New iPhone and iTouch AAC Solution

by Dora Raymaker · 2009-04-14 10:28:00 UTC
Topics:

closeup of a person's left jeans pocket, the person is taking an iphone with proloquo2go software out of the pocket. the screen shows the sentence string 'proloquo to go: AAC in your pocket' and the view is the home view with the icons for each major communication categoryWhile I was supposed to be writing a blog post, I was instead drooling over Proloquo2Go, a new Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) application for iPhone and iTouch. So, er, I suppose I've my post topic there.

I use regular Proloquo on my computer as a major part of my communication system. It works well for me because I type at about sub-light speed (OK, not really, but I do type very fast), the voice quality is very high (uses Acapela's high quality voices), and I was able to afford it (because I already had a computer). I souped up the system with a text expansion program, custom programmed function keys, and, most importantly, a gooseneck USB speaker that allows me to direct the voice right at my conversation partner.

Proloquo doesn't however have word prediction--while iPhone has some of the best word prediction I've ever seen. If only... if only...

And I am stuck always carrying my computer with me (or sometimes don't and regret it), which is large and only has about 2 hours of battery life which can be extremely nerve wracking when there are no outlets in sight--while iPhone is small, light, super portable (obviously) and has many more hours of battery life. If only... if only...

So now it looks like I can get my wish! And Proloquo2Go isn't just regular Proloquo--it's got a number of new features like automatic morphology and access to sentence history. One handed touch operation also makes it a viable communication tool while standing or moving, for example communicating with a sales person in a store, or with a bus or taxi driver, which can't be done with a laptop or larger device that needs to sit on a flat surface or which was developed for wheelchair mounting.

A video interview with Proloquo2Go's co-creator (not captioned, but the site claims a transcript coming soon) includes a demonstration of a beta version. While the demonstration uses the icons for sentence construction, the application does do typed text with the keypad.

Also exciting is that even with purchase of iPhone or iTouch the entire device is less than $500, compared with the thousands for most portable speech devices. The introductory price for the software in iTunes store is $149; it will be going up to $199 after the first few weeks on the market. The product isn't in the iTunes store yet, but you can be notified when it is by signing up for an alert (I certainly did! I'm excited!).

Photo source: http://www.proloquo2go.com.

Dora Raymaker
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