TapToTalk

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= **The TapToTalk Software for the iPad** =

Submission by Dean Muchmore
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing educators comes when trying to forge a productive learning relationship with a child with special needs. There are a vast number of potential disabilities that hinder a child's ability to communicate with a teacher. Could you imagine a learning environmen t where everything was a one-way street? If you had a question you couldn't ask it, if you needed something you were left without a way to express this ne ed.

The portability of Tablet PCs has brought a new level of accessibility to special needs children through a wide variety of software, but one of the most far reaching is a simple but vital communication tool for the iPad called TapToTalk.

Devices that assist non-verbal children with communication are called augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. What TapToTalk does is simply turn an iPad into an AAC device. Used in conjunction with the TapToTalk Designer, an online application that you use to create your own AAC albums for your child, the possibilities are limitless. TapToTalk Designer includes a library of over 2,000 pictures. You can add your own pictures, photos and sounds. You can even record your own voice. Albums created in TapToTalk Designer are “synced” over the Internet directly to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. TapToTalk is a must have app for special needs children with autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, apraxia and other speech delays. Because TapToTalk is used for children or adults suffering from disabilities that hinder communication, there is no range that is particularly targeted with this software. In addition to this, the wide range of customization that is allowed using TapToTalk means that it can be configured to any age appropriate level, and can also be set-up to apply to any subject that is relevant to the topic of instruction on a given day or period.

The greatest barrier to using this tool would be the price of an iPad. At around $600.00, this is a sizable investment, especially for a family that is already bearing the burden of other costly treatments, drugs, and doctors that accompany coping with disability. Some schools in the news recently used grant money awarded in the "race to the top" federal program to purchase in-class technologies such as the iPad. More recently, however, the TapToTalk application has been set up for use on a wide variety of devices, to include Nintendo DS, the Blackberry Playbook, and all Android devices, including the Kindle Fire and the Nook Color. The web-customization platform requires a $99/yr subscription, or a lifetime fee of $179.99. Using a low-cost Android tablet and purchasing the lifetime subscription can significantly reduce the cost of using this platform and should improve it's accessibility to those on a budget. Thankfully, the web-based application can be tried for free and since it requires very minimum system specs, this web-app can be used anywhere, to include a public library or school computer system. I really cannot say enough about the flexibility of this platform. The context is what you make of it, and it can also be set up to integrate into any pedagogical approach. The concept is simple, the execution is well done, and it's another reminder that sometimes it's the simplest tools that can make best use of new technologies and inspire new technologies that are designed to better suit software such as this.

I downloaded the TapToTalk app onto my Andriod Tablet and Phone and it worked very smoothly and was easy to understand. I was not able to create a very good demonstration video myself, however, so here is a demonstration I found on YouTube: media type="youtube" key="gTaHYERBtdQ" height="315" width="420"

I could go on describing all the ways this application has helped non-verbal people in profound ways, but I think these testimonials speak for themselves:

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