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