Contains a static 240 symbol area for core vocab and phrases (in a 6x7 grid), and a second dynamic area for two category lists: words list & activities list. On selecting items in these lists a central area changes.
I Can Speak is a very easy to use application designed for people who can not speak. It is so simple to use that anyone can be up and running in just a few minutes.
Using the I Can Speak application with an iPad is an excellent alternative or addition to having an expensive communication device. Although I Can Speak is not meant to completely replace the need for a dedicated device, I Can Speak may meet the communication needs of most people by itself.
I Can Speak is also designed to be customized for each users unique personality. Who says a communication system has to be dull and boring. By combining the 12 backgrounds that are included with I Can Speak with the 4 button styles you can create dozens of customized themes for the application. More themes are in the works and will be available in the near future.
I Can Speak is very unique. Because of the way I Can Speak is designed it is very easy to learn how to use and is fun for the user as well. There are two main areas where you select your words to produce short sentences.
1. The first area is a Static Area that remains available during the entire usage of the system and contains over 240 words. The Static Area contains both sentence starters like "I am" and "She needs" and "I don't like" and words that are used often when making short sentences like "a, the, in, of, or, and with". Because it is always available a person using the system will become very familiar with these words for producing the start of most sentences.
2. The second area is a Dynamic Area that changes based on the two available Category Lists. The first list is a Words List and the second is an Activities List. When you tap a button in one of the Category Lists the Dynamic Area changes to reflect the words or phrases that are in that list category. The Words List holds collections of common words and is quick to navigate. It holds over 500 words and has room for up to almost 5,000 words. The Activities List holds collections of words that are needed during different Activities like "Art" or "Bathroom".
By combining words from the Static Area with words from the Dynamic Area you can create thousands of short simple easy to produce sentences.
This version of I Can Speak uses a voice with speech synthesis from the Language Technologies Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Copyright (c) 2000 adapted for use with the iPad. Future versions may include other voices both male and female and in different languages. If you have a preference for a particular language please feel free to contact us.
We are working on adding many features to this software over the next few weeks. Some of those features include a Phrase Editor, Icon importer, New Themes, New Icons and New Vocabulary Words. Stay tuned here for more info soon.
We welcome all feedback and feature requests. Please feel free to contact us at email@example.com
Back In April the developers promised to have updates available "within a few weeks" such as personalized picture import, sound personalization, etc. As of August 20, still no such updates. If a child cannot read, how are they to understand the concept of "connecting" words, "helper" words, etc...I purchased this app with lots of hope that it would fill the void left by a broken SpringBoard Lite. The description was promising with mention of "static" pages and "action" pages.... A LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) philosophy many parents and educators follow when working with speech impaired children. But that soon turned to disappointment, once I realized that no foods has been loaded into any pages. Not very helpful..... Please update as promised! While it might be useful for some, food and beverage choices are more of a priority than art supplies! Also.... Many keys have same symbol, so again, if your child cannot yet read, this will be confusing.... The number of icons in the field at the same time can be overwhelming too!(Apr 6th 2010)