Its unique design makes it possible to have twice as many words yet remain as efficient as systems with much larger grid sizes. Its new Crescendo Evolution™ vocabulary builds on anonymous data from over 10,000 AAC users. Proloquo’s unique design is based on the latest research. This required a massive undertaking and a relentless focus on the needs of parents and AAC users.Īfter three years of work by the entire AssistiveWare team, we are incredibly proud to present Proloquo and Proloquo Coach. We had to build something new from the ground up. We could not address the challenges through incremental updates to our existing products. AAC users need support from the people around them to best develop language and literacy. To develop confidence, they need an AAC solution that is inviting and intuitive. We know that parents need clear guidance in small doable steps to learn AAC best practices. As many as 10% of symbol-based AAC users type more than 10% of their words.Even the most proficient symbol-based AAC users have the vocabulary size of a typical 6-year-old. AAC users lag in language development.There is no clear correlation between grid size and the quantity or quality of communication.With an average of around 100 words per day, AAC users say very little. Some of the more shocking insights from our research were that: We confirmed much of what we already knew, but we also had some surprises. Not in the least, we questioned our ideas and beliefs and took nothing for granted. We analyzed anonymous data from tens of thousands of AAC users of all ages and abilities. We reviewed the academic literature and did a lot of interviews. If education alone doesn’t suffice, it’s time to take the radical decision to start over and design a different solution. Our mission as a company is to break down the barriers to communication, but we were clearly not doing enough to achieve it. With such a small grid, language and communication are limited. As many as 40% choose to have fewer than 20 buttons per page. Over 80% do not use Proloquo2Go’s recommended setup. Most parents and educators continue to find AAC overwhelming. But while these efforts lead to some improvements, we still have a long way to go. Over the years, we undertook several initiatives such as the AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom and the Learn AAC section on our website to address these issues. Parents and educators lack AAC knowledge and feel lost. There is so much to learn and too few experts to help. What’s more, all current, good AAC systems are designed by experts for experts. Nothing can prepare you for AAC in that way. Many things in life you learn in school or by observing the people around you. Getting started with AAC can be overwhelming. In talking to parents and visiting schools over the past ten years, we found many parents and schools are struggling. Are our users becoming successful communicators? But, for a company with a social mission, are commercial successes and high customer satisfaction enough? We set out to make AAC an effective and accepted means of communication. It is currently the most popular and the highest-rated AAC app on the App Store (4.8 out of 5 stars). As Proloquo2Go was turning ten, we started thinking, were we doing enough? In some ways, Proloquo2Go is an immense success.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |