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.