Healthy Outlook Blog

An iPhone App Speaks for Autism

By Britta Barrett | Posted February 26 2010

Children, innovation, Inspiration, Technology

There are more than 100,000 iPhone apps in market. Some are truly pointless, even if they’re fun for a few minutes. But coming across an app like Proloquo2Go makes it all worthwhile.

Many children with autism are unable to speak or express their emotions verbally. Text-to-speech technologies exist to help them communicate, but those can run parents up to $10,000, a hefty strain on most pocketbooks. Even if the price tag is affordable, the devices are bulky and not always easy to transport. The iPhone and iPod Touch on the other hand, are easy to carry around, and the touch-screen is perfect for kids’ hands.

Proloquo2Go is a text-to-speech app that lets kids communicate by choosing symbols and words that mirror their thoughts. These can be pieced together to create sentences describing the user’s feelings (e.g. I want a drink of ginger ale). Messages can be spoken, saved and categorized. There’s also an alternative keyboard with over-sized keys.

The price is just $190, a drop in the bucket compared to other products on the market.

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