TaptoTalk Review

Hello,

 
  I am doing my first review!!! I am very sorry it has taken so long to finish this review this has been in draft form for a long time. I have spent a lot of time editing it and thinking about how to write these reviews, Because this is my first review it is likely to be a bit disorganized.

App: TaptoTalk

Price 

App price: free

Subscription *to customize app* : 

1 year $99.95

life time: $179.95 

   (one time payment)

Over View

TaptoTalk is a relatively simple and basic AAC app. TaptoTalk has an app you can purchase for free on the Ipad, tablet, iPod touch, IPad mini, kindle and androids/smart phones.  However the free app is very basic it comes with  a few basic starter albums with a pre recorded male voice. How ever you ca also download a few other free albums. Male starter, female starter, chicest, numbers and help me. Just to name a few. They also have learning albums for things such as learning arcs numbers and reading. These free albums are also available in Spanish.

In order to customize the app you will have to buy a subscription. You can  buy a one year which $99.95 or a life time which costs. $179.95 so round that up to 100 for. Year and 200 for a life time. They also have packages available for  agency's and pro for 2 or more children.

Once your Oder is complete and your account is set up you will receive an email with your log in information and then you can begin your editing. Over the week I used this app I found there were many circumstances in which i had to find ways to supplement this app and often found myself wishing it had some kind of keyboard. I was frequently editing and adding new albums as i frequently needed to add prescripted things I had not considered before. While it was a pain to constantly have to supplement it in many occasions due to my more advanced communication need this app was simple, easy and predictable which made basic communication fast and simple. in fact  most of my basic communication needs, asking for foo or drink, letting someone know i was going out or that i wanted to do something ect, were met with this app, Because this was my first time doing a testing period as well as my first review i did run into many glitches because of this I plan to retest and re-review the taptotalk app in a couple of months!  Below is my general  ratings and reviews of this app. 

Platforms: Ipad, Iphone, Ipod, internet, kindle fire, Android, laptop, desk top nook, nabi tablet Nintendo Ds and DSI

Challenges: being heard, setting up albums,


Pros: easy to use, great for pre-scripted conversations for easy fast communication, great starter app. excellent for communicating basic needs.good customer support. Good price for a one time payment (affordable) and most importantly this app is highly versatile and can be used on multiple platforms!

Cons:  the major cons are that you need to prescript EVERYTHING! you need to be able to predict what your child, loved one or yourself will need to say or express through out the day across multiple context. the editing can be a bit hard to get started too. i also dont like that you can not edit in app. additionally to update newly published albums you must have and internet connection,

Ratting

(until I find a way to do star ratings I will us a 10 point scale  1 is poor  10 being the best)

Price ratting: 8
    For what it is it is pretty well priced

Versatility: Versatility rates how many platforms I can use this app on. can I use it on multiple platform for free or will I have to but another version on other platforms?

Versatility: 10
       Okay this is this apps highest ratting!!!  When it comes to versatility taptotalk is amazing and you wont have to pay extra for it and this is great!

voice quality: the realistic 1 being very mechanical and 10 being human sounding) 6, I chose to give

voice quality: 6

voice volume: The voice volume rating rates how easily this app is heard directly from the device with out the aid of a good blue tooth speaker. it is broken down into 2 sections at home, which covers relatively quite places such as at home but also othe quiet places like libraries and places with minimal noise and in public which is the ratting for the ability to hear this app outside on walks, in store at the park ect. Your voice is how well your own voice recording is heard. then we have the over all rating.

at home: 6
  this is a  because depending on whats going on you will want the volume to be up pretty high.

In Public: 2
 this got a 2 because it is nearly impossible to hear out in public on the Ipad. however it was a bit easier (not much) to hear on a smart phone in a relatively quiet place.

Your voice:  7
When you record your own personal voice it is generally always louder and easier to hear both in public and at home then the synthetic voices.


Over all volume ratting: 5
       


Customization: How easy is this app to customize?

Customization ratting:  6
         I gave this app a six because it is a bit difficult to learn hot to set up the albums but also because it can not be customize in app. this means a parent can not add things as needed, nor can adult who might have higher communication needs and can manage their own account/device. Additionally while you can now use the tap to talk designer on the Ipad and Iphone you can not use it on a regular smartphne. You are also not able to record your own voice using the Ipad.

usage with growth (the ability to meet more complex needs as child or adult grows and develops their communication skills with the app and use it for more complex communication)

Usage with growth: 4

For this I give taptotalk a 4 because while it can be used for evan those who are verbal to communicate basic needs it is not sufficient to cover more complex communication needs.



Suggestion to the company.  Tap to talk is a great app one major thing I might suggest it adding a key board  and or maybe a second app that allows you to make picture sentences as opposed to all pre-scripted conversation.  I would also suggest adding more voices and ideally louder ones. I also suggest making it so parents and care givers can record their voices while editing on the ipad and extending the editing abilities to regular smart phones.

Suggestions to the family and individuals using this app:  To the families either considering this app or who have it already. I would suggest having a second AAC to supplement this app when needed. I also strongly suggest 1 or 2 speakers to amplify the sound. a Bluetooth speaker is great for while in stores and a wire speaker is great for at the table or at school (some place you wont be moving around a lot and the ipad can just sit on the desk.



Other: Tap to talk has other uses too. they have advertised the ability to use this to also help learn things like the alphabet and basic counting and math.

Conclusion:

    In conclusion TaptoTalk is an excellent starter app for those just starting out using AAC apps and devices. TaptoTalk's simple easy to use interface allows the child or adult express their basic needs, desires and feeling quickly and easily. Sadly it does not meet the needs of individuals with complex communication needs and abilities with AAC apps do to the fact it is all based on pre-scripted communication.  Yet  to it's easy of use and simplisty is is still a great app to have. while many kids might outgrow this app it can still be functional for covering basic needs.

I highly suggest this app for  those just starting out  with communication apps as it is very basic easy and simple. What might surprise you is I also suggest this app for adult and children with Autism who are verbal as well particularly if they have a tendency to become non verbal under stressful situations, when scared, injured, lost ect as it is simple and easy to use and convey important possibly life saving information. This apps versatility is als a strong point for both those who are non verbal and those who may only need it on occasions as it can be used on a wide verity of platforms it can be available quickly and easily  With the support of a second app TaptoTalk is a great app to have for even advance communicators! 

Over all App rating:  7

                          

 Have any suggestions for other review? Do you have an experience with tap to talk that you would like to share?  please feel free to leave a comment or send me a message 

Thank you

                                  -AutismDogGirl

What happened to Nimrodel?

Hello,

    Nimrodel (Nim-row-dell) is now 10 years old and for those of you who don't know Nim has worked beside me for may years as my partner, best friend and Service dog. her tasks made it possible for me to manage many of the basic day to day things i struggle with due to my autism and she has on more then one occasion been a life saver for me. simply put she has been my life line for the past few years and before she was task trained and became a service dog she was my emotional life line. Nim is the reason I wake up everyday and even on the worst days. since she has retired to at home service i she is what i look forward to most, seeing her run up to me wagging her tail and getting kisses. Recent;y Nim has become very ill.

what happened to Nim?
well yesterday was a lot like any other day, we woke up and hung around the house a bit Nim seemed sore and i was waiting for an hour after my meds kicked in to take Nim out as she seemed content to just nap. after a bit i took her out. after she went out to pee and poop (just her first short walk) we went back in and i started to do some work on my blog. Nim decided to lay down and wait for me to be ready for our 1 mile walk. after a few minutes i hear Nim doing something so I turned to look and she was up on the mini trampoline and it seemed like she was going to use it to climb up on the bed for some cuddling.. however when i called her she didnt try to get up. she seemed i thought to be trying to decide how to do it. in hinesight i think i noticed her head moving a bit but it didnt register at the time. then I hear what sounded like a ripping sound so i lead her off the mini trampoline thinking it was going to break under her and I didn't want her to get hurt *i couldn't have imagined what was about to unfold*

when i got her off i realized it wasn't a ripping sound there was not tare then at second glance I realized it! it was pee! Nim had peed through the mini trampoline! so i asked her if she needed to go out and she started walking sideways towards me! this worried me she was walking at an angle seemed like she wanted a wall for support..a quick glance it looked like she was holding up her back leg and she fell. then she got up and fll again. i panicked! i scream and broke into tears i called pat and fought through my tears that it was an emergency and nim needed to get to a vet. then i ran to my roommate i could hear her getting up and falling but i was paralyzed in fear for a few minutes. we came out and nim was in the bathroom, she followed us out walking sideways and fell again. then it got even worse. she began looking like she was trying to get up and falling back really quickly in a repetitive and circular motion. she was literally spinning around the kitchen and across the room doing this. i scream as my knees buckled just crying. i couldn't even talk to the vet i was such a horrible mess. all i could think was that i was seeing my dog suffering and dying a horrific death! i thought they were seizures. Sarah did what she could to keep me calm reminding me to stay with nim and to pet her no matter how bad it got. i wanted to close my eyes and make it all go away. there was nothing worse then seeing Nim go through this! after she got off the phone with the vet we wrapped her up in blankets and protected her head. *Sarah suggested it as i couldn't think clearly at all at this point!

We knew things were really bad because when pat here she didn't even seem to realize he was in the room. normally she runs around in excitement when she so much as hears his car and when he walks in the house. however this time he came right up to her but it was like he wasnt even there. we all slowly and carefully lifted her onto the blanket and loaded her into the car. as soon as we got there staff came out and we got her into the office. they checked her temp 104.9 and we went over our week and what it could be ruling out what it wasn't. Nim was realy out of it. her eyes were glazed over and she couldn't even get off her side. when she would sit up she swayed. When the doctor came in he checked her over and checked for an ear infection. her ears looked good so he moved on to test her eyes and her sense of touch. through these tests he found she lost vision in her left eye. she also lost sensation in her front left leg. He said that it looked like she has old dog vestibular disease but her loss of vision in one eye and loss of sensation in her front leg is unusual so it could have been a stroke or possibly a brain tumor. the good news is that if it is old dog vestibular disease most dogs who get this recover to nearly 90 plus percent back to normal. Unfortunately it would cost thousands of dollars to figure out which for sure. while we waited for mom to get there Nim started to show some improvements. her eyes cleared up and she waged her tail when mom walked i showing she was aware. she also tried to sit up but didn't have to much of a rolling fit with our support. after reviewing our options we said we will take her home and see how she does with supportive care. We plan to reassess in a 5 plus day. We have much hope that she will regain her ability to stand and walk and may make a near full recovery! we are praying very hard for this


Nim's care: for care she needs subcutaneous fluids twice a day on antibiotics and aspirin (coated) physically nim cant really use her limbs and sways when she sits up. she is also tilted to the left the vet said this is classic with old dog vestibular syndrome and will likely improve if the diagnosis is correct but may always tilt her head a bit to the left. Still unable to walk

 

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers she means everything to me!
     
                          -AutismDogGirl

FOLLOW Nim's recovery at

https://www.facebook.com/PrayersForNim

being heard in public and batteriy drain and keeping a charge

Hello,

     how is everyone? I just wanted to give a quick update and share with you some of the challanges of relying on an AAC app for communication. one of the challenges i have been running into is being heard. it seems neither the ipad nor the phone speaker are quite loud enough to be heard while out and about. either outside or in stores. this of coarse shouldn't come as much of a shock when you think about it people generally have to speak louder when outside their homes in order to be heard. to deal with  this issue i have gotten my bluetooth speaker. this seems to be working quite nicely now. however this comes with its own challenges. i need to remember to charge it. 

    in fact on of the major down sides to relying on the cell or an ipad for communication other then being easly drowned out by sound is the charge. you need to fully charge these deceives at night and charge them when not in use as the AAC will drain the battery. generally i still get nearly a full days use of my AAC without charging during the day but i will be almost out of battery by 8 pm and need a charge so if i am planning on going out i will need to charge while at home. it is also wise to plan to pack chargers and car chargers when going out just encase you end up out later then expected. I plan to post a blog with photos of my  gear soon. For now I wish you all a good night  im off to sleep.

          

                                          -AutismDogGirl

    

  

My FIRST guest blogger!!! Melody Rain her post " wandering How I do it and what it might look like"

Hello,

    Alright i very very excited to announce we have an awesome (and my FIRST) guest blogger Melody Rain!  Melody is also an adult on the autism spectrum and an advocate for autism awareness. She is a great advocate  with a lot of information and insight on autism Bellow is a piece written by Melody rain and what autism is like for her and what you can do to help!

. Melody I want to thank you for allowing me to share this amazing piece of writing with everyone and for your work in spreading awareness and understanding as an adult with Autism!! thank you Melody!
               -AutismDogGirl

" "Wandering....How I do it/ What it May Look Like, Why and What You Can Do(in hopes to help parents of children with autism who like to wander)"
Written by Melody Rain copyright 2013.

Everyone has seen people walking. Usually when you see a person or a child walking they look pretty determined and focused on where they are going. Most people when they see someone outside walking they do not think anything of it...especially if it is an older child or an adult. Therefore, wandering can be overlooked and people may not recognize that the child or adult may be in danger. 
So how does wandering differ in appearance from someone who is walking to a purposed destination? A person who is walking to a purpose destination may like I said appear determined. They may be walking at a normal pace or even briskly. They may be looking ahead or looking around consistently. They will stop at the end of sidewalks and look both ways before crossing. They may smile or nod as they pass by you and appear like they are completely aware of their surroundings. What might it look like if a person with autism is WANDERING? 
Here are some differences. A person with autism while wandering may have their head down watching their own footsteps or may be focused on an object in their hands. They may look or have a fixated stare either at an object or just wherever they are looking. They may not seem to be aware of their surroundings...but rather in their own world. They may be humming repetively, doing other repetitive movements, or walking in a slow repetitive like motion. Usually their pace will be slower than typical walkers. They may stop in the middle of their pace and just stand....they may even stop in the middle of the road. They may seem completely unaware of any dangers. They may stop to look at things or objects that catch their eye....they may be touching this object. They may be walking towards a water source or around a water source. They may be walking in very hot weather (when typical people may not want to walk), in the rain, in very cold weather, in snow or at night...especially very late. If you speak to them they may not respond or look at you. They may appear deaf. 
There seems to be a need or a desire to wander in many who have autism. Often times I just feel inspired to wander. Sometimes it happens when something dramatic or difficult happened that day. It sometimes feels like an escape from everything around me. It feels good to wander. I have been a wanderer since a young child...though I have not found myself in dangerous situations as a CHILD when wandering mostly because I was found. As an adult I have been in a few dangerous situations such as people who have tried to kidnap me or take me when I have wandered late at night. I do not always completely "check out" when I wander but I seem to be somewhere in the middle of both worlds. Many people who wander may be completely oblivious to all surroundings.
So as a parent you have probably tried to take precautions in order to protect your wandering child or adult child. Locking the doors /windows with alarms to alert you...notifying neighbors to keep watch out for your child, police etc. But here is something else you can do. This may not prevent or discourage all wandering but it may help. Take time with your child or adult child to allow him or her the ability to wander. You think what do you mean??? Well often you might go on a walk to relieve stress or recoop your mind from a hectic day. Your child may need this too in their own way. If your child is a runner or darts out impulsively you certainly want to make sure you do this in a very safe environment. Take your child to a park, big field where there are lots of trees nearby or on a walk somewhere there is not any traffic and allow THEM to lead the walk with you close enough to grab them or be near them incase of any dangers. During this wandering walk allow it to be as much time as they need and DO NOT use this time for conversating, talking or causing any un-necessary distractions. This is their time to unwind, relax and just feel free. 
Written by Melody Rain (adult autistic/advocate and an occasional wanderer) Written to help parents understand a little bit more about the autistic mind."  - by Melody Rain  

LINK ->  https://www.facebook.com/melodyrain7/posts/557768867608760?comment_id=5637084&offset=0&total_comments=14&notif_t=feed_comment_reply

https://www.facebook.com/melodyrain7

this week has become trouble shooting week

Hello,
      I am sorry i haven't been posting about my experiences however this week has been mostly trouble shooting. it is taking me a bit to get a handle on what albums i will need and things i may want to say during the day. this how ever has helped me realize just how much work goes into setting up and getting an AAC app to work properly. due to the fact i have spent this week trouble shooting i will be extending the testing period a whole week. so day one will officially start Monday. this should give me enough to to put the finishing touches on each album and maybe get some family members to help out with that.

 i also finally have a working laptop. this has actually made editing and setting up tap to talk much easier. I highly suggest anyone who is looking into getting or has just gotten a taptotalk subscription that they get access to a computer for setting up the albums. while you can set them up via safari on your i pad and I phone it is not as efficient as a computer and it takes a lot more time. I should also note you can not access or use the taptotalk designer on your smart phone at this time this is something i hope that changes in the future especially since the app is available for non iphone smart phones. again sorry for the delay and thank you so much for your patients.
                        -AutismDogGirl

Taptotalk testing day one mild frustration and starting over

Okay so today was ,y first day testing the tap to talk. I was very excited when they day started! I couldn't wait to get started. However today has been a but frustrating for me. When I started up my tap to talk and started using it I realized I had a few issues. The first issue was that when I started to use the app I realized that I had forgotten to save something's when creating the albums so some albums didn't have speech to them or had the speech all mixed up and wrong. Something I will need to fix today.the second was that all my apps were for one sided conversation. I wan I need. So I ended up supplementing with a separate app most of the day.. I will have to go and create new albums . I suspect I will have to create an album for each person I may interact with and places I may go with pre scripted questions. I also ended up talking by need yesterday so I will start over fresh today and Ladd an exra day to my testing period   On the plus side nim and I got to go for a very lovely walk together and have some nice relaxing  muddy and watery fun! Nothing  cheers you up quite like a hike in the woods!!!!!

Testing starts tomorrow!!!!

Hello,
      I am sorry I have been away for so long! I have been very busy with medical related stuff, but I have recently been given the all clear and can resume my regular daily activities!!! Yay! Mao tomorrow starts my first testing period!! I will be testing tap to talk for the next 2 weeks! During those weeks I will not be speaking at all unless it is a emerganceys (assu,ing I can get the words out in an emerganceys)  I will be using tap to talk for all of my communication with the outside world. Should I need to supplement it with another app I will document in my review. So over the next 2 weeks i will be blogging about my experiences using tap to talk! i cant wait!!!!! I also plan to hopefully be doing a pos about service dogs for autism soon.
                      -AutismDogGirl