Since he has chosen Tobii-DynaVox it would be important to know which communication software he's using- whether it is Communicator 5 versus Compass.

I'll talk about Communicator 5 because someone has already described Compass. The Communicator 5 main keyboard page has a phrase feature. You can add to the homepage the phrase page (for editing) which is a burgundy looking app with three speech bubbles. With that application on the homepage, the user can easily edit categories of phrases for their phrase bank. Then once they are on their main keyboard screen and while they are communicating real time they can use the corresponding phrase button(it's three speech bubbles) anytime they want to add a phrase or sentence to the conversation. This allows them to toggle back-and-forth between preprogrammed messages and messages they're going to be generating text to speech. They can use a phrase from their phrase bank at the beginning, at the end, or even in the middle of a conversation that they're typing to make communicating faster and more efficient. For instance a message in their phrase bank under the phone category may be "hello this is John, please don't hang up I'm using a computer to talk. May I speak with"

After they've added that message they may complete the sentence with the person's name using text to speech. And it would be a different person and completely interchangeable in any conversation they would have.

Also some people may feel that during a conversation, turning on a feature that will speak words and/or sentences automatically in the message window is something that they like to use to speed up communication or to make communication more efficient during the give-and-take of a conversation rather than having to hit the speak button after each sentence. This is a personal choice, but it's a conversation in a feature that I always like to share.

Best Regards,

Rachell Westby, M.C.D., CCC-SLP | Assistive Technology Specialist

The ALS Association – DC/MD/VA Chapter

2800 N. Parham Road Suite 208 Richmond, VA 23294

E: xxxxxx@alsinfo.org | ALSInfo.org

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 8, 2016, at 1:15 PM, "xxxxxx@improveability.com" <xxxxxx@improveability.com> wrote:

Hello AAC peeps,

I got the following question from a PALS that I would like to get additional feedback on:

"I am now effectively at a point where people can no longer understand me when I speak, except when I use individual words like yes. no, hungry, etc. But no sentences; they come out slow and slurred. I've taken the first step; I have a Tobii-Dynavox and am learning how to use it. But that doesn't address how to actually be part of an interchange with people and even with my wife. I feel like there's this person inside me bottled up that can't get out.

Maybe this is just a pipe dream but Is there any good literature that is available that would help me and other people to know how to achieve this?"

I already gave him some pointers on how to facilitate AAC use, such as letting people know if it is ok to guess and waiting for him to finish. I also shared with him some low tech options, but I would like to know others thoughts on this.

Thanks for your feedback.

Sincerely,

Antoinette Verdone, MSBME, ATP

Owner, Rehabilitation Engineer

ImproveAbility, LLC

Office: 512-522-1705

Cell: 512-497-6026

Email: xxxxxx@improveability.com

Web: www.improveability.com

Fax: 888-501-1009

3310 W Braker Lane, Suite 300-424, Austin TX 78758

DARS Provider# 1-274278960-0-000

"One cannot consent to creep when one has the impulse to soar" -- Helen Keller