Does anyone's dc use an AAC device?? Would anyone be interested in a Support thread??

[hazeyjane]

Ds was awarded an AAC device in the last term on school. It is an GridProGo, and the programme we use is Beeline.

I feel as though we are flailing around in the dark a bit, wrt use. SALT is going through (yet another) hiatus and ds is between SALTs, the AAC specialist only works term time, and of course it is the holidays!

I have been adding in (and taking away) words, and creating grids - and ds does use it, but it can be a bit purposeless (hitting the word 'fire boat' 6000 times)

then we have flashes of brilliance, like ds trying to tell us about a dream, finding his talker and telling us that it was about Finn from Adventure Time! Or last night when I aked him what he would like for tea and he made up this sentence -- 'I want 2 sausages 2 fish fingers chips potatoes' (I was as thrilled with the variation in diet -it is usually pork pie!!)

I have been on the phone to SALT to ask for some guidance, and have been googling and looking at blogs for ideas, but wondered if anyone on here has a dc that uses a device, who would like to share ideas??

[hazeyjane]

Anyone??

I may just have this thread to myself !!

[jeronimoh]

What is it?

[hazeyjane]

AAC - Assisted and Augmented Communication Device

This thinksmartbox.com/product/grid-pad-pro/ is what ds uses - with the Grid2.

It is a tablet like device which has a communication app downloaded, with 1000s of images, which the person can use as a talker.

Ds is 5 and has very limited speech - he is classed as non verbal, but has a couple of words, which are difficult to understand by most people, otherwise he makes a 'uh, uh, uh' sound combined with a lot of gesticulation! He signs, but this is limited, as some of his signs are unclear, and as he starts spending some time in a mainstream class (he is in a sn unit within a mainstream school) signing may well be lost. The device gives him a voice.

However the device is really as good as what is on it, and that is down to us (parents and school) to programme in the vocabulary that ds needs - this is turning out to be a lot harder than we thought!

So far we have had limited support from SALT - but had an hour long chat with an AAC SALT on the phone yesterday and hopefully we might get a bit more input.

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

i'm sorry i have no advice but It sounds like he's getting the hang of it just by playing with it. It must be brilliant being able to tell you about dreams and things.

[bloodyteenagers]

We use grid 2 a lot (professional capacity) along with a number of AAC devices.
There's lots of free grids out there from sensory software etc. smart box are also really good with advice.

I do a lot of 1-2-1 work with users, and alongside introducing the tech as communication I also use it for fun. So games like Simon says etc where you act out what the user chooses. It's all about the cause and effect and getting the user to reals is that this stuff in the screen means something.
Also have a listen to the voices. There are some really nice children ones so the user doesn't have to sound like mum/dad.

[Devilishpyjamas]

Lamp user here on a vantage lite.

[Toots38]

Hi fellow AAC people! My dd uses beeline too on grid 2! I think we are going to trial the new version of grid 3 shortly, it seemsa lot easier to edit. They are offering a free 60 day trial on the website hazeyjane- have a look, I think it will make editing a doddle.
Dd is non verbal and uses makaton signs as her initial way of communicating, backing it up with her talker. It's a struggle though as she doesn't attend school or nursery so I have to constantly push her to use it. Salt input is limited due to funding. It's so annoying.
Did you try any other programs before settling on beeline?
Does he use the core words page to form sentences?? We have just opened this option up as I was concerned intially that dd would be overwhelmed. Instead dd had an opening page of request and choices ( about 6 opening tiles all leading through to seperate choice pages) to get her started and into using the talker.
I'm so happy to have found fellow users! I spend all my time modelling to dd or else feeling guilty that I haven't modelled enough.. Argh.

[bloodyteenagers]

Grid 3 is a lot easier to edit etc.
Also had an undo button for those mistakes.
If you know how to use ms office you will find the new lay out a breeze.
The other good thing about 3, is going from the basics (cause and effect) to a communication device has also been more thought out. Which means users and helpers won't have to create as many grids.
It's also good for professionals as they won't have to take the device away to add content, or sit with the user whilst they do this. Content can be added remotely.

The environmental stuff is also really good. The initial set up is expensive but can be worth it, as it allows the user to operate the TV, light, remote control toys, the hand blender etc, giving
Them more control over their world. We have it in a sensory room and so the user can control bubble machine etc..

Are you also using look 2 learn?

[hazeyjane]

Hello!!

I missed posts because of the bleeding hacker malarkey - so glad to see you here!

I have been looking at a blog about modelling for the last few days, and have been trying to model more, and it does seem to encourage ds to construct sentences rather than wanting to hit 'bottom' 'pants' and 'poo' a millionty times

Our home page looks like this picture - then we have a variety of grids, for different topics. I have been adding in a holiday grid and a books grid, with books we have looked at on holiday. He is pretty good at remembering which topic words are in, but I think we just need to keep using it to build up that memory. It is amazing how many times we are reaching around for a word that isn't there though!

He likes using the keyboard to type in words (this involves him signing a word to me, then me pointing to where the letters are and him typing them in!!)

An AAC SALT phoned us at home the other day, with some ideas for games (like Simon Says, bloodyteenagers!) and she is going to send some stuff out to us. I will share it with you when it comes.

Toots, we had a training day as part of the funding award, and a lady discussed the various different programmes - we all agreed that Beeline looked like the best one for ds, but I would really have liked to try some different ones. I think though that it can be tweaked enough with the editing to suit him.

It is lovely to have found you!

[ShortyShortLegs]

Hi, my DS, 11, has a Severe Phonological Speech Disorder, some characteristics of Verbal Dyspraxia and issues with breath control, fluency and articulation, with weakness of tongue and soft palate. And Auditory Processing Disorder.

He was awarded an iPad along with Proloquo2Go by the Family Fund (I applied on advice of our speech therapists) which looks similar to your son's programme.

There is a great Facebook group for Parents of Proloquo2Go Users where parents share grids and ideas, you could have a look there for inspiration.

Our main problem is getting our son to use the programme in public....because he can speak and we can understand the majority of what he says, using it with strangers is proving to be tricky. He's had success in ordering a couple of meals, but it just makes him stand out more and he is embarrassed about needing it :( He has refused to use it recently.

Strangely he wears his back brace for scoliosis outside his clothes without any embarrassment at all. DS and his sisters are home-educated, so we tried to find other children for him to practice with, but were told they are very few and far between and none a suitable match. I'm not really sure what to do next, as he clams up and doesn't really speak much outside the house apart from to a chosen few he knows well and they can get the gist of what he is saying.

We are supposed to be having an appointment to discuss techniques and grid layouts with a specialist, but I need to chase it up. I make sure to have a page for all eventualities and speak to him about what he might need to tell/ask people when are out and about or go somewhere specific, and we make new grids together, he finds the logos or takes photos to use, he's customised some of the pages I've made, but I think he was given it far too late in his speech journey for it to become second nature to use it instead of/to aid his voice....though I live in hope!

[Toots38]

Well it's all drama here today..dd's talker is broken. So she can no longer demand which episode of Justin's house/ balamory etc she wants, we are back to the trial and error painful stage of " this one.. Do you want his one? No. Ok don't cry and scream in frustration, let's try the next one...." And so on. We have about 20 episodes of Justin's house to work through like this.
I am now madly scrambling around making more symbols for her as her makaton signing is good but imprecise, (due to her physical limitations) so I can't always understand what she means ( hence the talker). Argh. I'm hoping a replacement talker will appear shortly.

I looked at LAMP devilishpyjammas how do you find it? I'm not entirely convinced beeline is correct for my dd. I think it's convenient for our SLT as the smatrbox team are very supportive and she is extremely busy with a massive caseload.

[Toots38]

I'd like to know which modelling blog you are looking at hazeyjane. I feel like I'm really struggling with DD and with no school on the horizon even though she is 4 1/2 I feel like it's all on me.

[Devilishpyjamas]

Must be a week for broken talkers, ds1's took a bash yesterday and needs to go off and be repaired.

This is the second time in 6 months (luckily our accidental damage cover for the year renewed this week - but that's the only incident we're allowed until next September). I have started to introduce ds1 to the LAMP Words for Life app and he seems to like it - isn't fazed by the differences.

He loves LAMP Toots - it seems to work in a way others haven't. He had a teenage strop for most of this year and refused to communicate pretty much in any way at all, but he's just going back to his talker and it's all still there. He came out with Mummy car Thursday not - which is a long winded way of saying he's going on a bus tomorrow! He knows his way around it far better than me. I do have a blog with video of him using the talker - particularly in the early days. Feel free to PM me if you would like a link.

[theDudesmummy]

We use AAC but text-to-speech rather than a symbol or picture system, as DS can type and spell (but is completely non-verbal). We use AAC Speech Assistant on a Kindle Fire.

[hazeyjane]

I would like to find out more about Lamp too, I don't really know anything about it?

It is tricky because you tend to go with the device/app that the SALT's recommend - because they are the ones who should (hopefully) be offering support.

I would like to personalise ds's a bit more, and make it more Hazeyboy's Talker - at the moment it still feels like something on loan.

We have started to take it out and about with us, rather than it being a thing on the side that we have to remind ourselves to use. I took the girls and ds to Pizza Express on their last day of the holidays and we had a chaotic meal with the talker, playing guessing games and ds asking the waitress for 'ice cream. Chocolate. More. More. More!'

I have also asked the school for a copy of the 2 books they are doing at school so that I can build grids for them. I did Handas Surprise last night. We read it and I noted down the words I thought would come up. They are going to talk about it today at school, so we will see how that goes.

niederfamily.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/more-resources-monday-aided-language.html this is the AAC blog I had followed, and this is their Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Uncommon-Sense-Blog/123130417730793?ref=ts&fref=ts

[Devilishpyjamas]

LAMP doesn't use categories. So you don't have a 'food' page & a 'park' page etc

you just learn fixed motor patterns. Pressing button x followed by button y produce one word, x followed by z a different word. It's like typing when you're good enough to not need to look at the keyboard.

I have found it quick & ds1 doesn't have to think or analyse where something is - he's just learned the sequence of presses to get the word he wants.

[Toots38]

Hazeyjane I read the Nieder family blog too. I find it really informative. I'm thinking of trying the app they use "speakforyourself" in the near future.
We recently had a review with an AAC SLT consultant. It was great. She has suggested a program called "picture word power" by liberator.
Our local SLT is massively overwhelmed and has very few other kids using AAC so really doesn't have that much time to spend on us.
It sounds likes the talker came in handy at Pizza express! I hope his demands were fulfilled.
LAMP does sound interesting - I'll pm you devilish. Thanks.
I think while we wait for the talker I might purchase a talking app like the one you mention thedudesmummy dd can spell a few key words and I think this will ease her frustration until we get some new kit.
We went to the library this morning and it was pretty one sided. No talker means no describing of books or disussion of which type of books ( fairytale, nature, animals) so dd just spent the time sliding on and off the cube I had sat her on. Then rolling on the, understandably, grubby floor. whilst I picked books. Ho hum. She wouldn't even sign in reply to me.
Back to making symbols for me then.

[ShortyShortLegs]

Toots if you have an iPhone, iPod or iPad then GRID PLAYER might be useful for you, my son practised with that while we were deciding which app would be best for him. The free version is huge!
iTunes
Grid Player info
Sorry if this is not helpful.

[Devilishpyjamas]

What covers do people have on their iPads? Ds1 is starting to use his talker when frustrated - which is great - but has meant a smashed screen this week. He will, gradually, be moving onto an iPad. The one we're using at the moment has a griffin protector thingy which seems to stand up to headbutts (so far, touch wood), but I am wondering what else there might be - especially for when he gets his actual communication iPad.

[theDudesmummy]

My DS did for a Griffin in a week (and it is supposed to be super rugged, used in Afghanistan etc!). But we have had this for nearly two years and still going strong:

www.miniinthebox.com/kids-eva-foam-handle-shockproof-stand-case-cover-for-ipad-mini-1-2_p1375081.html

We use a similar thing for the Kindles:

www.tmart.com/8.9-Environmentally-Friendly-EVA-Kid-Leather-Case-for-Kindle-Fire-HDX8.9-Blue_p247704.html?cc=GBP&fixed_price=hk_intl&gclid=Cj0KEQjwyK-vBRCp4cymxermx-EBEiQATOQghwEHKD2Z4cmykgtTK0wN0CcThB0UIXmpdtI2FCKncF8aAob58P8HAQ

[Devilishpyjamas]

Thanks - that looks great!

[Toots38]

We had a griffin case previously and have now changed to a fat frame as its easier for dd to prop up and carry about. www.fatframe.co.uk. We use it with an anker tempered glass cover to protect the screen. www.ianker.com/product/A7250011

[Devilishpyjamas]

Thank you!

[theDudesmummy]

My Ds often throws the Kindles and the iPad down the stairs, leaves them in the garden overnight etc. They are fine in those cases! (so far anyway!)

[Anitadobson]

Thank you for starting a thread on AAC. I am so frustrated I could scream. Ds is 6 and has physical problems (CP) and is non verbal. His receptive language is excellent but zero expressive.

Frustrated (aren't we all) with NHS SALT a year ago I bought him an iPad and proloquo2go thinking to just set up a simple grid (9) and off he would go. But no, he just pressed them repeatedly and is making no effort to communicate using it.

We have just contacted ACE and are looking at back to basics with a grid book. Touch2 talk.

I don't understand why he doesn't use the iPad except for games. I've tried modelling with myself using it, but now think he would be less inclined to 'play' if he had a physical book to use.

Rambling sorry, but I'm sure you appreciate the frustration!