Might 17, 2023
FEATURE
AssistiveWare ushers in subsequent technology of augmentative and different communication know-how
How app growth firm AssistiveWare is innovating augmentative and different communication software program
Each afternoon, 9-year-old Jay accompanies his mom Meghan Ashburn and his twin brother Nick to Virginia Seashore, the place they unwind from the day’s stimulation at college, of their residence, and out in the remainder of the world.
When Ashburn asks Jay why he loves the seaside, he picks the “sundown” button, then says, “No faculty. Sure seaside.”
In 2015, Jay was recognized with autism. By the age of 4, he began utilizing Proloquo2Go, an augmentative and different communication (AAC) app created by growth firm AssistiveWare, obtainable for iPhone and iPad.
“The seaside has at all times been a spot the place Jay can discover and chill out on his phrases,” Ashburn explains. “As a household, we go to as typically because the climate permits. He loves the sand, the waves, and the attractive sunsets.”
Proloquo2Go embodies AssistiveWare’s mission: to make AAC an efficient and accepted technique of communication. A wide range of folks undertake these instruments once they’re unable to provide oral speech, together with these with ALS, cerebral palsy, autism, and extra.
Bringing this know-how to Apple gadgets represented a substantial shift for AAC customers and David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare’s founder and CEO. With AAC obtainable on client gadgets, the quantity of people that might afford and use the know-how ballooned. This additionally enabled AssistiveWare’s speedy progress.
“One of many coolest issues concerning the iPad and the iPhone is that they’re not separate gadgets,” says Niemeijer. “They’re cool gadgets that everybody else makes use of, too, and that has already made a significant distinction in its acceptability. However we nonetheless have extra work to do.”
AssistiveWare’s subsequent technology of AAC apps, Proloquo and Proloquo Coach, turned obtainable in 2022. Past producing speech, Proloquo helps customers construct phrases or sentences, be taught associated phrases, and increase their language and grammar. Proloquo Coach offers households and educators with the instruments to help youngsters and college students of their studying.
Proloquo options 49 real youngsters and grownup’s text-to-speech voices and 12,000 phrases — about thrice greater than different AAC apps. AssistiveWare apps additionally help VoiceOver and Swap Management for customers who’re blind or low imaginative and prescient, or have restricted mobility.
For AAC customers, Niemeijer believes discovering a customizable expertise is a vital step. Apple’s new accessibility options — previewed this week — embrace Assistive Entry for folks with cognitive disabilities, and Private Voice for these vulnerable to dropping their means to talk, giving customers extra choices to tailor their experiences to their wants.
“We’re actually excited to combine these new options into AssistiveWare’s apps,” Niemeijer says. “We not too long ago launched help for iOS’s built-in voices in Proloquo, so customers have entry to a good wider vary of voices to select from. The introduction of Private Voice has the potential to supply our customers with much more choices to personalize how they convey. This, mixed with options like Assistive Entry, will enrich the alternatives obtainable to us to customise the consumer expertise and permit customers to tailor our apps to their character and desires.”
Right now, Jay makes use of Proloquo and different modes of communication to talk to his household, lecturers, and mates. Youngsters make up 80 % of Proloquo customers: Jay is among the app’s 100,000 each day customers and 300,000 general customers all over the world.
“The notice of AAC among the many public will enhance within the subsequent 5 years,” says Ashburn, who beforehand taught elementary faculty. Jay learns in a normal third grade class. “It’s a giant deal, as a result of he’s nonspeaking and so they are inclined to get separated.” Jay’s third grade classmates additionally use Proloquo as a method of interacting with him.
“Proloquo’s limitless sharing functionality might be my favourite characteristic. I can construct an AAC staff for Jay. His lecturers, prolonged household, and even classmates have entry to Proloquo on their private gadgets totally free,” Ashburn continues. “I can’t even describe how useful that’s. It’s such a sport changer by way of leveraging AAC.”
Jay is at present experiencing enchancment in his speech, and makes use of Proloquo to follow talking. To be taught new phrases, he presses the button repeatedly, till he can begin talking the phrase or phrase himself. “Shut the door” is a phrase Ashburn says she often hears, as Jay enters his preteen years.
“Many AAC choices restrict the phrases a toddler can select from,” says Ashburn. “Proloquo has such a big vocabulary that Jay can select virtually any phrase he needs. The built-in keyboard makes his choices limitless.”
Again in Amsterdam, AssistiveWare’s staff of researchers, AAC consultants, designers, builders, and high quality assurance engineers — together with 27 native staff and an extra 35 all over the world — innovate the know-how behind the merchandise and push ahead analysis and advocacy work round AAC. “Most analysis on this discipline appears to be like on the change that occurs upon an intervention for a single individual,” Niemeijer explains. “We as a substitute have consent-based nameless information on tens of 1000’s of AAC customers. That’s not widespread. We deliver insights from a bigger scale to the desk, which ends up in fascinating conversations.”
Apple’s Guided Entry, an accessibility setting launched a decade in the past to limit gadgets to a single app, radically improved the app’s potential. “Earlier than that, one of many challenges households and faculties had was that the kid would begin in a communication app, however then leap out and go to a different app,” says Niemeijer. “With Guided Entry, it was attainable to maintain the give attention to studying and speaking.”
Creating for the Apple ecosystem holds one other key benefit: Apple maintains software program help for years, making it a sound funding for households and faculties.
“It provides us the time and house to give attention to innovation,” Niemeijer says. “That manner, AssistiveWare doesn’t get caught prior to now.”
For the following technology of AAC customers, Niemeijer hopes this type of communication turns into as extensively accepted as texting. Greater than growing the know-how, the stigma round AAC represents the most important hurdle for its customers.
“I nonetheless suppose we have now an extended approach to go,” says Niemeijer. “In the event you can’t converse, the belief continues to be that you simply most likely don’t have a lot to say. That assumption is the most important downside. I hope to see a shift towards respecting this know-how so it could have the most important influence.”
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D’Nara Cush
Apple
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