There is nothing about TapToTalk that confines its use to kids. In fact, we have heard of users ranging in age from 2 years old to 89 years old. We even have a category in our standard picture library called Food-Drinks-Adult. And you can always add you own pictures and sounds to personalize TapToTalk and meet individual needs.
Some the adults who use TapToTalk are autistic or have Down Syndrome or cerebral palsy. Others have become aphasic due to stroke or a head injury. Some just need TapToTalk temporarily until they regain the ability to speak. For them, TapToTalk can really reduce the frustration of experiencing the sudden loss of speech. Others have a long-term need for AAC.
Here is a brief video of a young woman who could no longer speak after a head injury. In the video, she is just being introduced to TapToTalk for the first time. Notice her wonderful smile when she realizes she can now ask for a smoothie. (We are happy to report that she is has recently started to talk again. Interestingly, she still uses TapToTalk to practice hand coordination.)
The iPad seems to be the current adult device of choice, because of its picture size, volume, and all the other things you can use it for. And some adults with physical disabilities that make using a mouse or tapping a screen difficult, take advantage of our single switch scanning (autoscanning) option. Single switch scanning lets you use a "big button" or other device to step through the pictures and select the one you want.
One speech therapist told us about an adult client who likes to play blackjack. So togther they developed a TapToTalk album containing all the words and phrases you need in order to play. They had fun choosing pictures for things like "hit me." We hear poker is next.
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
