Rebecca is a young woman with Cerebral Palsy. She has previously used a Lightwriter and iPad with AAC app for communication. She currently has no formal AAC systems in place and is currently using the Notes app on her phone to supplement her speech.
Goal
- To more efficiently communicate with people both face-to-face and online.
- To be better understood by people who are unfamiliar with her and her speech style.
Explore
Rebecca attended with Tanya, her support worker and her speech pathologist, Eliza, attended via Zoom.
Rebecca is amazingly skilled at using her mobile phone and manages the small keyboard, though accuracy can be a bit of an effort. She wanted something lightweight, as she has a shoulder injury and can’t carry anything heavy. She uses a walker at times (though because it’s not folding and can’t be put into a car) she can’t use it in the community. Indoors she walks without it, using walls/furniture to support if needed - so something heavy wouldn’t be suitable as it might make it more difficult to get around independently. Rebecca sits down to use her phone.
We looked at dedicated text to speech devices (LightWriter SL50 and the Allora 2 ( an older model) and a video of the new Allora 3 (as we don’t have a new version) to show what they looked like, their current functions and how they could be physically managed.
Allora 3
Lightwriter SL50
Compared to her phone, these were still much too heavy and Rebecca expressed a preference for more mainstream communication options.
Trial
Together we looked at communication apps she could use on her Android phone and accessibility settings to make using the apps and texting a bit more accurate and less effortful.
We also looked at communication apps and accessibility options on an iPad. Rebecca was able to type to create messages and could also make selections from the iPad screen.She really liked the iPad smart case with the built in keyboard and an angled support (pictured).
Rebecca using the iPad with the Logitech keyboard on an angled support.
The angled support helped her sit in a more upright and balanced position.
We talked about options that Rebecca could use while out and about e.g. a larger format phone as well as options for home, like an iPad with a smart case (which would be too heavy to carry around) when seated at a desk/table.
We also talked about having a single device that could meet a number of her communication needs such as speech generation, sending texts, typing and accessing the internet. With this in mind, Rebecca and her team will visit a mainstream technology supplier such as JB HiFi, to try out larger format iPhone, an iPad Mini or an Android tablet. The Speech Assistant app that she preferred is available for both iOS and Android.
If Rebecca chooses, she can hire an iPad Mini /iPad with an AAC app, an angled stand and a keyboard for 1 to 3 months from the ComTEC Equipment Library.
Rebecca was so excited to have some options to try out thqt suited her requirements.
If you would like to book a ComTEC advisory session for yourself, family member or client, please go to our Referral page on our website and complete the online referral form.
Or, if you would like to go ahead and hire a similar setup to Rebecca's, you can complete the Equipment Library Request form.