Basic AAC for phones/tablets?

[lollilou2]

Hello, my daughter is 9 as although is verbal, she has a speech sound disorder and can be hard to understand - which obviously limits her communication with others not well known to her.

she had a SALT appointment today, which the therapist suggested we try a AAC app on my phone so she wouldn’t be as reliant on me. She said she couldn’t recommend a particular one and unfortunately can’t see her again until March time as she’s booked up.

she’s Home Ed at the minute due to not coping at mainstream, but we have just won her EHCP appeal at tribunal so I’ll be trying to get her into a special school, so definitely looking to try get her to communicate without me present.

A good SALT can recommend what type of AAC to use. If they think AAC is required, they should be doing this.

You could look at Proloquo2go.

SALT provision can be included in the EHCP.

We Used an app called Keezy that was free at the time. It’s not an aac but has 8 recordable buttons and is straightforward to use. Might be fun to play with till you find the real one. My top tip is to make it VERY powerful for her if you want her to use it.

She doesn't sound like a very good salt! Can she spell/write? Just so I can recommend either text or symbol based aac apps. Is your phone ios or andriod? Some apps are operating system specific.

Thank you all for your advice - she can’t read/write yet. This is an NHS SALT so obviously I understand they’re very stretched at the minute, unfortunately can’t afford private right now.

I’m currently using IPhone, and luckily she’s getting a IPad for Christmas ☺️

If you have to appeal the content of the EHCP, and it sounds like you will to get adequate SALT provision, contact Parents in Need. They can help with funding for an independent assessment. You should also check if you are eligible for legal aid because that can fund assessments.

It is worth looking out for the Communication Matters International AAC Conference in Leeds next year. Even if you aren’t close, it is worth travelling for.

They really should be helping you with this if they suggested it, I'm not remotely surprised though. A lot of salts don't have much hands on experience with high tech aac and it can be very time consuming. My son is a high tech aac user, nhs salt wouldn't help at all. Ideally she needs an assessment, depending on where you live there are organisations that can help such as the ace centre. Salt provision should be in the ehcp.

There's lots of options. Personally I'd have a look at proloquo (and proloquo coach). You can pay for it monthly and it's ideal for beginners. I'm fairly certain you also get a 1 month free trial. Proloquo2go, lamp, grid for iPad (can also pay monthly) are all great options but very expensive if it's something you just want to try out.

Thank you all. She’s had SALT basically all her life and this is the first time AAC has been mentioned, this is a new SALT since she left school. It would be purely for getting her needs met whenever I’m not around, or when we’re with unfamiliar people as she generally chooses not to talk or whisper to me.

We’ve just started recently but we’ve been using Grid for iPad and so far I really like it. Our SLT also told us to look into LAMP, which is useful for DC who also have motor planning difficulties.

Tobi Dynavox

Could you tell us more about winning your EHCP Appeal? We are about to start I think.