Communicate 4 Supporting Youth and Adults with Physical Disabilities
Communicate 4: Supporting Youth and Adults with Physical Disabilities
- Name of the technology: Communicate 4: Supporting Youth and Adults with Physical Disabilities
- Price: NA
- Popularity: Na
- Minimal physical requirements: The patient has to be able to speak freely.
Communicate 4 was developed by Barbara Collier, speech-language pathologist, Paul Janzen, technologist, and Susie Blackstien-Adler, occupational therapist. Based on Communicate for 3100, Communicate 4 contains many new communication contexts, vocabulary and page layouts. Unlike Communicate 3100, Communicate 4 does not use vocabulary searches or customised scan patterns making it easy to personalise and merge with other user pages or applications.
Communicate 4 is a comprehensive page set for adults and youth with physical disabilities, who want a variety of message generating options such as spelling, single words, phrase and/or sentence selection to use in different settings. It provides researched vocabularies for novel messages, pre-programmed quick talk phrases and conversational regulators as well as vocabularies to direct daily personal routines and participate in common community-based situations. Although Communicate 4 is a comprehensive application, it is intended to be customised for individual use and can be introduced gradually using the accompanying home study guide which supports AAC users in learning how to communicate in different contexts.
Communicate 4 is designed to complement the page layouts used in Gateway therefore providing a seamless transition between page sets.
Benefits
- Provides access to both novel message generation as well as pre-programmed phrase/sentences for efficient, time sensitive communication
- Incorporates researched vocabulary lists
- Designed for adults and youth (15 years or more) who have physical disabilities
- Provides a foundation for customisation and expansion
- Supports people in learning how to communicate in a range of contexts via a home study guide
- Rooted in a theoretical and philosophical framework that fosters self-determination for people who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
- Developed by a speech language pathologist, AAC technologist and occupational therapist with extensive input from adults who use AAC, who direct attendant services and live in the community
Features
For novel message generation, Communicate 4 provides:
- Access to spelling, character, word prediction
- Researched single word vocabularies
- More than 9,000 context based words and phrases
- Links to predicted vocabularies for easy and efficient navigation
For specific communication contexts:
- More than 250 programmed pages and pop-ups on topics required by many adults who use AAC
- Phrases and sentences related to 26 communication contexts, such as
- communicating about assistance with eating
- drinking
- dressing
- seating
- housekeeping
- making appointments and transportation plans
- using the telephone
- making social plans
- communicating about health
- participating at a case conference, etc.
- Over 100 single word vocabulary lists associated with communication contexts
- Templates and instructions for documenting individualized attendant service plans
- Generic phrases for quick talk (i.e. greetings, responses, etiquette, chat etc.)
- Phrases for regulating behaviors and conversations (i.e. feedback, urgency, negotiations etc.)
- 36 to 60 buttons on each pop-up / page which are compatible with keyguards and seamless transition with Gateway and other page sets
- Designed to accommodate direct selection and scanning access methods
- Currently available in two formats: text-based and Picture Communication Symbols (PCS). A DynaSyms version will be available soon!
- Extensive home-study guide provides suggestions and lesson plans for consumers, family members and service providers to support people who use in learning how to communicate in a variety of contexts. Ideal for youth in transition to adulthood and for adults with reduced access to clinical services
Communicate 4 includes:
- Communicate 4 page set on CD-ROM
- Home Study Guide