A Kid-Friendly & Affordable AAC Device? TapToTalk is the Answer

Tammy Lessick has been writing about TapToTalk since it first came out. She was kind enough to invite the TapToTalk team to do this guest post.

One of the key features of TapToTalk is that you have a choice of kid-friendly, socially acceptable, low cost devices for assistive communication. With your subscription, you can use TapToTalk on the web, any of the Nintendo DS models, the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. You can run your TapToTalk on any of them. In fact, you can run your TapToTalk on as many of these devices as you wish. You can move it from one device to another, or run it on several at the same time. And there is no extra cost. You only pay for a subscription to TapToTalk Designer. The apps that run on the devices are free. And even if you are not a subscriber, you can download the iPhone/iPad App for free at the App Store.

We also want to share with you some of what we’re hearing about how TapToTalk is helping non-verbal kids communicate:

This is a dream come true! I am a mother of a 9-year-old boy who has ASD. He has some speech but is not that great communicating. This is going to help him so much and it won't even point him out as different because it's a game machine that every child has. Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart for finally making my child feel average! Nicole Lynn MacNeil, Parent

(My son) was able to say Merry Christmas to everyone this year for the first time, thanks to TapToTalk. It really made it a special Christmas. A North Carolina Parent

My son is starting to get the hang of TapToTalk and we are having a blast building his albums! Thank you so much. I am going to shout the praises of your product and technical support from the rooftops and to anyone who will listen to me. A great inexpensive, fun, socially acceptable, voice output device. It is great and we love the DSi XL to run it on. Big screen easy for him to tap on given some very significant fine motor issues. Erica Weber, Parent

For more experiences from parents, SLPs and special ed teachers, check out News & Reviews on taptotalk.com. We also invite you to join us on our Facebook Page and check out the TapToTalk website for more information.

DynaVox Mayer-Johnson Autism Community

We are excited to announce a new partnership between the Autism-Community (http://www.autism-community.com/) and DynaVox Mayer-Johnson (www.dynavoxtech.com) (www.mayer-johnson.com). Autism-Community was launched in 2008 with the goal of becoming a hub of information for family members, friends and teachers of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders. As the community has grown we’ve wanted to expand the depth and breadth of information and resources with which we connect community members. This brings us to the new partnership.



This collaboration is going to bring about a lot of positive change for the Autism-Community, because we will be working with DynaVox Mayer-Johnson to enhance the resources and information available on the website. We're hopeful that together we can develop a comprehensive site which is useful and engaging to the community. Over the next few months they will be helping us incorporate more resources, more stories and more ways for you to be involved with other members of the Autism Community.



Some new features in the works include:

1. More Extensive Resources and Information About: Autism, ABA, AAC, Data Collection, Evidence-Based Interventions, Alternative Interventions, Assessments, IEPs, Adult Services, and more.



2. A Community Center which will include discussion topics, personal stories, tips for parents and teachers, downloadable resources and state-by-state resources.



There are many more wonderful changes to come, and we here at Autism-Community could not be more thrilled that DynaVox Mayer-Johnson has taken an interest in what we do here: provide useful information and resources to families and professional involved with individuals with autism and help members of the autism community get connected with the support and services they need.



Because we are the Autism-Community, we are actively seeking input from community members: individuals with autism, family, friends, and professionals. We want this website to be a reflection of what you all find useful and helpful. If you have any suggestions about information and resources we could offer that would enhance the community-friendliness of the site please send them to us at: info@autism-community.com. This site is all about you, and we need your input to make sure we're able to best serve the community as a whole. If you would like to subscribe to daily updates or become a contributor to the Autism-Community, visit our website and sign up today!



Sincerely,

Abby Twyman

Editor, Autism-Community.com

The Best Methods for Motivating Autistic Children

As a parent or relative of autistic child, you may be wondering the best way to communicate and interact with them. Luckily, there are quite a few ways to motivate autistic children, which will greatly help them to develop language skills, regular behaviors, and improve social interaction. This type of communication will help them greatly in their early years so that they can begin to develop a successful lifestyle with autism.

To start with, playing is one of the best ways to teach skills to children who have autism. This will help them to begin to feel accomplished and become comfortable expressing themselves in different situations. Some of the best activities to use to motivate autistic children are stimulating, like dancing or jumping. This can help the child communicate and learn to comfortably make eye contact.

When it comes to developing language skills, you can use storytelling to stimulate verbal communication for children with autism. This can help decrease the tendency to withdraw, and it will also work to enhance daily communication. Some examples of this may be starting a story with your child and having them feed a line back to you. You can go back and forth with this storytelling pattern, as they start to feel more and more comfortable. This will allow them to become a part of telling a story, become comfortable with their language, and become even more prone to interaction.

Last of all, do your best to always introduce new ideas to your child with autism. This will help to stimulate their learning process, and it will also teach them new skills within a set routine. This will cultivate better interaction with the outside world if they have the opportunity and safety to learn different skills at home. This can include anything from baking a cake, grocery shopping, or putting away toys so that the autistic child becomes even more comfortable with new tasks in their environment.


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