICKLER: OK. Hi, everyone. I'm going to go ahead and share some slides to get started. So while I'm getting this pulled up, I do want to give a little disclaimer. Later in the presentation, we will be taking the slides down and then sharing our iPad screens with the Zoom. Sometimes, as with any technology, that can be a little glitchy. There might be a little bit of a delay. We may have to stop sharing and then reshare depending on how the connection is cooperating with that. So just bear with us when we get to that point in the presentation.
Also, feel free to type any questions or comments that you have throughout in the chat. We will keep an eye on that, and we'll try to make sure we answer any of those throughout the presentation. Especially if they're related to a particular app or a feature that you might want to see when we're doing the demo, let us know so we can make sure we're giving you the information that you're looking for and you want to see today.
So before we jump into more specifics, just to go over a couple acronyms, so we're all on the same page with some of the terms you might hear us use. AAC-- that stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. There's a slide, as well, dedicated to a more specific definition of this term, but we're using it as an umbrella term for all forms of communication other than oral or spoken language. Talking speech. So using devices.
For our purposes today, AAC is really going to refer to those specific AAC apps that we're going to take a look at. And while we will be focusing on mostly iPad-based iOS apps, there are also apps that are available on other platforms such as Android. Microsoft tablets. Some other types of products as well. But we're going to be focused more on the iOS-based apps assistive technology.
You might hear us say AT. So AAC is a form of assistive technology that, of course, is specific for communication. You might also hear us talk about DD or ID. So developmental disability. Intellectual disability. SGD-- that stands for Speech Generating Device. Now, speech generating devices are AAC systems that somebody might use. Not all speech generating devices are iPad-based. But again, since we're talking about apps, the ones we're focusing on today are going to be speech generating devices as iPads, or iPads as speech generating devices.
Another thought, too, to keep in mind is that even though some of the software and apps that we're looking at are specific to iPads, some of the layouts and organization of the software is also available on other platforms and devices as well. So some language organization options are going to be available on non-iPad based products. non-iPad-based speech generating devices. And then also, SLP, like myself and Cassie. And then our two other SLPs on our TechOWL institute on Disabilities team. SLP stands for speech language pathologist or speech therapist.
So some of our learning objectives today. This is just the main goals that we hope you take away from our presentation. We want you to be able to recall at least three AAC apps that are available from the TechOWL statewide lending library. The majority of the apps that we're going to be showing today are some of the most popular. Not just that folks borrow from the lending library, but also in the wider AAC world.
Of course, there are so many more out there, and we have lots of other AAC apps available to borrow from the lending library, and you can always request new apps as well to be able to borrow and try out. For the ones that we discussed today, we're hoping that you'll be able to take away some basic programming and basic understanding of the apps. How to make those edits and adjustments and customizations to them.
And then we also hope that you'll be able to describe and compare and contrast some of the different elements about the specific apps. So describe a difference between, two or a couple of the different AAC apps that we talk about today to help you make determinations for either yourself or the person that you support in finding the best fit of an AAC app.
So just some disclaimers that we do like to give before any presentation. We are speaking from the perspective of speech language pathologists. We like to consider ourselves AAC specialists, but it's also important to note that some of the perspectives of the people that use these products, of AAC users, will be maybe different than some of the things that we say.
So if you're seeking more information, especially on the use of these devices in a person's everyday life-- that it's good to seek out that information from AAC users so that they can share their lived experiences, so you can get a more holistic picture of what it's like to use this equipment or to see if it's a good fit for you, or again, that person that you might support.
You're also going to hear us use a variety of identity first and person first language. And we do that to accommodate both preferences. So for example, you might hear us say AAC user or person who uses AAC. Another example, you might hear us say person with autism or autistic person.
So what is AAC? So I talked a little bit about it, but here's a more in depth definition. So again, AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Those two A words, we kind of break them down. So augmentative is the devices or the equipment that might add to somebody's speech. And then alternative is used instead of somebody's speech.
So in a lot of cases, some folks might be using these devices to do one or the other, or they might be using these devices to do both. Every person is different, and their needs for AAC are going to look different as well. But overall, AAC-- it really can be any form of communication beyond oral speaking or talking. So things like gestures, facial expressions, whether you send a text or an email. Maybe you wrote a note on a piece of paper. Gave a thumbs up. Those are all forms of AAC.
We all use forms of AAC throughout our day. Throughout our communication. Some of us just use more than others. So here on the slide are also a few examples of different types of AAC systems. When we talk about AAC devices and systems, we tend to use a hierarchy to describe these things. So we use phrases like light and low tech devices, mid, tech and then high tech.
Even though we talk about them on a hierarchy, that doesn't mean that somebody has to master the low or the light tech before they can move up to a high tech device. Sometimes that is the strategy that works best for a person, but sometimes somebody might go right to a high tech system.
So an example of a low or light tech AAC system would be like the one here on the slide, the paper-based printout. That's actually just a printout of screenshots from a high tech system, but on a paper-based layout. Laminated. Put in a binder. Other types of light tech might be individual picture cards with Velcro.
Sometimes you might hear people use the word PECS to describe that. PECS is a formal protocol, but a lot of folks will tend to use that as a phrase to refer to those individual cards that somebody might have.
Other devices that kind of come next in that hierarchy are those mid tech systems. So those are the two systems on the bottom towards the left. So the big red button, that's called a BIGmack. And then the green one with the four images, that is a GoTalk device. These are mid tech systems, and they get that classification because they have batteries and they have recordable speech on them.
So when you're using both of these systems you would record somebody else's voice. And then when the person goes and either activates that button or presses a button on the GoTalk one, then it will activate whatever that recording was.
Things to keep in mind when using these types of systems is that sometimes the voice output doesn't always match the speaker. So for example, maybe a 15-year-old high school student who identifies as male, they're not going to want to sound like me in most cases. So the voice that's coming out of the device might not match the identity of the individual. So that's just one of those-- every device has pros and cons. That's a con with maybe one of these systems sometimes.
Now the next kind of side of devices would be our high tech systems. Those are going to be your more specialized-- think computerized devices. Tablets. So those are the two on the far right. The upper right side is a Tobii Dynavox Eye Gaze device. So this is a computer system that basically reads somebody's eye movements. It has a camera built in to do that. And the person will then be able to use their eyes essentially as the mouse to activate the icons-- the buttons on the computer screen to share their messages or to navigate the system.
The one on the bottom right is an iPad in a case with an AAC app on it. So there are all kinds of different AAC apps that can come on iPads, and we're going to take a look at some of those. So when we're talking about our AAC apps, regardless of what the app is-- and keep in mind too, that some of these concepts and key words here can be used beyond just apps to greater AAC software on maybe like that Eye Gaze device we looked at as well.
These are just some terms that you might hear us talk about, and they're words that are used when we're looking at our AAC systems. So I'm also going to just hold my iPad screen up, too, just so we can take a better look. So this app on both the slide as well that I'm holding up is the TouchChat app. And this is a word power vocabulary set.
We're going to do more of a deep dive in a little bit of this one. But just to talk about some of the terms and the parts-- so this top bar here, that's blank. It's white in this particular case. This is a speech display bar. So whatever message that I've constructed--
AUTOMATED VOICE: I--
HALI STRICKLER: I'm just going to type one out.
AUTOMATED VOICE: --love--
HALI STRICKLER: I love--
AUTOMATED VOICE: --going--
HALI STRICKLER: Going. I don't know. Home.
AUTOMATED VOICE: --home.
HALI STRICKLER: My message that I constructed is now here. And now I can press it and activate it so it can then speak. One thing to note about the speech bar is, if I don't clear it and use my clear button up at the top, everything that I've said and typed out all day will then be activated if I accidentally hit this. So it's always good to clear your message so that you can say something new without re-repeating yourself all day long.
So those are features that you might see on lots of different devices. So not only is there a clear bar here in this particular layout. There's also another clear bar on the system elsewhere. So that locate or that clear bar or that speech display bar might look a little different depending on what your system is, or it might be located in a different spot. A lot of these things can be customized and set up based on a person's preferences or needs.
Other things, too. We have a Home button. So each device is really-- or app is going to really have a starting page. So think of that as your home page, like you would on maybe your computer or your cell phone. There's always a starting point. So if I'm somewhere else in the app-- let's say I'm on this page to talk about money. In here, there's a house button. That's then going to take me back to my starting point or my home page.
Other words that we might use are folders. Folders are going to be buttons, basically, that when you touch them or select them, it opens up another page with related vocabulary. So for example, when I do Groups, it brings me to all kinds of different groups or categories. If I select this one that says Art, now it opens up a folder and a page that has all kinds of different words related to art vocabulary there.
Another thing that you're going to hear us say a lot today too is core vocabulary. So a lot of AAC apps and systems are based on the idea of core vocabulary. Core vocabulary are high frequency, everyday words. They make up about 80% of what we say, and they can be used across multiple contexts. So they're not words that are dedicated for one specific activity or conversation topic. They can be used across a lot of different contexts.
So for example, those are going to be words that a lot of your verbs. Some of your pronouns. Prepositions. Those are going to be some of your core vocabulary examples. In a lot of systems, you're going to see some of that core vocabulary available on the home page. So for example, with this particular layout, you have words like I want. Stop. Go. Eat. I like. And then some of our pronouns here. Those are examples of core vocabulary within the device.
So, too, we also want to talk about what these iPads look like in terms of funding. So there's a phrase called bundled iPad. Bundled iPads are basically an iPad that can be purchased using insurance funds. So there are companies that are dedicated for speech generating devices to be durable medical equipment, meaning that medical insurance will pay for the particular device.
You can't just go and get an iPad at Target or Walmart or Amazon and then have insurance reimburse you or purchase that equipment. It has to go through one of these specialized, vendors. And these specialized vendors will have their own unique names for their product. But at the end of the day, their product is going to be an iPad with a communication app and a case.
So another thing, too, to mention about when you're getting them through vendors is some vendors are going to sell more apps or have more variety and selection with what you can choose between. Other companies are going to only sell maybe their dedicated product.
So for example, when we look at some of the ones here on the slide, the Quick Talker Freestyle, that is an iPad product sold by the company AbleNet. Their company allows you to choose from a variety of different apps. But then the next one is the PRC via iPads. That is from the company PRC-Saltillo. You're going to be limited to their specific app products.
Same thing with the next one-- is the Tobii SC tablet. That's from the company Tobii Dynavox. You're going to be limited to their software, TD Snap, on that one. Next up we have the TalkPad Wego edition from the company Talk to Me Technologies Smartbox, now that they've merged. And you're going to have the choice there. They have some proprietary software, but they also can sometimes cover other apps as well.
So when you're looking to get equipment or devices funded, your choice and who you can go with might be limited or dependent based on what app that you're selecting. Sometimes you'll be able to go with one company and have a lot more choices. Other times, you may only have one or two options. So that's something to think about when you're maybe starting the funding journey after you've identified which app is a good fit for you.
And so now for the fun part. We're going to do some app demo here. So we do have some slides, but we're going to skip the slides so we can share our screen and you can take a look at some of the different apps live. So just bear with us. This is the part where it might get a little messy with sharing our screen and making sure all the tech works. And if anyone has any questions while we're getting the apps shared and set up, please feel free to type those in the chat.
So the first app that we're going to take a peek at once the screen sharing decides to work-- here it is-- is Proloquo2Go. So Proloquo2Go is-- I like to say it's one of the more original AAC apps. So back when the iPads first came out, this was one of the apps that was available. So you might see a lot of folks using the system and be familiar with this layout and organization.
Also, keep in mind that when we're looking at some of these, you're going to see a lot of similarities between the devices. Some of the pictures might look similar. Some of the layouts and organization are going to look similar. And also, a lot of these devices too can be completely customized. So right now when we're looking at Proloquo, I just downloaded it and I turned it on and I set it up. I didn't do any customizations or major edits here. But this can be completely customized based on the person's needs.
If they need more buttons, they can have more buttons. If they need less or we need to hide some, that can absolutely be done. If we need high contrast, meaning we need to change the background of the icons or the borders, the text, all of those types of things in a lot of these apps can be edited and changed. That also being said, sometimes, depending on the app, some of those editing features might be limited. It really just depends on the particular app.
I will say that a lot of the big hitters in the AAC app world kind of steal ideas from each other. If we were having this conversation when apps first came out. There were a lot more deal breakers of features between app A, app B, and app C. Nowadays, a lot of the apps do have similar features in terms of customizations and editing.
So right now, when we're looking at Proloquo, it has stick figure pictures. It doesn't have to have stick figures. You can take photos directly from the app using the camera. It's integrated into the system. You can import them from your camera roll of the iPad or from the internet. You can do that with a lot of other apps, too. So this can be completely customized. Doesn't just have to look like this.
But what's nice about this app, too, is that Proloquo also has different levels for the vocabulary. So right now, we're looking at advanced. There's also an intermediate level, and then a basic one. So if I click on Basic, this simplified my screen a little bit and took some of those words and moved them into folders. So it made things a little easier to navigate. So somebody can communicate by tapping on the folder they want. If they open Food, now they can talk about their different food choices.
It's really easy to add more vocabulary in here. So I can go to my little pencil button down at the bottom and tap that, and it pulls up my editing mode. I can add an individual icon, or I can add a folder, meaning that when I tap it, it's going to move to somewhere else. To show you what I mean by that, when I tap on McDonald's, you'll see it has that manila folder shape. Now it opened up my McDonald's order here on the screen.
But I want to go back and I want to add a new button. So right now, we have ice cream. Maybe let's add brownies. So if I start typing in-- oh, it's giving me other words-- brownie, it'll fill in the blank for me. It'll predict what I'm typing out with words related to those letters. But if I didn't like this particular picture, I could maybe take a look and see more symbols that are built in to the system. Or if I actually wanted to take a photo of the particular brownies that I like to eat, you can take a photo of that and import that into your device.
And, of course, it decided to freeze because it's connected to the computer. Oh, there we go. It caught up. So now I have my new button for brownies. So if you can't hear the output on the screen, it might be because of the screen sharing. But take my word for it. When you touched it, it talked and it said brownies. But somebody could build a sentence. They could request, or they could say they're all done. [INAUDIBLE] built into this particular page. You can have more words in here. You can have less. This can be super customized to the needs of the individual.
Another thing, too, with Proloquo2Go as well is if we have our built in grammar turned on, we can access our conjugations of verbs and pronouns-- so our other parts of speech, by just holding down that particular verb. And that will open up in a pop-up, which is a nice feature for somebody who is generating their sentences and wants that more advanced grammar in here as well. Proloquo2Go also can be set up for some bilingual features. So you'd be able to access it here. If I had it set up for Spanish, there would be a little button here that has my language, and I can tap it and it'll switch into that other language. So there's some great features that are built in to the system.
The next app, unless anyone has any questions about Proloquo2Go-- the next one we're going to take a look at is GoTalk NOW. So GoTalk NOW comes in a couple different versions. Right now, I'm showing you the GoTalk NOW Lite version. So that just means that I can only have a certain number of pages on my system. So a page meaning this is one page. This is two pages. I think you can have up to maybe four or five-ish pages on the free version, but that can be a really great start for somebody to see if this app is a good fit.
The full paid for version of the app-- that one, I believe it's under $200-ish, if I'm correct. That version of the app, then you can have more pages based on the capacity of your iPad. So with this app-- I tend to recommend this one a lot for people that really want a fully customized system. There are other page sets or layouts that you can use or pay extra to have access to, but a lot of the folks that I work with, they choose this app so they can have something that's completely unique to themselves.
That being said, it's a little more work up front to get it programmed initially off the ground running. It doesn't. It comes as a completely blank slate, and we have to build our pages and our folders for that person. So we hold this Home button down, and it'll take us back to this main starting point. You have a couple different options here, but the main areas to focus on are Player. That's going to be the speaking mode. So when I want to use this app to communicate, I need to make sure it's in Player mode. Otherwise, if I'm in Page Editor, it's not going to necessarily talk to me. It's going to be set up for me to make those adjustments and customizations.
So you'll see here I have lots of real estate on the screen to add buttons. I tap these little toggles, and you'll see that I can have buttons ranging from one on the screen all the way up to 49. Compared to some of the other apps with GoTalk, we're a little more set with the numbers that they provide here. So that does limit us with what our grid size or the number of icons that are available at once-- what they look like.
I'm going to change it to four. I can show you how quick that was. Now these are all pages or buttons that I've already pre-programmed. That's why it filled in the blanks so nicely. But we would have to create our own. And you would do that just by tapping on the screen. And I can add my text. I could change this text in here. I can drag it around. I can make it bigger. I can make it smaller.
What else is nice about this, too, is we can add in multiple photos on the page. I can make some of them big again. Small. Change the sizes, which is a nice customization feature. So then the way that that looks when I'm in the speaking mode-- I can tap on my activities, and now it opens up my choice board for all my different activities here. And this can be, again, customized to whatever the person wants. And we don't have to have the same four button option on every page. If I have more activities I can choose from, I can have more buttons and icons available on here as well.
You can also flip through the device, kind of like pages in a book, rather than having to only access it through individual icons on the screen. So I can use the arrows to flip through the pages. If maybe using those categories as a starting point is hard, but flipping through is a little easier for me to navigate, that can be an option for somebody as well.
Another feature here, too. Right now, this is just one big picture. I'm going to go back into our editing mode so you can see what I'm talking about. We can have a visual scene display. So this creates basically these blue boxes on the screen. Those are hotspots that, when it's in the talking mode, if I tap where that hotspot is, it will then say whatever message I have programmed and recorded.
So you could use this for different routines. You could use it to label the parts of the bus or whatever image you have in here. You could use it with maybe somebody who likes music. Maybe they like the song, Wheels on the Bus. Maybe you're working in early intervention and wanted to teach that cause and effect with learning how to access the tablet. That can be a way to also use other features within the app. Doesn't just necessarily have to be for that face to face communication. You can use the built-in features for other things as well, but that is also a nice feature within the GoTalk NOW app.
And then the next one I'm going to pull up-- bear with me. So this one is going to look like a lot, and it is a lot. But for the right person, it can be a really good fit. So this app is called LAMP Words for Life. And so right now, you see I have less buttons on the screen, and there's a lot of white space here. What's specific or special about this app is that every word in this system has its own pattern and its own location. The idea is that the person learns to navigate their system through muscle memory for those particular words.
So when I turn off this particular feature I have on, which we'll talk about in one second-- when I turn what's called Vocab Builder off, now you see LAMP in its full glory. This is all of the language and all of the words that you have access to in this system. What makes this system a little different from some of the other apps is that this grid size-- I think there's real estate on here at once for 80-something icons-- is you can't change the button size. You have to be able to access these smaller buttons. And that can be a deal breaker from some for some folks-- that these buttons can be really small and hard to navigate size wise.
But when you learn how to use this system, all of the buttons are located in the same spot. Except, I noticed that my one screen is not set up in the way it should. So I'm going to pull up another copy of it. One second. So in this screen here, you see all of these icons, the bright green ones. These are all of, basically, your verbs and your conjugations of these verbs. You'll see that we have-- the past tense is in its own little spot right here. No matter what verb I'm saying to actually generate that verb, it'll be in this spot.
So, for example, if I want to say go, I find this icon. And now go is there. If I want to say went, it's in that past tense location. Now, if I'm looking at another verb like, let's say, eat. It's down here at the bottom. Eat is in that same spot there. And then ate, past tense, is there. So you learn the pattern for your words in your parts of speech.
Other words are stored in certain locations. So when we have our root-- think of it as our root word here is eat on this page, and it opens up a folder or a new page that has all kinds of vocabulary related to sensory stuff related to foods. A lot of our categories are located up here along this top row. So we have all of our different categories of types of foods. If I want to talk about snacks, I can tap that one. And now it opens up my more specific snack words.
So there's a lot of pattern based learning that goes into this. And one of the ways that folks use LAMP to make it a little easier to learn different words-- what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to make a copy so we can practice with some of our editing. I'm going to go in here and I'm going to turn on this feature called Vocab Builder. And when I turn this on, it basically takes everything away and makes it a little easier.
And I can have a specific word list. I'm going to add the word play. I'm going to add more. I'm going to add bubbles. And maybe I'm going to add ball. And now when I hit Done, all of those words are going to go away except for the ones that I want to talk about and that I want to use. So this can help somebody now learn that pattern. There's less going on on the screen, so I can learn that muscle memory. My toys. Bubble.
So one of the things too with this is even though it looks like a lot, there's less hits involved than maybe some of the other systems. Some other systems, you might have to go through multiple folders, multiple layers to find the words you want. With LAMP, you really-- 1, 2, 3 hits in most cases to find the particular word that you're using. And you can pair your words together and generate sentences and utterances as you gain more words, get more practice, and get more familiar with your system. So for the right person, this can be a really good fit.
OK, so I'm going to pass things over to Cassie. I'm going to stop sharing. And if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask those now while we're getting things switched over.
CASSANDRA CALLIA: Thanks, Hali. Just give me one moment to share my iPad screen, and we're going to jump into talking about our next app. Here we go. All right, so we are going to talk about the next app, which is called Grid. Grid is a really unique app in the sense that it gives us the capability to do many, many things and have access to language in many formats.
What I mean by that is, in the previous apps that we just saw, we looked primarily at grid-based vocabulary. Something that looked like this that had different grid options with different words on the home page. And this is a great fit for a lot of folks. There are a lot of grid-based language files in the Grid app. This is an example of Super Core, which is a core vocabulary-based app that, upon first glance, looks similar to some of the other ones that we've seen.
However, you'll notice that the home page of Grid is actually also a grid of other apps and other language systems. So, for example, you can have access to a keyboard for somebody who might be using text to speech or typing to send or communicate a message. They would have access to this vocabulary file within the Grid app.
You might also have somebody who might benefit from more pragmatically-based organization for their language. So this is Voco Chat, which is a vocabulary file in the Grid app that's organized by-- it's organized pragmatically, which helps people walk through a conversation by determining what buttons come next based on the last button that they pressed. So I just clicked, something is wrong. I might say, I don't feel well. And then the next icon that comes up is words about what might be wrong. So this could be a really good fit for somebody who really needs to focus on communication in the moment, rather than using some of those core vocabulary words that are on the homepage of some of the other apps.
Grid is also super easy to program. So this is an example of the Vocabulary for Life page file in Grid. This is folder-based, so you'll notice that the homepage is a lot of folders. But let's say that I'm ready to add a word. I am looking at my places. And when I open the Places folder, the yellow words are going to be that core vocabulary. The sentence starters. And then the rest of the vocabulary on here is words specific to places.
So if I wanted to add a word on any of the Grid page sets, I would click the three buttons on top. Edit grid. And then I'd be able to click on a blank button, write, and speak. And let's say I want my new place to be-- oh, I don't know. Maybe Target. I do like Target. Let's see if they have a good picture for Target. Here we go. Target. I click Done, Finish Editing. And there's my new button for Target. So regardless of which page set you look in the Grid app, the editing is exactly the same.
The other nice thing about the Grid app is it has some accessible media and internet browsing capabilities. So it has an accessible web browser. It has access to accessible Facebook and accessible Twitter. Grid also has games, which is one of my favorite ways to encourage cause and effect. If you're just starting a device with somebody and looking to get buy-in from themselves or the team, you can play a game that is not necessarily [INAUDIBLE], but to intend to learn to interact with the device.
I could talk about Grid all day long, but the last thing I'll say about Grid that makes it unique is that you can add grid sets at any time. So you can see that Smart Box has a variety of grid sets that come pre-made, including those accessible apps that I discussed earlier, as well as different symbol and text-based communication apps. But you can also browse the online Grids inventory.
So people make grids online for different purposes, and they share them out to the community. So you can have access to boards that somebody else made. Here's one of a Ukrainian and English medical communication board. You can click that and have it download right on your app. You can also create your own and remote edit from the Grid website too. Really cool app. Very versatile for a lot of different people.
The next app we'll look at is called TouchChat. TouchChat is a very popular and common app. It has the proprietary language system called WordPower, and this is an example of the WordPower 42 basic SS page set. That means that it has 42 buttons on the page, and it uses symbols as the primary mode of communication. But the WordPower page sets also have text-based-- hence WordPower, capabilities as well.
What I hear a lot of people say that they like about the TouchChat app specifically is that it does something unique, which is that it links pages. So if I want to make a sentence, I will click on the [INAUDIBLE] I. I'll click on the next word. You'll notice that the page changed so that it's all verbs. I'll say, love. Let's see. What do I love? I love eating. I love eating peanut butter. So you can see that as I go to create my sentence, the page changes in anticipation of what the next word might be. So this can be really great for people who are working on creating sentences to facilitate putting words together to request or ask for things or share information.
It should be noted that this app, like all of the other apps, is very customizable. You'll notice these are stick figures. They can be real photographs. You can upload real pictures of people or places that the individual likes to go, as well as changing the buttons on the screen. So this is 42 buttons. There are some more simple page sets called MultiChat 15 that are just 15 buttons on the screen. And this is more phrase-based. So each of these buttons is a [INAUDIBLE] that will help you still build a sentence, just with less icons on the screen.
Editing is also a breeze with the TouchChat app. Let me pull up [INAUDIBLE] pages. Here we go. Let's add a drink. I'll click Menu at the top right. Edit Page. And then just click on a blank button, Edit this Button, and add in whatever drink I'm thinking about. I like Diet Coke. Let's see if they have that on here. Let's see. Here we go. Oh, I like these picture options. Easy. I click Done. My new button is right there. So people find this one easy to program, easy to navigate, and look at aesthetically. It is color coded. Great app.
Yeah, let's keep moving. The next app I'm looking for-- my iPad is very disorganized. I apologize-- is TD Snap. TD Snap is another really robust communication system. You'll also notice that this one is color coded by parts of speech. The center of the board from the yellow to the orange icons are going to be your core vocabulary words. And then the pink folders on the side are where a lot of those nouns are going to live in different folders.
So if I were to open up the Feelings folder, I would be able to see all of my feelings words. And you'll notice that there's no core vocabulary in this folder. It's really just that specific folder's vocabulary, organized by itself. So in terms of sentence creation, it's going to be more individualized. Looking for each button and navigating into the right folder, versus the pages changing like they do in TouchChat.
One of my favorite things about TD Snap is the Topics folder over here. So this yellow-orange bar contains some more navigation. They have a QuickFires folder with easily accessible words that you might need to say. And the Topics folder, I find a lot of people really enjoy for creating topic-specific phrases. So if somebody is less concerned about individual words and wants to be able to engage and participate in an activity using phrases, we can create a Topics folder for them.
So on the Readings Topics folder, you'll notice that all of these buttons when I press it-- well, maybe you can't hear it, but it says a phrase out loud instead of a single word. So this can be really great. If somebody is out in the community and wants to order something at their favorite restaurant, we would be able to program phrases in that Topics folder for McDonald's, so to say. Or, I also like they have jokes in here, too. We all need to be able to tell jokes.
Finally, the unique thing about TD Snap is the built-in behavioral supports. It has a visual timer that can be run concurrently while the app is going. It has a little first-then board that you can create and edit for somebody to have reference to, as well as many schedules and social narratives and scripts. It's important to note that while these behavioral supports are up and active on the app, you're not able to access the rest of the vocabulary, so that is a consideration when using the behavioral supports that are integrated in the TD Snap app.
TD Snap recently-- so this is their Core First page set. But TD snap recently released an Express page set which looks significantly different than Core First. An Express page set is based on those folders. Like the topics folder, each folder opens up different vocabulary related to that concept. And this is meant for contextual communication. Quicker, in real time communication for somebody. This is a brand new release, so very exciting to have something slightly different for folks that maybe don't need access or aren't able to access all of the vocabulary in the Core First page set.
I'll talk briefly about Avaz, which is the third app that I'll be talking about. Avaz looks again very similar to many of the other apps that we've looked at today. You'll notice that it does have the core vocabulary, which is in that orange-red color on the home page, as well as different folders containing specific vocabulary related to that topic.
A few things that make Avaz really different than other apps-- number one is the use of tone up here at the top. So typically when you press a button on an AAC device, it will just say the word in the voice that you choose. But Avaz uses machine learning, I believe, to change the tone of the voice so that you can make it whisper. You can make it sound angry or excited, which is really, really great, and a wonderful way to help people engage and really express themselves with this app.
The second feature that makes Avaz unique is that when you press a button, it will visually get larger on the screen to indicate that it was selected. This can be a really nice visual cue for people who are just beginning to use AAC, or to help people know that they selected the right message.
And the last thing I'll say about Avaz is that you can create new pages really easily. Programming is a breeze with Avaz. So if you wanted to create a new page, you could click Edit Words. Let's actually open up a word right here. Add New. I want to add many words at once. And instead of going through and creating a button for each word, I could type in a word. A couple words. Biscuit, ketchup, If I could spell, and egg. We'll click Save, and it created those three buttons for me right away. You can do the same with folders. You can, of course, go in and change the button if you want a different picture. But it makes editing really easy, and folks really like that feature about this app.
Finally, we'll talk really quickly about Predictable, which is a text to speech-based option available in our lending library as well. Predictable is keyboard-based. There are several different keyboards you can select from. You'll notice that when you start typing, Predictable uses word prediction at the top in this blue bar to help you create your message even faster.
And then the other neat thing about Predictable is that it also has symbol support. So you can see that we have some various folders with symbols in them. And these are programmed with phrases based on the category. The folder that you've clicked on. This is all completely customizable. You can type your message and then save it in a folder and use that symbol support for added support if you so choose. So that's Predictable in a nutshell. Really cool app. And I'm going to toss it back to Haley.
HALI STRICKLER: OK. So I'm going to reshare my slides so we can take a look at a few more things before we wrap up today's session. OK, there we go. So we want to take a look at just some free apps that are available. So if you already own an iPad, these are some options that you can download and try out and see if they are a good fit, or at least be an option to get started for a no-cost method. You can also request to borrow these from our lending library at TechOWLs as well.
So here we have Weave Chat and ChatterBoards. And then we also have a couple more options. Cboard. GoTalk Lite, which-- we did look GoTalk as well. So a lot of the same features in the full version are available on the free version. But the free one, the lite version, can be a good placeholder to get you started. And then SoundingBoard. So these are just some examples of other apps to consider.
A lot of the main AAC apps, or the more popular ones that we did take a look at during the demo, though, they do come with a pretty hefty price tag, some of them right out of pocket. So a lot of them-- The heavy hitters range from about $150 up to almost $400 plus tax, depending on the particular app. So that is a hefty price for a lot of people to pay out of pocket. So that is why there are insurance options to get these types of devices funded for folks.
So a few more additional resources, just to talk a little bit more about TechOWL and AAC. If you ever have any AAC-related questions, you can absolutely reach out to us. We can be a great resource to help you get started on. Answer some questions. Or if you borrow an AAC device or an iPad with apps on it from the TechOWL lending library, we're happy to meet with you and answer questions. Go over some of that basic programming, and provide some troubleshooting support with that device you borrowed.
We do also have some specific project contracts that do offer some more additional services for individuals who are eligible for those programs. For example, we have a program for adults 21 and older who receive services through Philadelphia Intellectual Disabilities Services, as well as through Philadelphia Early Intervention for assistive technology and AAC. And we also have our Just SO Speech Services program for consumers of Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs, or ODP.
And Just SO is short-term online speech services. And neither of these programs are direct ongoing speech therapy. But they can be a great way to get some information about AAC and navigating that AAC funding process, if that's what's needed and recommended for the individual. Even for folks that may not be eligible for those programs, if you are a Pennsylvania resident, you can meet with us again for that device demonstration. A video chat. While we're not going to give formal recommendations, we can answer some of those questions you might have on that more informal basis. Just have a conversation about AAC. Where to get started.
We also have our ACES program-- Augmentative Communication Empowerment Supports. We have a slide for that in just a few. And then our aaccommunity.net website is a great way to stay up to date, see more initiatives that we're offering, as well as find more information about our AAC-related services and programs.
This is just a slide on borrowing from the lending library. If you go to techowl.pa.org and hit the Borrow tab, that'll take you to the lending library. If you are borrowing an iPad and you want apps, there will be a notes section text box when you go to check out, and that's where you'll type the names of all the apps that you want to request.
If you want to learn more about AAC, we also offer our AAC Essentials, which is an online asynchronous learning modules. These are free. You can take them at your own speed and get a free certificate at the end of your learning. And our ACES program-- we are offering this again on this coming July in 2025. So this is a program for young adults at least 18 and older. They get they get to come to campus, take classes on communication, get some coaching and supports, participate in different types of leisure activities, maybe like adaptive recreation, adaptive art, listen to speakers.
Every ACES looks a little different depending on the cohort and their needs and their goals. But this is a great program to get more training and support for young adult AAC users. And our application is live online, so check out the techowl.pa.org website for that. And the program is one week at Temple's main campus in Philadelphia. You also don't have to be a resident of Pennsylvania to be able to attend. Anyone is welcome to attend. There is an application process, though. So just keep that in mind.
And then here's TechOWL's social media. General contact information. Contact information for the Institute on Disabilities. Cassie and I, as well as many of our other colleagues-- we work at the Institute, even though we're part of the TechOWL program. TechOWL is a subprogram of the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, so there's lots of great initiatives supporting and working with individuals with disabilities there. So lots of great projects to check out.
And then we just ask that you complete the survey. So if you hold your phone up and scan the QR code, that will take you to a survey just to let us know how we're doing. What other information that you might want in the future as well. And it looks like Caitlin did put the survey link in the chat for us. And so if anyone has any questions, please feel free to let us know. We're happy to try to answer those for you. And if you think of something down the road, please do feel free to reach out to us at TechOWL and the Institute. If there's no other questions, Caitlin, I'll pass it back to you.
CAITLIN MCKENNEY: -- Wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us all this evening. These resources will be sent out in a follow-up email as well. And we hope you join us again in December for an AAC funding session. Have a good evening, everyone.
