kitchen table math, the sequel: iConverse

Saturday, May 30, 2009

iConverse

For years we've been looking for an assistive communication device for Andrew that a) talks and b) doesn't cost several thousand dollars. The Dynamo, which Andrew used for 3 years, was impossible. He understood it, we didn't.



These days at home & abroad Andrew uses either an old AlphaSmart or a new Neo, but neither can speak. (For various reasons, I believe talking devices help an autistic person learn to 'hear' and to talk.)




We need something that doesn't cost many thousands of dollars and does talk. (Also: I want something with information architecture I am able to comprehend because it is intuitively obvious not because I spent hours reading the instruction manual and engaging in deliberate practice.)

Looks like the iTouch apps people just produced what I'm looking for: iConverse.

Costs ten bucks.



Of course, I'd hate to lay odds on just how long an Andrew owned and operated iTouch would last. This morning he left his AlphaSmart on a hot burner.

It's still working.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My 4-year-old son is autistic who has trouble with expressing his emotions. He's started using something called Voice4u (http://v.sv4u.net), which is relatively new. The pictures are very colorful and he likes it a lot. With it, he has been able to express his feelings much easier and he has been having less tantrums every day. I think you should check it out on the App Store.