Picture AAC by Hearty SPIN

Picture AAC – Educational App

Developer:

Hearty SPIN  

Categories:

Speech, Teaching Tools  

Grades:

PreSchool, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Adults/Parents, Special Needs

Goals/Skill Covered:

AAC, Articulation, Beginning Sounds, Emotions, Expressive Language, First Words, Receptive Language, Vocabulary

Overview

Picture AAC is a very nice, straightforward, functional AAC program. It is applicable for users ages 4 and up, who are able to make a pointing response and are capable of one to two tap selections. It is a no-frills, uncomplicated program which makes it a very attractive option for those in need of AAC. There is no need to fear complicated instructions! This app has built-in, user-friendly graphic picture symbols ready to use, plus, the user is free to edit and customize by adding desired items.
To use: Open app and you will see these areas/folders: Sentence, My Needs, Food and Drink, Clothing, Emotions, Home and School, Places, Play Items, Instructions, Activities, and Others. Each folder contains a number of items which can be used to communicate. Under the Sentences icon, there are miscellaneous pictures such as I want, I don’t want, yes, no, thankyou, hello, I love, numbers, colors, shapes, prepositions, etc. Under the Sentence area, the user can select “”I want”" , then can go back to the opening page and select any choice from the other folders ( this is the two tap selection method). Once desired items are selected, the pictures appear at the bottom of the page. Example: from the Sentences folder the user might select “” I want”", then from the Food and Drink folder the user could select “”cake”", and at the bottom of the screen the symbols for I want and cake appear. The user touches the pictures and the app says “”I want cake”". The user can produce one word or sentence responses using the pictures in the app. The wonderful feature is to be found under the Others tab. This is where you are free to customize your own pictures to express your own wants or needs. Under this section, the user creates a title for the new picture, then either imports a photo from existing pictures or takes a photo. Next, the user is able to record the message to be said when the new picture is selected during use. Quick and easy!
In the Settings area, the user is able to select desired options. There are three levels to choose from: Level 1: Facilitates training the user to initiate a request with one picture only; Level 2: Trains user to differentiate between 2 pictures; Level 3 is the Sentence Maker.
There are no in-app purchases or outside links!!!! The provided voice within the app is female and is of good quality.Issues
1. It would be great if there were a male voice to use, especially since boys greatly out number girls in the area of Autism.Overall Impression
I really like Picture AAC for it’s easy interface, friendly graphics, ability to customize, and price. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a simple, easy to use, and highly functional AAC system!About Author

Helen Wagner is an SLP experienced in working with special needs children of all levels.