Recently our Speech Pathologist and Assistive Technology Specialist worked together to design and develop an augmentative communication system for a teenage boy with severe speech and intellectual difficulties. This boy had not been to school for 2 years and needed a way to communicate with the other students and teachers at the new school he was about to start attending as his speech was very difficult to understand.

This involved the purchase of an iPad (and an iPod Touch for small mobile use) and the communication App Proloquo2go. Then training key support staff at the residential facility where the boy lived and engaging and collaborating with them to develop and design a communication system for him that he could use both in the house and at school. Part of the work with the support staff also involved educating them about the young person’s speech difficulties and prognosis for improvement.