My Students
Can you imagine life without being able to make a request, get a need met, greet a friend, or tell someone "I love you"? This is what it is like to be non-verbal in a world of verbal communicators.
My students have a variety of developmental delays and are non-verbal. An iPad, equipped with a communication app, allows them to communicate through digitized speech generated by selecting icons. Without a communication device, my students are without a voice. It is hard to acquire communication devices, due to lack of funding, however an iPad is one of the most affordable options. And the impact is huge!
My Project
Using an iPad for a communication device is hard to envision. The iPad is the hardware needed to be able to add the software onto it. When a communication app is downloaded on to the iPad, it is then customized to have pictures, icons, and phrases that represent things a child would need to say. The child uses the iPad as their voice, selecting icons to communicate their needs. Once an icon is selected a digitized voice will say what the icon represents, like "I need help" or "I want a banana". A video, created by one of the makers of a communication app, is a beautiful depiction of how an iPad gives a voice to non-verbal children. This is one of many apps which are chosen and customized for each child, however the app is not possible without the iPad to place it on. We must have the hardware, the iPad, with a case to keep it safe, to give our children voices and a chance to communicate.
About my class
My Students
Can you imagine life without being able to make a request, get a need met, greet a friend, or tell someone "I love you"? This is what it is like to be non-verbal in a world of verbal communicators.
My students have a variety of developmental delays and are non-verbal. An iPad, equipped with a communication app, allows them to communicate through digitized speech generated by selecting icons. Without a communication device, my students are without a voice. It is hard to acquire communication devices, due to lack of funding, however an iPad is one of the most affordable options. And the impact is huge!
My Project
Using an iPad for a communication device is hard to envision. The iPad is the hardware needed to be able to add the software onto it. When a communication app is downloaded on to the iPad, it is then customized to have pictures, icons, and phrases that represent things a child would need to say. The child uses the iPad as their voice, selecting icons to communicate their needs. Once an icon is selected a digitized voice will say what the icon represents, like "I need help" or "I want a banana". A video, created by one of the makers of a communication app, is a beautiful depiction of how an iPad gives a voice to non-verbal children. This is one of many apps which are chosen and customized for each child, however the app is not possible without the iPad to place it on. We must have the hardware, the iPad, with a case to keep it safe, to give our children voices and a chance to communicate.
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