HEAR MY VOICE:
Mobile Technologies Bring the Gift of Speech
By Ann Orr
Twelve-year-old Lucas* has a severe congenital impairment affecting his ability to move, communicate and learn. He does not speak, and so his parents and teachers are often left wondering if he understands what is being said or taught. Lucas has had limited success communicating with a variety of dedicated speech-producing devices, but his motor and cognitive impairments have impeded progress. Enter the iPad and a remarkable symbol-based app called Proloquo2Go, introduced by Lucas’ speech pathologist at the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital. In a few short months, Lucas has learned to use the iPad to communicate basic needs and wants, and has even been able to tell his father “I love you” for the very first time.
For the past two semesters, Eastern Michigan University student McLaine Mast has observed the therapy sessions of five patient-clients at Mott Hospital’s Speech and Language Clinic. The children, whose ages range from 4 to 18, have motor and cognitive disabilities that interferea with typical speech and language production. Several are capable of one-word utterances; others communicate with gestures or via grunts and squeals. As a result of such limited verbal communication abilities, these children are at risk—their intellect is often underestimated; their potential goes unrecognized.
McLaine, a graduate student in Speech Language Pathology, is interested in how emerging mobile technologies like the iPad, along with communication apps like Proloquo2Go, can change the lives of non-verbal children. To study
this phenomenon, McLaine wrote and presented a grant proposal to the Mott Family Network (MFN), Mott Hospital’s volunteer organization that funds and supports assistive technology projects for Mott patients. The MFN generously responded by donating iPads and licenses for Proloquo2Go, and after McLaine received U of M’s and EMU’s Internal Review Board approvals, her action research project began.
McLaine’s objective was to record, through field notes and video, the children’s therapy sessions introducing the iPad and Proloquo2Go as tools for augmentative or alternative communication. Initial questions were numerous. How did the speech/language pathologist (SLP) present the device? How quickly could children learn to operate the iPad and begin to use Proloquo2Go to communicate? What did the SLP do to foster this interaction? Later, as the children’s therapy progressed, other questions arose. Could the hardware and/or app be adjusted to address issues of physical access? Will the child’s use of the device move beyond
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the expression of basic needs to communicating more complex thoughts, ideas and emotions?
Early therapy sessions focused on how to use the iPad and navigate through Proloquo2Go. SLPs used a combination of verbal prompts, pointing and hand-over-hand instruction to help the children gain mastery of the device. Later sessions focused on using Proloquo2Go to make choices and communicate wants and needs. Play-based sessions built around compelling toys were particularly effective. Four-year- old Emma loved to play with the
dollhouse, so her SLP integrated the activity into the therapy. To add each piece of furniture, Emma had to use her iPad to request what she wanted. This exercise began with lots of prompting by the SLP, but quickly evolved into spontaneous use of the iPad as Emma asked for more and more items to furnish her house. She was very motivated!
As the study winds down, McLaine has some initial findings to report.
All five children learned how to use the iPad and Proloquo2Go, and each child’s ability to communicate improved. Parents and SLPs are encouraged with the children’s progress. Fine motor issues in using the iPad were frequent, but most were overcome with practice; also, the latest update of Proloquo2Go has better accessibility with larger navigation icons.
Moving beyond the communication of basic needs to the expression of abstract ideas will be the biggest challenge; only Lucas, so far, has been able to use the iPad to express emotion. Still, the progress observed in just six weeks of therapy is dramatic. The children in this study have demonstrated improved communication, despite the constraints of their cognitive and motor impairments. The iPad, with its intuitive and accessible interface, combined with an SLP’s clinical expertise and a well- designed augmentative/alternative communication app like Proloquo2Go, can change lives. Finally, all voices may be heard.
For information on Proloquo2Go, visit
www.proloquo2go.com. To learn about other augmentative/alternative communication apps, visit www.
appsforaac.net.
*Children’s names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
Associate Professor Ann Orr, Ed.D., teaches classes in assistive and instructional technologies at Eastern
Michigan University. MORE COMMUNICATION APPS TO KNOW ABOUT
There are dozens of apps that facilitate language development and communication. Here are three more outstanding apps to know about; each offers the user unlimited possibilities for communication.
TouchChat, $150 •
www.silver-kite.com/touchChat/ SonoFlex. $99 •
www.tobiisonoflex.com
OneVoice, $199•
www.thinklegend.com/onevoice/ SPRING/SUMMER 2012 | 23
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