Top Ten TapToTalk Blog Posts of 2010

The New Year is a time for lists, so here is our list of the ten most popular posts on the TapToTalk blog for 2010, based on the number of times they were viewed:

1. TapToTalk on the DSi XL: Bigger Pictures, Bigger Sound
2. Now You Can TapToTalk on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
3. What About Non-Verbal Communication? What Horses Can Teach Us.
4. Tips and Tricks: How One Mom Set Up Her TapToTalk Albums
5. Halloween and Your Non-Verbal Child
6. A Nine Year-Old Autistic Boy, His TapToTalk, and His Great New School
7. TapToTalk and Sign Language
8. TapToTalk and PECS
9. TapToTalk, the Partially Verbal Child and Expressive Language Disorder
10. (tie) Product Tips and Tricks: Print Your TapToTalk Pictures and TapToTalk AAC for Android

You can click on any of the above posts to read them.

For those of you keeping score, we had 57 blog posts in 2010 (not counting this one).

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Make Your Christmas TapToTalk Album

Last year, we got this message from a North Carolina TapToTalk Mom:

"My son was able to 'say' Merry Christmas to everyone this year for the first time, thanks to TapToTalk. It really made it a special Christmas."

You can easily make a holiday TapToTalk album for your child. We have some pictures in the standard TapToTalk picture library that you can use in the Holiday category. You can also add pictures of your tree, your hung stockings, and other holiday images that are meaningful to your family. Have fun with your child choosing the pictures and recording the sounds. Get the whole family involved.

'Tis the season!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Press Release: TapToTalk™ Earns Coveted Parent Tested, Parent Approved (PTPA) Seal of Approval

December 7, 2010-Assistyx™ LLC is pleased to announce that TapToTalk has been awarded the PTPA Winner’s Seal of Approval. PTPA Media is North America’s largest parent community, with over 40,000 volunteer parent testers.

Consumers looking for high-quality products and services can rest assured when they see the PTPA Winner’s Seal; it is evidence of product excellence as evaluated by unbiased parent consumers.

TapToTalk was among many entries from across North America competing to earn the PTPA™ Seal. Because independent parent volunteers evaluate these products in their own homes, PTPA winners are chosen based on merit and consumer experience–not on commercial considerations. As a result, the PTPA Media™ Seal has quickly gained recognition as an international leader in certifying consumer products for quality, effectiveness and value. Their CEO has appeared on over 40 morning shows as a reliable source for the latest and greatest in family products. The media and parents alike trust the collective opinion that PTPA Media represents.

TapToTalk turns an iPad™, iPhone®, iPod touch®, Android™ device, Nintendo DSi, DSi XL, DS Lite, DS, Windows or Macintosh computer into an affordable, portable, customizable, socially acceptable assistive and augmentative communication (AAC) device.

Being honored with the influential Seal of Approval from PTPA Media Inc. is a huge achievement for a product geared to families, children and parents. “TapToTalk is leading the AAC revolution for non-verbal and partially-verbal children and their families,” said Phil Bookman, CEO and founder of Assistyx LLC. “We are delighted that the parent testers at PTPA have validated and honored TapToTalk with the Seal of Approval.”

“At PTPA Media, we are proud to play a role in certifying innovative products that families can trust,” said Sharon Vinderine, CEO and founder of PTPA Media Inc. “When consumers search for our Seal of Approval on product packaging, they are essentially searching for validation from their peers. Their peers will have objectively tested and approved these products based on their performance in a real life environment. That type of resource for families is priceless.”

About Assistyx LLC
Assistyx develops products that help individuals with physical and mental challenges reach their full potential.

Assistyx LLC contact information: Phil Bookman, (408)335-7373. For more information visit www.taptotalk.com.

• PTPA Award Letter
• PTPA TapToTalk Listing
• PTPA December 2010 Winners

About PTPA Media Inc.
PTPA Media provides an objective framework for appraising and promoting new products designed to enrich family living. The company's mission is to marry innovative companies with discerning consumers, to improve consumer access to quality products and services for their families and homes.

PTPA Media Contact Information: Sharon Vinderine, (905)738-1447x224 For more information visit www.ptpamedia.com.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Giving Thanks for Giving a Child a Voice

On this Thanksgiving, we at TapToTalk give thanks for the opportunity to help so many children communicate. We think the heartfelt words of some of their parents say what this means much better than we could.

"We love you TapToTalk! Without you we'd still be waiting on our school to get us a device, but once we found you, our son has a voice on his DS and our iPhones! Thanks!" - Carolyn Gonzalez-Galvan

"I can't afford the augmentative devices but knew I wanted something that would help (my son) since he has limited emerging language and had been non-communicative for years. This was a godsend! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!" - A Florida Parent

"I just wanted to let you know we love your product. My daughter with autism is almost eight years old and is nonverbal. She lights up with a big smile when she pushes a picture and hears the voice request something." - Sandy La Grand

"I am floored...speechless...this product is a dream come true for me and for so many other parents of non-verbal kids! Taking advantage of the technology available is amazing. Thank you for finding another tool for my son." - Heather Oliver-Hamilton

"My son is Aspergic and even though he can talk he cannot state an emotion without seeing the face that matches how he feels. So thank you, you have given my specking (little) boy a better voice." - Lee Purcell

"Thank you for helping my family by giving my son a voice when he doesn't have one." - A Canadian Parent

"This is a dream come true! I am a mother of a 9-year-old boy who has ASD. He has some speech but is not that great communicating. This is going to help him so much and it won't even point him out as different because it's a game machine that every child has. Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart for finally making my child feel average!" - Nicole Lynn MacNeil

"Since we started using the TapToTalk, he (autistic son) has been independent with communication. The first time he used this was to communicate what he wanted to eat and drink for supper. The smile on his face was amazing. He answered quickly and was rewarded with what he wanted. Since then, he has used it to tell us how he feels and where he wants to go." - Tammy Lessick

"After playing with TapToTalk in the car, she (used it to) let me know she was frustrated because she was hungry and wanted steak and a smoothie. I started to cry. It was my first actual conversation with my kid in 8 years." - Amanda Perkins

We thank all of you.Thank you, thank you, thank you!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk AAC for Android

We are delighted to announce that our FREE TapToTalk App for Android devices is now available from the Android Market, complete with sample pictures and sounds.

Yes, we've added Android to our growing list of devices that run TapToTalk AAC content. You can run the same TapToTalk on Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Nintendo DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL, or any PC or Mac with web access.

If you want to customize pictures and sounds for your child, you'll want to subscribe to TapToTalk Designer, the easy to use online program. It's only $99.95 a year. New subscribers can publish to any and all of our supported devices. If you're already a TapToTalk Designer subscriber, you can also now publish your albums to Android devices. No extra charge.

• TapToTalk for Android works just likes TapToTalk for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
• TapToTalk for Android is FREE in the Android Market. You can try it with real sample albums.
• ALL TapToTalk Designer subscribers can design individualized albums for TapToTalk for Android (and iPhone/iPad and Nintendo and Web) for one low price.
• TapToTalk requires Android 2.1 or later.

Android devices come in a wide variety of sizes. How will TapToTalk work on your particular Android device? You can find out by downloading the free TapToTalk App from the Android Market today!

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

When Should a Child Use AAC?

TapToTalk and similar products uses state-of-the-art technology to make AAC affordable. So instead of obsessing on the cost of AAC, families, teachers and SLPs can focus on what is truly in the best interest of the child.

For some parents, this leads to concerns about whether TapToTalk, or, for that matter, any AAC is appropriate for their child. Of course, we really cannot answer that (though we are often asked), because we don't know your child. We recommend that concerned parents seek out professional help from a speech-language pathologist (SLP).

But the most common concern appears to be unfounded: AAC does not become a crutch that inhibits speech development. Quite the opposite. Children who use AAC devices make more speech attempts and make more progress in their speech, especially when used as part of professional speech therapy treatment. Success with AAC helps them grasp what communication is all about, and that they can express themselves, which makes them want to do it all the more.

There are also some great online resources for parents who are concerned about using AAC, especially for very young children.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) web site has Basic Information About Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Joanne M. Cafiero and Ann Meyer published Your child with autism: when is augmentative and alternative communication an appropriate option? in Exceptional Parent.

University of Northwestern Iowa published research from a master's thesis entitled Does AAC impede natural speech?-and other fears.

These and other authoritative resources can help alleviate most concerns. But nothing beats an evaluation by an SLP who knows your child.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

User-to-User: TapToTalk Album Design Tips

We get a lot of questions about designing TapToTalk albums, but our experience is that our users know more about this than we do. After all, they are designing albums for real kids to meet real life communication needs.

So here are some real users with real tips from the front lines:

Joanne Rusin O'Leary: I have been having so much fun designing my student's TapToTalk. Social interaction is a big part of a child's life. I have one screen of feelings; she loves to go over and tell her friends, "I like you you're my friend" with her TapToTalk. I also have a pic of someone getting pinched and I recorded the words "don't pinch me it hurts.

On the play screen I have a picture of a nurse and if she chooses that it goes to all the things in the dramatic play center we have set up for our doctor's office: shot, band-aid, stethoscope, etc.

Carrie Goodale Dunlap: So far we have two albums, home and school. Under the Home album we have seven categories. Play, eat, drink, go, help, bathroom, and singing (we sing a lot). Under the play category I have puzzle, books, music, animal figures, TV, and his music blocks toy (his fav toy). Under the TV and book categories I add images of specific DVDs and books that are his favorites.

Under the food category I have snacks, fruit, sandwiches, pizza, breakfast, and ice cream. I uploaded images for the specific foods he likes that go with each of those categories for him to choose. Some of those go a few "layers" deep. For example if he wants Cheez-Its he presses food, then snack, then crackers, and then the type of cracker he wants.

Under the sing category I uploaded images of his favorite songs. For songs that have parts for him to participate, I added additional images that go with them. So for Old Mac Donald he presses sing, then Old Mac Donald, then which animal he wants to sing about. I also did wheels on the bus like that so once he selects the bus, images representing the parts of the song come up and he can choose which ones he wants to sing about as we go. I did audio of all of them as well.
I will be adding a family category soon.

For school (my son is in Kindergarten), the main categories are snack, rewards, bathroom, help, therapy, and sing. Under the therapy category I put OT, PT, Speech and under each of those the specific activities that they do. I have the DSi so I went into the school and took a bunch of pictures with it of the items that he actually uses, and then uploaded them to the TapToTalk Designer website and added audio.

There is a lot more that I plan on adding as we incorporate the TapToTalk more and more into his school day. I need to figure out how to use the jumps as well.

We LOVE TapToTalk!

@moiraeve1 (via Twitter): Made pad thai, took picture, now its a food choice in my kid's TapToTalk.

Ah, yes, food is always a big hit, And the picture needs to be right!

Caroline Louise Curran: Emel (daughter) told me she wants me to make her a McDonalds album for her TapToTalk so she can order her own food. That's my job for tomorow. She just loves her TapToTalk.

Self-reliant, self-sufficient! Go for it, Emil!

So now you've heard from the real experts.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

More Than Words: Understanding Social Communication

Ask any parent of a child with an expressive communication disorder, and they'll tell you that social communication is often the most difficult challenge. This is especially true for autistic children who actually experience the world differently than "the rest of us."

To understand your child's social communication challenges, listen to Lisa Daxer. Lisa is a biomedical engineering major at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She is also autistic.

Lisa refers to "the rest of us" as "neurotypicals." She describes what happens when an autistic person encounters neurotypicals in her blog Report from an Alien Brain. For a great summary, check out the NPR article Autism Gives Woman An 'Alien View' Of Social Brains.

We really encourage you to read the NPR article, so we'll just offer you this teaser quote from Lisa Daxer: "We all avoid different things. I avoid polyester clothing. They avoid talking about death."

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk AAC for Angelman Syndrome

Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a neuro-genetic disorder. Symptoms include severe developmental delays, seizures, sleep disorders, movement and balance problems, an unusually happy disposition, and severe speech impairment.

Children with AS have the same need (and right) to communicate as do all other kids. We especially like the Angelman Syndrome Foundation's slogan: "I may not speak, but I have much to say." We have heard from many parents of children with AS that they have had great success using TapToTalk as their AAC solution. Most tell us TapToTalk was recommended by other parents, and we are proud to be able to help them help their kids communicate.

Children with AS may be misdiagnosed with autism or cerebral palsy. Regardless of cause, TapToTalk provides portable, customizable, socially acceptable and affordable AAC for children with expressive language problems.

Here are some resources for AS:

Angelman Syndrome Foundation - United States
Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics - United States
Angelman Syndrome Association - Australia
ASSERT - United Kingdom
Canadian Angelman Syndrome Society - Canada
Angelman New Zealand - New Zealand

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Tips and Tricks: Using the TapToTalk ID and Password

Every TapToTalk you create has a unique ID and password. In this post, we'll explain why that's so, where to find them, and how to use them.

TapToTalk is not just the name of our product. A TapToTalk is a collection of albums. Most of our users create this collection for a particular child. Regardless of what the collection means to you, this collection is unique in the TapToTalk system.

In order to identify your collection -- your TapToTalk -- from others, TapToTalk Designer assigns each TapToTalk a unique 10 digit ID number.

You also give the TapToTalk a password. We recommend that you use a different password from your TapToTalk Designer account.

We are often asked why there is a different ID and password for each TapToTalk. Why not just use the Designer password? The reason is so you can allow anyone to access your child’s albums on the Web App or the iPhone/iPad App without necessarily allowing them to change the content. Also, Pro and Agency users have more than one TapToTalk in their account, so each needs a different unique identifier and password.

The separate TapToTalk ID and Password makes the TapToTalk system more secure. For example, a professional can create a set of albums for a child, but they may have other TapToTalks for other children. They can tell the parent or the teacher at school the TapToTalk ID and Password to either log into the Web App or configure the TapToTalk app for iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. The parent/teacher can then run the content only for the proper child.

If you aren’t sure what your TapToTalk ID is, just click on the TapToTalks link in the upper left hand corner of TapToTalk Designer. The ID is in parenthesis next to the TapToTalk’s name. The ID and password are also displayed every time you publish that TapToTalk.

The instructions for logging into the Web App or configuring the iPhone/iPad App with the 10 digit TapToTalk ID and password are found in their respective user’s guides in the online help of TapToTalk Designer. Unless you change the password, you only do this setup once.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Halloween and Your Non-Verbal Child

A Halloween tip from Tammy Lessick, TapToTalk Mom and author of the AutismLearningFelt blog:

The holidays present challenges for us. My son likes to go Trick O’ Treating. He is still young enough for it, but will soon outgrow it (age wise anyways). The problem we face is that he likes to go into everyone’s house. Also, approaching a lot of strangers' houses means curious looks when my nonverbal, autistic son doesn’t say anything, just holds out his bag and makes noises. Last year, we had his Nintendo and TapToTalk program to help with that. I uploaded a Halloween picture for him to touch that said "Trick O’Treat."

We'd add a picture that says "Boo!" And the ever-popular, "Thank you."

You'll find a few Halloween pictures in the Holidays category of the TapToTalk Picture Library. There's also a picture for "thank you" in the Widgit Samples category. And you can always use your own pictures in TapToTalk as well.

Happy Halloween!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Apraxia Resource Center of Connecticut "Unlocking Voices" Conference October 22

The Apraxia Resource Center of Connecticut has been a great resource for families of children diagnosed with CAS. TapToTalk is proud to support them, and publish this guest post.

The Apraxia Resource Center of Connecticut (ARCC) is a statewide 501(c) non-profit organization formed by parents of children diagnosed with childhood Apraxia of speech (CAS).  The organization began as an informal parent led support group. As the needs of the families grew, we decided to incorporate and formalize our goals and objectives in order to provide better programs and stronger support systems for families and professionals helping children with CAS.

Our mission is to provide each child affected by CAS the best opportunities and resources to develop meaningful speech.

Our goals include:

1. Provide education, support and networking opportunities for families affected by CAS and to the professionals that treat them.
2. Increase awareness of Apraxia in our communities.
3. Help school-based and private speech therapists gain a better understanding of the best methods for treating children with CAS.
4. Assist local families in meeting the overwhelming financial demands of providing adequate speech therapy for their children with apraxia.

We are hosting our first conference, Unlocking Voices on October 22, 2010 at the Holiday Inn in North Haven.  Over 15 area experts will speak on topics ranging from reading development, becoming a talker, executive functioning, PROMPT, using music in speech therapy and developing IEP goals for children with Apraxia.

For conference information or to register, please e-mail Michele at apraxiact@yahoo.com.

Visit us at our web site and on Facebook.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk in All Languages

We are happy to announce that TapToTalk can now be used with all languages. Yes, we do mean all.

Sounds, of course, can be recorded in any language. Now text for picture captions and descriptions can be entered in TapToTalk Designer in any language. The Nintendo App has certain restrictions on the characters it displays, as described below, but the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Web apps can display and play any language.

TapToTalk documentation is in English, and the user interface in TapToTalk Designer is in English, so for design work, a limited familiarity with English is helpful.

	Nintendo App	iPhone/iPod/iPad/Web Apps
Sounds	Record in any language	Record in any language
Picture captions and descriptions: English and European character set	Accented characters displayed without accent marks	All character sets displayed
Picture captions and descriptions: All other character sets	Not displayed	All character sets displayed

Now portable, customizable, affordable, socially acceptable AAC is available for children everywhere, regardless of language.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Happy Birthday TapToTalk

It's TapToTalk's first birthday! And what a year it has been!

The tyke has certainly grown up fast. Now used in hundreds and hundreds of schools by thousands of kids, TapToTalk has added platforms, features and functions all year long in response to your feedback. And we'll be announcing even more in the coming weeks and months. So keep those ideas coming and stay tuned!

Nearly all our marketing is by word-of-mouth. So TapToTalk wants to thank all of you, and especially our 2,000 Facebook fans. Spread the word so we can help ever more children communicate better. Together, we're making portable, customizable, affordable, socially acceptable communication devices a reality for non-verbal and partially-verbal children everywhere.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk, the Partially Verbal Child and Expressive Language Disorder

We market TapToTalk as being for "non-verbal" children. However, this is really shorthand for "non-verbal and partially verbal" children. But what exactly do we mean by "partially verbal?" We mean children who can speak but have an expressive language disorder.

Expressive language disorder occurs when a child cannot express his or her thoughts and desires through speech at the same level as peers of the same intelligence. The child may not have problems pronouncing words, at least no more so than is age-typical. But the child does have problems putting words together in sentences. The child seemingly cannot recall the right word, and grammar and word usage are often incorrect. Vocabulary and the range of thoughts the child can express are more limited than are those of equally intelligent peers. Symptoms may include not properly using pronouns; leaving out verbs or articles; excessively using non-specific nouns and pronouns like "it," "thing" and stuff."

Though they struggle with expressive speech, these children usually can understand speech as well as their equally intelligent peers. They understand much more sophisticated language than they can speak. So a simple rule of thumb is that when comprehension far exceeds expression, you may be dealing with expressive language disorder. But be aware that "comprehension exceeds expression" is typical of all youngsters first learning to talk, and children develop speech at different rates. So if you are concerned about your child's speech development, see a speech professional for an evaluation.

Expressive language disorder may be secondary to another condition like autism, apraxia or cerebral palsy (and there are many others). Or the root cause may be unknown and there may not seem to be any other underlying condition.

Regardless of cause, TapToTalk works great for children with expressive language disorder. The child taps a familiar picture and a proper sentence is played, expressing a complete thought. But TapToTalk is more than a "talker." It is also a coach (and a very patient one at that!). The child communicates better with the help of the AAC device, and at the same time learns to improve expressive speech by imitating the sounds from TapToTalk. Since you can control the pictures used and the sounds played, you can calibrate them to the child's individual progress, increasing the sophistication and range of language and thoughts expressed as the child progresses.

One concern sometimes raised is that AAC may become a crutch and discourage improved verbal communication. The evidence is the opposite. Children who use AAC like TapToTalk make more verbal attempts and improve the quality and quantity of verbalizations.

So let's give all our kids the voice they deserve!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

My Friend, My Voice: Getting Regular Ed and Special Ed Kids Interacting

Most everyone agrees that getting regular education and special education students interacting with each other is good for all of them. Among the benefits are that it builds understanding and acceptance of differences, and often enhances the self-esteem of the special ed kids. Friendships development. Good things happen.

So we were struck by the idea one educator mentioned to us. She has the regular ed children record the TapToTalk sounds for her non-verbal and partially-verbal special ed students. They pair up, so one child becomes the standard voice for his or her buddy.

It does not take a lot of imagination to see how many ways this could be a great idea. So we thought we'd share it with all of you. Maybe it would work in your setting.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk and Sign Language

Sign language is often used by children who use TapToTalk. If your child knows or is learning sign language, you may want to use the signs they know as pictures in TapToTalk. It's pretty easy to do that.

First, you need the images of the signs. The Lesson Tutor web site has American Sign Language (ASL) and Signed English (SE) symbol images that are "reproducible for educational, non-commercial use." To access these symbols here are two Lesson Tutor links:

1) Learn American Sign Language (ASL) and Signed English (SE)

2) American Sign Language (ASL) and Signed English (SE) Available Vocabulary Index

Second, you need to upload one of these symbol images to TapToTalk Designer. From the Lesson Tutor site, save the image on your computer by right-clicking and using the menu that pops up. Then upload it from your computer to TapToTalk Designer as you would any other picture file. For more information about adding your own pictures, see the Adding Your Pictures to the Picture Library topic under the Picture category in TapToTalk Designer Help (subscribers only) or in the TapToTalk Support Center (anyone).

Here are some other resource links you may find interesting:

• Autism and ASL
• Sign Language-Nonverbal Users
• Alternative Augmentative Communication for Children with Autism: PECS and Sign
• Sign Language and Autism-Children Who Are Autistic

So, yes, you can use sign language symbols in your TapToTalk albums.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Tips and Tricks: Jump Library

One of the really handy features of TapToTalk Designer's Album Outliner is called a Jump. A Jump is a branch of your Album Outline that you may want to reuse in more than one place. For example, you may want to "Jump To" your child's favorite snack foods in several places in your album. With a Jump, you could put a "Hungry" picture wherever you want, and have it point to a "Snack" Jump. Another common example is a Jump of "colors" that you can reuse in various places.

We just added a powerful new feature called the Jump Library. Now you can store these reusable album outline snippets and use them again and again in different TapToTalk albums. This can save you a lot of work!

As always, subscribers get this new feature automatically.

For more information about the Jump Library, please read the updated “Using Jumps” guide available in both TapToTalk Designer Help and the Customer Zone-Support Center.

For more information about jumps, see our blog post Tips and Tricks: Jump To It!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

"I know what I want to say!"

We got an email from a TapToTalk user the other day. We'll call him Tom (not his real name). Tom had a question about TapToTalk Designer. The interesting thing is that Tom, who is non-verbal, designs his own TapToTalk. Then he has a family member record the sounds.

Tom types well enough to communicate by email, so, we wondered, why not just use a text-to-speech app to communicate? It turns out he does, but he explained that he found text-to-speech too slow most of the time. With TapToTalk pictures, he can communicate much faster in most situations. And he knows the speech will be clear and accurate, nor always true for text-to-speech.

What struck us was when he wrote, "I know what I want to be able to say." Of course. That sounded familiar. We hear a lot about kids letting their parents, teachers or SLPs know what they want to communicate. Few TapToTalk users may be as independent as Tom, but many kids want to be partners in designing their TapToTalk albums. For example, you may remember our post about the little girl who told Mom she wanted a McDonalds album for her TapToTalk so she could order for herself (A TapToTalk Happy Meal, Hold the Lettuce, Hold the Pickle).

So let's be sure our non-verbal children are able to communicate what they want to say! It's their right.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Update to Communication Bill of Rights

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) web site has a nice summary of the Communication Bill of Rights published by the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities in 1992:

All people with a disability of any extent or severity have a basic right to affect, through communication, the conditions of their existence. All people have the following specific communication rights in their daily interactions. These rights are summarized from the Communication Bill of Rights put forth in 1992 by the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities. Each person has the right to:

• request desired objects, actions, events and people
• refuse undesired objects, actions, or events
• express personal preferences and feelings
• be offered choices and alternatives
• reject offered choices
• request and receive another person's attention and interaction
• ask for and receive information about changes in routine and environment
• receive intervention to improve communication skills
• receive a response to any communication, whether or not the responder can fulfill the request
• have access to AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) and other AT (assistive technology) services and devices at all times
• have AAC and other AT devices that function properly at all times
• be in environments that promote one's communication as a full partner with other people, including peers
• be spoken to with respect and courtesy
• be spoken to directly and not be spoken for or talked about in the third person while present
• have clear, meaningful and culturally and linguistically appropriate communications

We at TapToTalk believe that every child has the right to communicate to the best of his or her ability. For some children, that ability is only realized with support, like speech therapy and an appropriate AAC device. Technology has advanced a lot since 1992, providing AAC choices like TapToTalk that did not then exist. This means that today we can add to the following to the list of rights:

• have AAC that is affordable
• have AAC that is portable
• have AAC that is socially acceptable
• have AAC that is customizable

Let's spread the word and bring these communication rights to every child we can!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

AAC Help for the Visually Impaired

The Nintendo DSi XL and Apple iPad have helped many visually impaired kids use TapToTalk. They still get portable, affordable, socially acceptable AAC, but with larger screens and thus larger pictures.

You can do even more to help a visually impaired child on the iPad. With its zoom feature activated, you just double-tap the screen with three fingers and swipe up to zoom in. Then you can move the screen around with the usual finger gestures, tap things, and so forth. To zoom out, double-tap with three fingers again and swipe down. Zoom only works with three fingers, so your child won't accidentally zoom in and out.

For information about turning on the iPad accessibility features, see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4064.

There are similar features on the iPhone and iPod touch, and for Windows and the Mac OS. And remember, you can use your TapToTalk with any or all of pur player apps: the Nintendo App, iPhone/iPad App and/or Web App, and these apps are all free.

Easier accessibility means your child will communicate more. We like that idea!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Give the Gift of Communication - A TapToTalk Gift Certificate

You asked for it (well, at least some of you did), you got it! We're happy to announce that, by popular demand, we now have gift certificates available.

Anyone can buy a TapToTalk Gift Certificate, which can be used for a new one-year TapToTalk Home subscription or a one-year renewal. The cost is $99.95.

Find out more, or buy one! For future reference, there's also a link on the Store page on taptotalk.com.

Also, remember that you can renew your TapToTalk subscription at any time. So if you receive a gift certificate, you can use it right away to add another year to your TapToTalk subscription.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk at the 2010 National Conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech

TapToTalk will be exhibiting at the 2010 National Conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Pittsburgh, PA on July 8-10. This important gathering is sponsored by the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA).

But what exactly is Childhood Apraxia of Speech? Wikipedia defines Apraxia as follows:

"Apraxia is a disorder caused by damage to specific areas of the cerebrum, characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements. It is a disorder of motor planning which may be acquired or developmental, but may not be caused by incoordination, sensory loss, or failure to comprehend simple commands (which can be tested by asking the person to recognize the correct movement from a series). Apraxia should not be confused with aphasia, an inability to produce and/or comprehend language; abulia, the lack of desire to carry out an action; or allochiria, in which patients perceive stimuli to one side of the body as occurring on the other."

Wikipedia further defines Apraxia of speech, a specific form of Apraxia:

"Symptoms of Acquired Apraxia of speech (AOS) and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) include inconsistent articulatory errors, groping oral movements to locate the correct articulatory position, and increasing errors with increasing word and phrase length. AOS often co-occurs with Oral Apraxia (during both speech and non-speech movements) and Limb Apraxia.

"Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) presents in children who have no evidence of difficulty with strength or range of motion of the articulators, but are unable to execute speech movements because of motor planning and coordination problems. This is not to be confused with phonological impairments in children with normal coordination of the articulators during speech.

"Acquired apraxia of speech involves the loss of previously acquired speech levels. It occurs in both children and adults who have (prior to the onset of apraxia) acquired some level of speaking ability. Unlike Childhood Apraxia of Speech, AOS is typically the result of a stroke, tumor, or other known neurological illness or injury."

CASANA's mission is "To strengthen the support systems in the lives of children with apraxia, so that each child has their best opportunity to develop speech." We at TapToTalk are proud to play our small part in helping this effort. If you are at the conference please stop by our booth and say hello.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Which AAC Device? TapToTalk Gives You Many Choices

TapToTalk runs on many devices. All the Nintendo DS models: original DS, DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL. Apple devices: iPad, iPhone, iPod touch. Even PCs and Macs, including tablet PCs, netbooks and touchscreen PCs. So many to choose from!

The first thing to know is that you can run the same TapToTalk on multiple devices, serially or even at the same time. No extra charge! You can move from one device to another. You can move the TapToTalk card from one Nintendo DS to another. You can run the same TapToTalk on an iPhone and a Nintendo DS. You can have a whole symphony of devices if you wish. Still no extra charge!

Each device has its advantages. For example, the DS, DS Lite, DSi, iPhone and iPod touch fit in a pocket. The DSi XL is bigger and louder than these, better for those with fine motor and visual problems. The iPad is bigger and louder still, excellent for those with more severe physical limitations. The Nintendos can take a lot of abuse and keep running. And there are cost differences to consider.

But, when you choose your TapToTalk device, you are not making a fateful decision. We hear from customers who have moved from one device to another to meet their children's needs. We hear from customers who use more than one device. For example, a DS the child carries almost everywhere, a touchscreen computer at school, and mom's iPhone in the car. Also, did we mention...there is no extra charge for using the TapToTalk on all these devices.

Choose the device that makes sense for your child. Change your mind or need more than one device? That's no problem with TapToTalk.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Australia Takes the Lead

TapToTalk has fans and users all over the world. We have Facebook fans in hundreds of cities and towns. Los Angeles, New York, Jackson and Philadelphia lead the American cities. But now Australia has climbed to the top of our list, with the first two cities, Sydney and Brisbane, and three of the top ten. England has two cites in the top ten, and Dublin, Ireland rounds out the leaders.

Here are the top 20 cities for TapToTalk Facebook fans:

1. Sydney

2. Brisbane

3. New York

4. London

5. Los Angeles

6. Manchester

7. Melbourne

8. Dublin

9. Jackson

10. Philadelphia

11. Chicago

12. Newark

13. Columbus

14. Brighton

15. Boston

16. Birmingham

17. Indianapolis

18. Atlanta

19. Perth

20. Tampa

While the majority of our customers are in the US, we appreciate the strong following in Australia, the UK and Ireland. We are proud to be helping kids in so many places.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.


The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Summer Time and Your TapToTalk

Summer is here!

(Well, it is in the northern hemisphere, at any rate. For all of you down-under, we apologize for being a half-year off.)

Here are some things to think about for your child's TapToTalk as summer begins:

Going on vacation? How are you traveling? You may want to add pictures related to an airplane, train, boat or car trip. Or of the people or places you plan to visit. You could even set up an album just for trips.

Closer to home, it may be time to add pictures for the beach or the local pool or park. Or maybe summer camp. You could, for example, have pictures of the staff at your child's camp.

Do you have some communication goals for your child this summer? Perhaps you have discussed that with the teacher or SLP. How can you use TapToTalk to extend your child's communication capability this summer?

One TapToTalk Mom told us she started an album for the summer garden, with flowers, plants, vegetables, hose, rake, watering can, snails, and so forth.

These are just some thought-starters. Have a great summer!

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.


The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Using Video to Communicate with Non-Verbal Students

Guest blogger Katie Shepard is a special education teacher at AchieveKids* in Palo Alto, California.

AchieveKids is a school for special needs children with serious behavioral challenges. My class is for students 16 to 22 years old with serious communication and other developmental disabilities. We work on life and vocational skills in preparation for adult programs.

I spend most of my time focusing on student communication. My classroom is structured to develop good communication for all students throughout the day. We use a variety of communication systems like sign, TapToTalk, PECS, and other assistive devices. All the attention on student communication made me start to think more broadly about how I communicate with the students. I began to question if there is a better way for me to communicate with my non-verbal students.

One of the solutions I have found is to use video. I am encouraging my students to use pictures and devices to talk with me, so why not do the same with them? I have had great success making short videos using a Flip Video camera. The Flip Video camera is small enough to fit in a pocket, easy to use and inexpensive. It has been a great choice for our classroom. The videos are able to communicate so much more than spoken or written words. I use the videos to:

• Model behavior and concepts to students
• Reinforce good behavior
• Track student progress (parents love this)
• Document behaviors (parents love this)
• Document fun events to build memories
• Create video social stories
• Train staff

For one student, I used the Flip Video to record him doing a good job getting on the school bus. This is a boy for whom getting on the bus was a major daily struggle. He now watches the video frequently to see himself exhibiting "good" behavior. He really loves seeing himself do it the "right" way. It's like a video social story!

Another student of mine makes slow progress on some of his IEP goals but has made huge strides in classroom behavior, following his schedule and accepting structure. I take videos of him to share with his parents and other members of the IEP team. The videos show the big picture of his progress and give so much more information about how he is doing than a written progress report.

The students love watching the videos and now I am experimenting with letting them make their own. I have been sharing the videos with parents and the IEP team. I am going to keep trying to find new uses for the videos and find ways to better communicate with my students.

---

*Phil Bookman, CEO of Assistyx, makers of TapToTalk, is board president at AchieveKids


If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.


The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Walk with us for Autism Speaks in San Jose, CA June 5

TapToTalk invites our Bay Area fans to visit our booth at Walk Now for Autism Speaks in San Jose on Saturday, June 5.

We'll give a free TapToTalk cap to the first two kids who show us their TapToTalk at our booth.

As they say on the Autism Speaks web site:

Join Autism Speaks as we walk to change the future for all who struggle with autism!

Walk Now for Autism Speaks is a fun-filled, family friendly event and is our single most powerful force to fund vital research that will lead us to the answers we need. Experience the power of thousands united by a single cause by joining Walk Now for Autism Speaks. Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disorder – we need more volunteers to join our fight. Whether this is your first walk or the 10th, take the first step and register today. 

Every 20 minutes, another family receives the devastating news that their child has autism. Help us change that!

For more information, go to the event web site.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.


The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Our Servers Protect Your TapToTalk

We recently upgraded the servers that run TapToTalk Designer. We had to beef them up to keep ahead of the amazing growth of the TapToTalk community. We've grown faster than anticipated, and more and more users means we need more bandwidth, more memory and more storage.

We also wanted to improve the security of our backup. One of the great things about the way TapToTalk works is that your albums are stored on our servers. This means that even if you lose the device(s) you use to run TapToTalk, you can just get a new device and start running TapToTalk again. Nothing is lost.

We store your albums even if you let your TapToTalk Designer subscription expire. That means your child can still use TapToTalk. And those albums are right there when you renew your Designer subscription to make changes to your TapToTalk.

So it was important to us to improve our off-site backup. We have a lot of TapToTalks to take care of, and you and your kids count on them being there. We take that responsibility very seriously.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com. The TapToTalk Team www.taptotalk.com blog@taptotalk.com

Tammy Lessick: Blogger, Mom and Champion of Autism Awareness

TapToTalk was recently invited to write a guest blog post on Tammy Lessick's AutismLearningFelt blog. Tammy was one of the first users of TapToTalk and we were honored to write the post.

Tammy, a blogger and a mom with an autistic son, writes about her son, about autism-related topics and other issues that she feels would be of interest to her readers. She has a forum for members where parents of autistic children can communicate with each other. She even has a "giveaways" area. Tammy has written about her experience with TapToTalk so others could benefit from it. We thank her for her support and are happy to see her moving forward with her well-read blog.

We have been reading other blogs for families dealing with autism, apraxia, Down Syndrome and other special needs. These blogs provide a valuable information and community-building service to those with special needs kids. We salute Tammy and her fellow bloggers who perform this important service.

You can take a look at the TapToTalk post and other interesting posts on the AutismLearningFelt blog.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.The TapToTalk Teamwww.taptotalk.comblog@taptotalk.com

A TapToTalk Happy Meal, Hold the Lettuce, Hold the Pickle

One of the things that TapToTalk Mom's tell us makes them especially happy is when their child tells them what they want on their TapToTalk. After all, the point is for your child to communicate what they are thinking and feeling. Often this seems to start with food. Here are some recent examples:

@moiraeve1 posted on twitter: "Made pad thai, took picture, now its a food choice in my kid's #TaptoTalk."

We bet mom was happy when her child loved the pad thai!

Caroline Curran posted on our Facebook page: "Emel (daughter) told me she wants me to make her a McDonalds album for her TapToTalk so she can order her own food. That's my job for tomorow. She just loves her TapToTalk."

So there's one more small way Emel has gained self-reliance. A nice project for Caroline.

What we find great is that non-verbal kids are somehow communicating to mom what they want to be able to say. And together, mother and child can make it happen.

Communicating is what TapToTalk is all about.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com. The TapToTalk Team www.taptotalk.com blog@taptotalk.com

Introducing The TapToTalk Customer Zone, Built Just for You!

If you are a TapToTalk user, the Customer Zone is a section of the TapToTalk web site just for you.

Enter the customer zone, and you will find these handy links:

A link directly to TapToTalk Designer for Home and Pro users (Agency users, please instead use the special url your TapToTalk Agency supervisor gave you; it is unique to your organization)

A link to Product News, so you can stay up-to-date on TapToTalk improvements

A link to the TapToTalk Picture Library page

A link you can use to submit Product Suggestions (we love these)

A link to our Subscriber Store, where you can add TapToTalks to your subscription, renew, or upgrade it

A link to the Agency Edition Overview, for TapToTalk Agency users

A link to Frequently Asked Questions

A link to Support Center, where you'll find a link to get support issues resolved, as well as the same information you can access in the TapToTalk Designer help system

You'll find the Customer Zone link at the bottom of any page on www.taptotalk.com. Just look for the information (exclamation point) icon.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

Happy Mother's Day to TapToTalk Moms

Dear TapToTalk Mom,

It has been a privilege to get to know hundreds of you over the last year. A few face-to-face, more over the phone, and even more in email conversations, mom blogs and on Facebook. Nine out of ten of the parents we have contact with are moms.

You told us that when you found out you had a special needs child, your life changed in ways you'd never imagined. You found the strength and courage to carry on, to figure out how to get your child's needs met in a world that often did not seem to be able to respond, or even want to. Love is indeed a powerful force.

When we designed TapToTalk, you and your child were on our minds. We wanted to give you a tool to help your child communicate that was affordable and that your child would want to use. Now, we hear from you all the time. You tell us what we are doing right and what we need to improve. Your voice is heard in every one of our meetings, as we make decisions. We call it the TapToTalk Mom Test: “How will this work for the moms?”

Some of you told us that "you aren't good at computers," yet you wasted no time figuring out how to use TapToTalk Designer. You added pictures of your family and your child's favorite foods. You learned and worked hard for your child.

You have stunned us with your creativity in the ways you use TapToTalk to meet your child's needs. You bring smiles to our faces, and very often tears to our eyes, when you tell us how TapToTalk has helped you, your child, and your family.

You make what we do feel incredibly worthwhile every day. Please keep your feedback coming. We, and especially your child, could not do it without you.

Sincerely,
Lenny Greenberg and Phil Bookman
CTO and CEO of Assistyx, the TapToTalk Company


If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

You Don't Want to Use Your Voice On TapToTalk? No Problem - AT&T Has a Free Solution.

One of the great features of TapToTalk Designer is that you get to record sounds using your own voice. This helps deal with accents, pronunciation and language issues, and provides a familiar voice.

But what if you want a different voice? For example, maybe you're a mom and want the recordings in a boy's voice. Some of our customers are using a free text-to-speech web site provided by AT&T for this.

This site lets you type in what you want to say, then hear it in a voice and language of your choice. You can then save the file on your computer (it's a wav file), and that file can be uploaded to TapToTalk Designer.

Here is what one mom said about this free service: "AT&T is excellent. Didn't want (child) to have my voice. So easy to use as well."

We cannot provide technical support for the AT&T site, but it is very easy to use and provides a nice set of voice choices. Let us know how it works on the TapToTalk if you try it.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk and PECS

Many of our customers use PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) with their special needs child. So we want to pass along some ideas that have been shared with us about using TapToTalk with PECS.

Maria Orofino Yakkey says, "We use the TapToTalk as Emily's communication device. Emily is 7 and has used PECS since she was 4. I decided that the PECS weren't travel friendly and it was annoying that those little velcro pieces would be found all over." Maria appreciates the fact that TapToTalk on the Nintendo DS let's Emily take the pictures she uses to communicate pretty much everywhere. Of course, it also plays the sounds she communicates with when she taps her TapToTalk pictures.

Valerie Pietsch Ammendola calls TapToTalk "electronic PECS." She has a great suggestion for using the feature of the TapToTalk Web App that prints all the pictures in a TapToTalk album. With TapToTalk, you can publish the same albums you run on the Nintendo to the Web App and thus run the album on your computer as well as the DS. The Web App let's you print the pictures (for how to do this, see this Product Tips-and-Tricks post).

Valerie writes, "I just thought this [the ability to print the pictures] was great! If anyone is switching from the standard PECS program to TapToTalk (basically an electronic PECS) this would be a great transition. Switch PECS pictures in your book to TapToTalk pictures before making the switch to the Nintendo." Great idea, Valerie!

Do you use TapToTalk and PECS? If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

What About Non-Verbal Communication? What Horses Can Teach Us.

Guest blogger Diane Hunter is a mind-body coach and a TapToTalk mom. Her next Listen Beyond Words workshop with horses is June 24-26 in the mountains of Los Gatos, California. For more info: www.listenbeyondwords.com.

I'm honored to post on TapToTalk's blog to share the lessons I've learned from horses and my eight-year-old Ian. He's non-verbal and was diagnosed with autism at age three. Last year I attended a workshop with horses that taught me the power of non-verbal communication, which transformed my life and my relationship with my son. I share my story to provide hope and possibility for you and your non-verbal child to connect on a deeper level beyond words.

The way TapToTalk provides a voice for a non-verbal child and his or her family is an amazing gift. For many, it opens an entirely new world of verbal communication. I highly recommend TapToTalk for any child without verbal language skills. But there's more to communication than "words." Understanding the way we communicate on a non-verbal level compliments and enhances all forms of verbal communication, spoken or assisted.

Research shows that we communicate less than 10% through verbal language. This means over 90% of our communication occurs non-verbally. We are constantly sending, receiving and reacting to non-verbal messages and children, like horses, are masters at reading these messages.

Before working with horses I struggled to communicate and connect with my son. I didn't have an understanding or awareness of how my child and I were actually communicating on a non-verbal level even though it was happening all the time. I felt overwhelmed and frustrated and I needed help. I found the answers in the round pen with a horse and as a result, my entire way of parenting shifted.

Typical statements I made before working with the horses:

• I don't understand my child's behavior.
• My child doesn't listen to me.
• My child's whining and tantrums make me crazy.
• I lose my patience far too often.
• I get overwhelmed
• I don't have enough energy to meet everyone's needs.

Sound familiar? After spending time with the horses, I decided to embark on my own journey to find my own place of calm. I learned how to shift my energy to create an environment of peace, trust and playfulness replacing stress, fear and control.

With my son, I first needed to develop trust and a sense of safety in order to create a good connection. This principle translates directly to all parenting. Building trust and a sense of safety comes first.

Why are the horses such great teachers?

In the round pen, the horses reflect back what you communicate on a non-verbal level. They illuminate any areas where you are struggling. What shows up in the round pen is what is showing up for you as a parent.

With the guidance of horse whisperer and life coach, Koelle Simpson, the horses provided immediate feedback when I was on track and communicating with leadership rather than control. They showed me exactly how to find that zone of balance of leadership, compassion and clarity and demystify the patterns of non-verbal communication that were standing between Ian and myself.

Horses have the ability to sense whatever you're feeling in any given moment on an energetic level.

How does that work? When you experience an emotion, there is a physical sensation associated with that emotion. Can you remember a time when you were really happy? How did your body feel? Did you have lots of energy? How about a time when you were sad? What do you recall? Do you notice a difference between the "feeling" of happy and sad? If yes, I propose you consider that you’re noticing the difference between the energetic resonances each emotion represents in your body. When you're near other people, they can feel that resonance too. These are the non-verbal exchanges going on all the time.

Imagine you drop a pebble into a pond. When the ripples reach another object like a rock, the ripples return to the direction they originated. The rock merely reflects back the ripples. The same thing happens in the round pen with a horse. The horse provides a mirror for what you're feeling. As your ripple of energy reaches them, they reflect it back to you. So does your child. Your child can "feel" when you’re stressed, scared, happy, sad, excited, etc.

Non-verbal children on the autism spectrum are especially sensitive to shifts in energy. When you start to open up your awareness and tune into this different level of non-verbal communication, you start to really understand what's going on for your child and listen beyond words. Even though your circumstances may remain the same, your entire perspective shifts creating a whole new understanding for you and your family. I wish you all the best in your journey ahead.


If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Now You Can TapToTalk on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

We are happy to announce that TapToTalk now runs on Apple's great mobile devices: the iPhone®, iPad™ and iPod touch®. Now you have more choices than ever for socially acceptable AAC devices.

Better yet, you do not have to choose. With TapToTalk Designer, you can publish your child's TapToTalk to the Nintendo DS family, the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and your Internet-connected computer. All TapToTalk apps are free with your subscription. Current customers can start publishing to their favorite devices today, one of the advantages of a TapToTalk Designer subscription.

What's cool about the new TapToTalk App in the App Store^SM is that subscribers can download it, publish their TapToTalk albums and sync them wirelessly over the Internet immediately.

Your child can switch from one device to another. For DS users, if she outgrows the DS, she can use an iPhone; if he forgets his DS, he can use your iPhone. The choices are yours.

Now your device choice can be based on age-appropriateness, size, volume, and other device features. Want it to fit in a pocket? Then choose an iPhone, iPod touch, DSi or DS Lite. The DSi XL and iPad are great for kids with vision or motor skill issues who need bigger pictures to tap. These larger devices also are louder than their "little brothers." The iPad's volume and clarity are particularly outstanding.

So choose one, choose several, or choose them all. You can publish your albums to any and all of them.

The iPhone/iPad App is free at the App Store. For more information, check our web site: www.taptotalk.com.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

A Nine Year-Old Autistic Boy, His TapToTalk, and His Great New School

This is a guest post from Crystal Daso, a TapToTalk Mom:

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Our Malachi is 9 years old and nonverbal. He has Autism and is at the low functioning end of the spectrum. We moved last summer and this new school district has been amazing for him. He goes to Westlawn Elementary School in Cedarburg, WI. He made more progress in the first 3 months of school than he had made in his 9 years of life. We learned that he can read. In no time we learned that he can also do math. He went from not adding even two digits to being at grade level in math! Grade level! Most recently I have learned that he knows the planets and their order and colors them according to their "proper" colors.

He also was using a GoTalk machine at school but outgrew it fast. They had to keep erasing and recording things all day long and he would grow impatient that they weren't quick enough.

This is when I learned about TapToTalk and thought it looked like something that would really work for us. I liked how portable it was so that we could carry it around with us to church, the store, etc. It looked normal and trendy and not some big bulky device that makes him stand out from everyone. It's just...neat. And totally affordable.

They also recently made it so that you can not only use the program on the DS but you can use it on the web as well with either the mouse or with a touch screen. That is neat! So at school they can create an album on the web just for something they need right away but never add it to the DS card.

Malachi has been using this for several months now and transports it between school and home. We had a planning meeting a couple months ago at school with the assistive device lady to figure out how best to make this work. So it now has albums loaded up for school use and he can click on "I need a break" and then picks what he wants to use in the "break room." He can use it to say how he's feeling, what he wants to eat, etc. It's really awesome.

One thing I like about it compared to the GoTalk when he was bringing it home is that he likes it. He used to fight hard about using the GoTalk but he will actually go into his backpack, get his DS out, load TapToTalk up and tell me what he wants. The only thing is that he will try to tell me what he wants when I am not even in the room so he thinks that just because he pushes a button I know what he wants. You can record a voice for each picture as well, so we just have the volume set high so that if I'm in the other room I can hear "I'm hungry" and then "I want a rice cake."

I just preordered the new DSi XL after his OT told me about it yesterday and I can't wait to get it because the screen is 93% larger and it will be easier for him to push his pictures when we have all the rows full. (You can put a few pictures or many pictures in an album, but the more pictures you have, the smaller they get. He can still push them but I have to remind him to use one finger which is good for him anyway.) I also learned yesterday that he is using the DS Chat function to chat with another DS at school. So he is learning how to chat reciprocally which is fantastic. So having the larger screen will be good for typing.

So there is a mini update on Malachi and major props to the TapToTalk team. I highly recommend this program to anyone. Support at TapToTalk is so fast to respond. They’ve been incredible.

So if you have a child who would benefit from a way to get what they want to say out, check it out. It's been amazing for our family and it's just so affordable. Especially since many kids already have the device anyway.

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If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

We're Listening - Now You Can Search the TapToTalk Picture Library

The TapToTalk Standard Picture Library has over 2000 pictures in it. So, naturally, a frequent customer question is: "Can we search the library to find the picture we want?" You didn't like our answer ("Errr... no."), and neither did we. So, we have added search to the Picture Library page on taptotalk.com.

Putting pictures in categories often helps people find the picture they want, but not always. What is one person's logical category is not another person's. So this search function is our first attempt to improve the situation. It searches on the name and category for the word you enter. It is not quite as smart as Google, but we think it is a step forward. We hope you agree.

The search box is on the top-right of the Picture Library page. You get to that page by using the Picture Library link in the Customer Zone on taptotalk.com. As with all search functions, you may have to try different ways of finding what you want. For example, if you enter bathroom, you'll get a bunch of pictures. But if you enter toilet, you'll just get one (this seems to be a very popular picture). We display the category and picture name so you can then find it in TapToTalk Designer.

We do plan to build this into TapToTalk Designer at some point, but we'd like to get your feedback first. This way you find pictures more easily sooner rather than later, and if it needs some more tweaking we can get your feedback.

We love to get your product suggestions. So please send them to us. Use the Product Suggestion link in the Customer Zone on taptotalk.com.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

TapToTalk on the DSi XL: Bigger Pictures, Bigger Sound

We are delighted to announce that TapToTalk runs just fine on the new Nintendo DSi XL. The main difference is that the pictures are larger and the sound is louder. And there is not a thing you need to do to your current TapToTalk to use it with a DSi XL. It automatically takes advantage of the larger screen.

The DSi XL is a larger version of the DSi. The main functional difference is that it has a 4.2" screen as compared to the DSi's 3.25" screen. That translates into 93% more viewing area. This is a good fit for kids who can better use larger pictures. Of course, the larger XL does not fit into a pocket like its little DS brothers, and is heavier. But for some kids, a bigger device will be easier to use.

The XL has a wider viewing angle and improved battery life compared to other DS models, Both of these improvements make it even more friendly for TapToTalk users. It also has improved audio quality and loudness, which can be especially helpful for noisy environments. The speakers seem to be the same type that are in the DSi, but with bigger openings in the case, resulting in more volume.

You can now run your TapToTalk albums on any of the Nintendo DS series devices: DS, DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL. Just pop the TapToTalk card into any one of them and power up. That means you can try your TapToTalk on the XL at the store before you buy one.

The XL was available in the UK before it was available in the US. So some of our UK customers have already started using it. Here is what Dorothy says: "It was well worth waiting for the XL, the icons are a good size and can easily be used." She adds that she still wishes that the DS speakers were a bit louder. Ah, well, you cannot have everything you wish for.

We have a video for you comparing TapToTalk on the DSi and DSi XL side-by-side.

For more about the DSi XL, go to the Nintendo web site. There's also a thorough review on CNET.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

How a Teacher and Student Both Have Fun with TapToTalk

Joanne O'Leary is always willing to share her experiences with fellow TapToTalk users. She's kept us posted on how she uses TapToTalk with her non-verbal student in Why a Little Girl with Apraxia Loves Her TapToTalk and  Another Great Way a Girl with Special Needs Uses Her TapToTalk. Here is her latest report:

I have been having so much fun designing my student's TapToTalk. Social interaction is a big part of a child's life. I have one screen of feelings. She loves to go over and tell her friends, "I like you, you're my friend" with her TapToTalk. I also have a pic of someone getting pinched and I recorded the words, "don't pinch me it hurts."

On the play screen, I have a picture of a nurse and if she chooses that it goes to all the things in the dramatic play center we have set up for our doctor's office: shot, bandaid, stethoscope, etc. 

Thanks again, Joanne. We all appreciate your ideas and love to hear about your student. She's lucky to have you.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
www.taptotalk.com
blog@taptotalk.com

Getting TapToTalk Help When You Need It

There are a number of ways to get help when you have a question or problem using TapToTalk.

There is a Help link at the top-right of the TapToTalk Designer screen. It is full of web pages, videos and printable PDFs on various topics, organized by category. Be sure to scroll down the list to see if your issue is covered.

The same help that is in TapToTalk Designer is available in the Support Center on taptotalk.com. You can access Support Center by clicking on the Customer Zone (exclamation point) icon at the bottom-right of every taptotalk.com page.

If you need help using help, the first help in the list is there to help you. (Okay, we got silly and used "help" four times in one sentence.)

If you work in a school, you may find our YouTube videos are blocked. Your IT folks may unblock YouTube if you ask them. Or you can use our alternate video site. IT usually will unblock this if it is also blocked since it is a more private site.

Contact TapToTalk for answers to questions and help solving problems. The fastest way to do this is to send an email using the Customer Support link on the taptotalk.com Contact page. We are very prompt responding to these messages. You can also call us at the tech support number listed on the Contact page, but we generally respond faster to the emails.

Use the Discussions tab on the TapToTalk Facebook page. You can access this page using the Facebook icon at the bottom-left of any page on taptotalk.com. Check out the discussion topics, or start your own. Get information from fellow users as well as TapToTalk staff. Oh, and while you're there, be sure to become a TapToTalk fan so useful information comes to you on your Facebook page.

Check out the Product Tips and Tricks posts on the TapToTalk blog. Just click the Blog link on www.taptotalk.com. On the TapToTalk Blog page, look at the categories on the right side.

We want you to be successful, so please do not hesitate to let us know when you need some assistance. Our support staff is here to, yes, help.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

Come On, Jackson, You Can Do It!

TapToTalk has a lot of Facebook fans. And Facebook tells us the top cities our fans are from, in terms of number of fans.

Here is the list, in order, as of yesterday: Los Angeles, Jackson, New York, Brisbane, Manchester, Sydney, San Jose, Columbus, Dublin, Chicago, Dallas, Melbourne, Perth, Seattle, Newark, Philadelphia, Boston, Indianapolis, Palo Alto and London.

We are delighted to have so many fans in Australia, the UK and Ireland. And we are not surprised that Los Angeles and New York are in the top three. But we are really rooting for Jackson, which is a close second, to see if it can overtake the City of Angels and stay ahead of the Big Apple.

Now, the problem we have is that there are eleven cities named Jackson in the US. And Facebook does not tell us what state our Jackson is in.

So, Jacksonites, we have two requests: recruit some more TapToTalk fans and overtake Los Angeles, and let us know what state you are in! You can post that on our Facebook page.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

Tips and Tricks: How One Mom Set Up Her TapToTalk Albums

Here is how Carrie Goodale Dunlap got started setting up TapToTalk albums for her son who loves to sing:

We have had Tap To Talk for a few weeks and so far we have two albums, Home and School. Under the Home album we have 7 categories. Play, eat, drink, go, help, bathroom, and singing (we sing a lot). Under the play category I have puzzle, books, music, animal figures, TV, and his music blocks toy (his fav toy). Under the TV and book categories I plan on adding images of specific DVDs and books that are his favorites.

Under the food category I have snacks, fruit, sandwiches, pizza, breakfast, and ice cream. I uploaded images for the specific foods he likes [that] go with each of those categories for him to choose. Some of those go a few "layers" deep. For example if he wants Cheez-Its he presses food, then snack, then crackers, and then the type of cracker he wants.

Under the sing category I uploaded images of his favorite songs. Some songs that have parts for him to participate. I added additional images that go with them. So for Old MacDonald he presses sing, then old MacDonald, then which animal he wants to sing about. I also did "wheels on the bus" like that so once he selects the bus, images representing the parts of the song come up and he can choose which ones he wants to sing about as we go. I did audio of them as well.

I will be adding a family category soon.

For school (my son is in Kindergarten), the main categories are snack, rewards, bathroom, help, therapy, and sing. Under the therapy category I put OT, PT, Speech and under each of those the specific activities that they do. I have the DSi so I went into the school and took a bunch of pictures with it of the items that he actually uses and then uploaded them to the [TapToTalk Designer] website and added audio.

There is a lot more that I plan on adding as we incorporate the TTT more and more into his school day. I need to figure out how to use the jumps as well.

We LOVE Tap To Talk!

We love hearing about how you're using TapToTalk, Carrie. We especially like the ideas about using TapToTalk to sing with your son. And thanks for sharing this with others.

How do you design your TapToTalk albums? If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

Home School an Autistic, Non-Verbal Child in a Toy Store?

Learning happens everywhere. Tammy Lessick is always on the lookout for ways to reinforce her child's learning and increase his communication skills. This is from her blog post on the website Autisable:

TapToTalk allows me to take school outside of the home...This is what has been the most important part of our home schooling. When my son decides that he will not do any work at home, I take school out of the home and into the community. I’m working on getting my son to independently point at things when asked. He prefers taking my hand and directing it to what he is selecting. He has responded well with using a stylus on the computer and on the Nintendo. 

The toy aisle can be a hunt for animals (including dinosaurs), a treasure hunt for items that are determined by answering a question, or a lesson in math. The key is to turn whatever environment you are in, (a store, the park, a hiking path), into a learning environment. School does not have to occur only at a table. You can leave the house and continue your teaching in an environment that your child considers fun. Be creative, be adaptable, and always remember that you are only limited by what you determine are your limitations.

Thanks for sharing this with us, Tammy.

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

Tips and Tricks: Jump To It!

One of the really handy features of TapToTalk Designer's Album Outliner is called a Jump. A Jump is a part of your Album Outline that you may want to reuse in more than one place. For example, you may want to "Jump To" your child's favorite snack foods in several places in your album. With a Jump, you could put a "Hungry" picture wherever you want, and have it point to a "Snack" Jump. Another common example is a Jump of "colors" that you can reuse in various places.

There are two ways to make a Jump.

The first way is to click on the "New" link next to the word "Jump" in the left panel of Album Outliner. This let's you build a new Jump from scratch. Once it is built, any picture in the main Outline can "Jump To" that group of pictures. You do that by clicking on a picture in the main outline (make sure it is showing in the left window of the album emulator), then click on "Jump To" in the left panel's menu. You'll get a list of the Jumps you've created; just click on one and press okay. We call the picture to which you added a jump the Jump Picture. Now, if a picture already has other pictures below it in the the outline, it cannot be a jump picture. This leads us to the second way of making a Jump.

The second way is to make a Jump out of an existing branch in the Outline. To do this, pick a picture in the outline that goes to a group of pictures that you would like to reuse. Once again, make sure that you see this picture in the left window of the emulator. Then, click on the "Make Jump" link. Just like that, the picture is now a Jump Picture and the branch of the outline below is now a Jump that you can name.

There is a help file (it's a printable pdf) in both TapToTalk Designer Help and Support Center that explains all the details of this, called "Using Jumps in Album Outliner."

A little trick...if you have a part of an outline that you think is in the wrong place, turning it into a Jump is a good way to "move" it wherever you want.

There's a Jump in the Starter Album that you may want to look at. It's called Drinks. There is another picture in the Starter Album that could very logically "Jump To" Drinks. Can you find it?

If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com

Ask Questions to Help Make Your Special Needs Child Safer on the School Bus

Picture this: A special needs child is on a school bus and can't communicate to the bus driver his or her stop, or worse yet the bus driver doesn't notice a non-verbal child who is way in the back of the bus. An experience like this actually happened and is described below and in the Apraxia-Kids blog by Sharon Gretz.

Two weeks ago we learned of a very disturbing story via the internet about a four year old girl with childhood apraxia of speech who was left unattended and forgotten on her school bus for over three hours. Little blond Ava was unable to yell out for help. Despite school district bus safety policies and procedures, the bus driver allegedly failed to do the seat by seat check that would have located Ava in the rear of the bus. An investigation ensued and shortly thereafter the bus driver resigned.

Ava’s family would like the Apraxia-KIDS community to understand how important it is to ask questions about your school’s bus safety procedures and to ask for a written copy.

So the bottom line is this: What can parents do to best protect their child with limited intelligible speech?

1) Make sure that your school district has bus safety procedures in writing and assure that you get a copy of the policy.

2) Inquire about whether your child’s bus driver has had special needs training. Arrange a meeting between school administration and your child’s bus driver to discuss your son or daughter’s communication needs.

3) Include travel safety and transportation details as part of your child’s I.E.P. Transportation is considered a “related service” and so specific transportation details can and should be included when the IEP team has agreed to include transportation for your child. The Individual Transportation Plan would be a tremendous addition to the IEPs of children who are unintelligible or nonverbal.

4) Communication goals at school and at home should include self protection and self identification goals. Children with communication challenges need a way or need practice with skills such as calling for help (“Help Me”); how to gain someone’s attention (“Hey you!” “Wait!”). These phrases can be incorporated into speech targets or augmentative communication.

The TapToTalk can be customized to include the necessary pictures and sounds that could aid in achieving the communications goals (as in Sharon's 4th point).



If you have a TapToTalk idea or story you'd like us to share with other TapToTalk users, please email us at blog@taptotalk.com.

The TapToTalk Team
http://www.taptotalk.com/
blog@taptotalk.com