Symbol-based AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) apps are designed to assist individuals who have difficulty with verbal speech who do not have adequate literacy skills to express themselves. These apps use photos, pictures, symbols, or icons to represent words, phrases, or concepts, allowing users to communicate by selecting these visual representations. They are particularly useful for people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or other conditions that impacts ability to speak. We have listed 5 apps (in no particular order) that we like below.
- LAMP Words for Life Individuals using the LAMP (Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning) approach learn to use words and build sentences to communicate their wants, needs and ideas by pressing buttons on a speech generating device, using a motor planning process. Symbols are combined in different sequences to generate words and phrases, making it an efficient communication system. The icons can be revealed in a gradual manner as users become more familiar with the system, ensuring that the communicator is not overwhelmed.
- Sounding board Sounding Board is a free app for iPad and iPhone. Custom boards can be created quickly and easily with between 1 and 20 message locations per page using AbleNet symbols or your own photos. This means you can use your device as a single message device or a complex communication system with linked pages moving between layers. Recorded speech is used.
- Grid 3 Grid 3 from Smartbox Assistive Technology is a comprehensive software package that enables you to communicate, control your environment, control your computer and much more. You can use Grid 3 with a variety of alternative access methods, including eye gaze, switch technology, touch and pointing devices. It allows for the creation of grid based as well a scene-based vocabulary displays, and additional paid grid sets can be purchased for layouts such as PODD (Pragmatically Organised Dynamic Display). An iPad compatible version is also available. It is a flexible system that can grow with its user over time.
- TD Snap TD Snap is a flexible software and app that comes with premade page sets, focusing on core and fringe layouts, motor planning layouts and PODD as well as a specific set that looks to support those with Aphasia. The software version allows for multiple different access methods, while the app version allows for use with the TD Pilot Eyegaze on an iPad, as well as touch access.
- Proloquo2Go from AssistiveWare, is available for iOS devices and is a comprehensive symbol-based app, with an inbuilt wizard to help personalise the app from the start, allowing for between 9 and 144 locations per screen. It uses a core and fringe layout to organise vocabulary and is also compatible with the Apple Watch for communication on the go.