• LittleFingers Keyboard
• Intel Play's QX3 Computer Microscope
• Tech/Speak™ by AMDI
• Mini-Merc by Assistive Technology, Inc.
• BookWorm™ by AbleNet™
• Boardmaker® Activity Pad
LittleFingers Keyboard
Because Ashley has much smaller hands than most children her age, a keyboard specifically designed for smaller hands immediately caught my eye. Spending more computer time using a keyboard, Ashley would obviously benefit from technology that could help improve her productivity and efficiency in learning the valuable skill of keyboarding.
Appearing similar to a standard keyboard than many primary colored "kiddie" input devices, the LittleFingers Keyboard is a full-function keyboard with a 3-button track ball. LittleFingers works on both Macs and PCs with the included cables, and can easily be attached to an iMac or iBook with a USB to ADB adapter (not included).
A neat feature of the LittleFingers Keyboard is its "dual-mode," allowing a second or adult-sized keyboard to be used simultaneously. Plugged into an iBook, the track pad will still function as well. This is great for children and adults working side-by-side on the computer!
Because the individual keys are smaller than a standard keyboard, Zoom Caps will not be the proper size. (Zoom Caps are alphabet stickers which are placed on individual keys to provide higher contrast for kids with visual impairments. It is possible that Zoom Caps could be carefully cut to fit but I have not yet attempted this.) But the keys are nicely designed with the representation of each letter in both upper and lowercase.
The jury is still out on whether the LittleFingers Keyboard will enhance Ashley's ability to keyboard, but the LittleFingers Keyboard is definitely worth consideration for kids with smaller hands.
Check out the LittleFingers Keyboard by DataDesk Technologies, priced under $100.00.
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QX3 Computer Microscope
No amount of effort, or instruction on the part of educators, will allow some students to successfully use a microscope...until the QX3 Computer Microscope came along! The QX3 Computer Microscope attaches to a PC-compatible computer with a USB cable and allows magnified images to be seen on a computer's monitor. With magnifications of 10X, 60X and 200X, objects can be seen with amazing clarity, from the viewing area about the size of a thumbtack at 10X magnification to an area the size of a pencil tip at 200X magnification.
The software controls the lighting of the microscope, specifically the brightness and whether the object is illuminated from the top or bottom. The software also allows for the creation of audiovisual shows, time-lapse movies, and printed posters and stickers.
The magnified images can be saved into a collection as JPEG files and incorporated into other technology on either a Mac or PC, such as IntelliTools' IntelliPics and Overlay Maker for IntelliKeys, IntelliTalk II, Boardmaker, and Speaking Dynamically Pro. The images themselves amount to less than 600k.
You can look over the QX3™ and the new QX5™ at Digital Blue™.
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Tech/Speak™ by AMDI
It has been over a decade since I spoke at my first international conference. In between sessions I ran from vendor to vendor trying to find a new portable augmentative communication system for Ashley. Everyone was trying to convince me that their system was the right one for Ashley, but I quickly realized that what I was looking for did not yet exist. I was looking for something that was designed to be:
• lightweight
• portable
• with buttons that were large enough to be visually appropriate
• with more than 12 buttons, preferably many buttons
• direct select
• an icon based system
• easy to program
• easy to use across environments
• affordable
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Colors group similar phrases
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It has arrived and it is called the Tech/Speak™ by Advanced Multimedia Devices, Inc.!
The Tech/Speak™ by AMDi® is a 32 message/multiple level system. It uses overlays easily made using Boardmaker icons or Picture Communication Symbols (PCS). The device weighs approximately 2 lbs. and runs on 4 AA alkaline batteries. It comes with its own shoulder strap.
The device is simple to record by holding down the record button and a message button at the same time while talking into a built in microphone, producing a clear high quality message. One of the great features is that buttons do not have to be recorded sequentially so that it is possible to easily change the contents of one button anywhere within the overlay.
There is little to no dead space on buttons, not requiring you to hit dead center to activate the recorded message. And, because there is a raised grid covering the overlay, it is impossible to activate the wrong message by accidentally hitting in between two buttons. There is also a volume control knob, as well as a jack to hook up an external speaker. And the surface of the device is slightly slanted, making it more visually accessible on a table top.
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This overlay is designed mostly for
cafeteria conversation with peers
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So far it may sound like a couple of other systems. But one of the best features of all is the ability to change from one level and one overlay to another level and another overlay with ease. Changing from 1-6 levels only requires simply turning a knob on the side of the device. Overlays can be designed for various environments and easily switched out or just flipped over by sliding them into a slot under the grid. Each level has its own 32 recorded messages so there is no rerecording as you might move from a fast food restaurant to Granny's house, or from the classroom to the cafeteria. The Tech/Speak allows for 6 separate overlays and 6 separate levels for different activities, each with 32 recorded messages. Switch out the overlay, change the level by the turn of a knob, and you are ready to go!
One possible drawback is that the buttons only provide 2 second messages multiplied by 32 messages, then multiplied by 6 levels for a total of 6.4 minutes. My preference might have been that the device provide a total recording time rather than a per button limit since some messages might be simple single words requiring less than 2 seconds while others might be more lengthy. But, honestly, when we recorded the first overlay, the 2 second limit per message was not a problem.
We special ordered the device with a "No Repeat" feature. If the device is not ordered this way, the message continues to repeat itself as long as your finger is on the button.
It is advertised as being made of durable impact-resistant plastic with a shatterproof case, as well as being water-resistant and easy to clean. These are features which we have not yet tested.
Priced at only $645.00, there is a lot of "talk for the buck." It is carried by Mayer-Johnson Co.
There are other button configurations available for 4 (Tech/Four™), 8 (Tech/TALK™), or 32 messages, and from 16 seconds to 6.4 minutes of recorded time. They are priced accordingly.
The Boardmaker overlay template for the various devices can be easily downloaded from Mayer-Johnson's web site.
Ashley carried the Tech/Speak™ into school the first day with the most wonderful smile on her face, as if she were carrying the keys to a brand new car. As much as a new car is freedom to a teenager, this device represents new found freedom for Ashley.
Check out the Tech/Speak at AMDi® and Mayer-Johnson Co.
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Mini-Merc by Assistive Technology, Inc.
Ashley has been a user of a speech-generating device for over 15 years. Starting with an Epson RealVoice in first grade, she moved to a dynamic system in 1994 (Speaking Dynamically and later Speaking Dynamically Pro, both by Mayer-Johnson). This software was initially run on an Apple 540c laptop and then on an Apple iBook. The iBook was made mobile at school using CJT Enterprises’ BlueFlash cart. Over the years, Ashley also utilized a Speak Easy by AbleNet and later a Tech/Speak™ by AMDi® as secondary devices for portability.
Technology has changed by leaps and bounds. Devices have gotten smaller and lighter. Memory has gotten larger and less expensive. Dynamic systems have gotten even more dynamic. And touch screens are now an integrated part of many speech generating devices.
My, how things have changed, and so has Ashley! Ashley is no longer sitting in a classroom and cannot be tethered to a power cord or her device Velcroed to a cart. She moves from one dynamic environment to another, multiple times in the course of a day: previously from building to building on a high school campus, now from home to office, office to restaurant, restaurant to shopping, and back home again. She is in and out of a car and, since her hip surgery, in and out of a wheelchair or powerchair for distance walking.
Unfortunately, we could not inspire our school district to consistently buy into, either literally or figuratively, Ashley's use of assistive technology and we were more often than not left to purchase out of pocket her assistive technology and to program Ashley’s speech generating devices. Clearly inappropriate, it was one of too many battles to fight with a public school system that was apparently unable to effectively implement IEP goals related to assistive technology. But with time of the essence, little to no support for AAC from our public high school (whether purchased by them or by us), no education occurring without a reliable and consistent method of communication, and no one within the school system to perform a comprehensive evaluation, we were forced to request an outside evaluation at public expense for a new AAC device in October 2004. It took over 15 months to finally receive the results of the outside evaluation. In the interim, at no time did the public school step up with an appropriate speech generating device.
Listed as a benefit of our new private health insurance, we decided to file for pre-authorization for the purchase of this new (and expensive) speech generating device in February 2006. The preauthorization for the device was denied. Faced with a lengthy appeals process, we purchased the device out of pocket and hired a RESNA certified private speech language pathologist to reevaluate Ashley to generate another report and plug numerous holes in the initial evaluation to launch our appeal. We appealed and were again denied. We asked for copies of the written justification for the denial and requested a review of her file in person only to find that there was no written justification for denial of our appeal. Since this was privately funded health insurance administered by BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma, we contacted the United States Department of Labor, enlisted their help, and argued the numerous areas our rights had been violated under the laws of the Employment Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). And we made contact with an attorney, nationally known for his work in this area, who was kind enough to give us some helpful advice.
We appealed again. Each time we attacked their rationale for denying the device and produced more evidence to support the claim that the device is medically necessary. Finally, in March 2007 we prevailed. But weeks later, we are still waiting for reimbursement!
We are thankful we were able to provide Ashley the benefit of this device for the 13 months while appealing the decision of our private health insurance. We have learned a number of things about her because of what she has been able to communicate with this new device. She is again less frustrated. And the old Ashley is back. She is using her speech generating device to choose where she shops and what she eats. She is ordering her own food, paying independently, making requests at the grocery store, using pop-ups, linking buttons, using past tense phrases, and on and on.
If you are faced with a similar challenge, don't give up. It is worth the fight.
Read about the Mini-Merc by following this link.
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BookWorm™
Now, this is a cool device! It's the BookWorm™ by AbleNet™. Add provided stickers to each page of your child's favorite book to designate where to push for playback and then use your voice to record the text on each page (up to 32 pages in length). Each re-recordable and removable module has 8 minutes of recording time to record up to 4 short books with more modules available for recording more books. (The BookWorm™ has a small button on the right side of the device to change between the 4 books.) The device can also be switch activated for switch users (for example, see the Jelly Bean® switch) for sequential play of pages.
Drawbacks:
• It would have been nice to have had a larger button on the device to change between the 4 recorded books allowing more independence for some students. Unfortunately, the button is really small, requiring good dexterity, and the numbers for the levels are also really small, making them very difficult to see.
• Most 32 page books are a bit juvenile for adolescents, teens, and young adults.
But still a great device for providing "talking books."
New! See Books-By-Design™ perforated papers for creating custom tabbed books designed to fit the BookWorm™.
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Boardmaker® Activity Pad
I recently purchased Mayer-Johnson's new Boardmaker® Activity Pad for Ashley and we are having great fun with it. It is portable so that she is not tethered to a computer; we can take the device with us in the car, on trips, and into bed. And it is quick and easy to design and program a learning activity. Activities are slipped into a SmartPocket which then slips into the device. "Buttons are assigned and recorded, and everything is saved to a chip on the SmartPocket itself." By removing one SmartPocket and then inserting another, it is easy to quickly go from one activity to another.
To capitalize on the power of this device, I have created Mini Books-By-Design™ to produce custom tabbed books. Finally! A way to create a "talking book" with content and images of interest to Ashley, and with text that she can see!
I can also create books with buttons within the book for target
vocabulary and comprehension quizzes. I just wish this device had come out while Ashley was still in school. It would have given her the opportunity to have access to the curriculum at her level of comprehesion.
What a powerful device. And with the creation of tabbed books that work with the Activity Pad, Ashley and I are getting a lot more mileage from it (and a lot more content on it!).
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