TapToTalk for Nintendo DS!

(click the button to visit the product website)

Last night I was browsing on the Teaching Learners With Multiple Special Needs blog and saw the most intriguing post -- Two Ways to Make Nintendo DS an AAC Device. (Three cheers for Kate!)

I have been scouring the web for more information and have decided that this might be IT, you guys! This might be exactly what we've been looking for! It runs on a Nintendo, people. A NINTENDO!



You have heard me repeatedly grappling with the issue of communication, and with the frustratng and overwhelming task of finding an appropriate AAC device for my son. And, honestly, this is the first thing I've seen in several years that I am ready to BUY.

Here's why.

• First of all, it has a dynamic display.* We've tried devices in the past that have only one level, but they are way too basic for our purposes. We've tried devices that can switch between several pre-programmed levels with different printable sheets or cards to swap in and out, but they are impractical (and, again, too limiting). On the other end of the spectrum are the very sophisticated dynamic display formats with so many levels and choices that my son gets completely lost or distracted. The TapToTalk program seems to offer a solid middle ground, which is what we need right now.

*Dynamic display means the user can navigate through levels by selecting options and advancing through screen after screen with increasingly narrow/specific options. Go to the online TapToTalk demo to try it for yourself.

• I'm listing this second, but it's a major selling point: TapToTalk is affordable. The one-year subscription cost for the TapToTalk service is only $99 -- a far cry from the $7,000-$9,000 price tags we've been dismayed to find on other devices. We already have a Nintendo DS, so for around a hundred dollars we could be set up! Not only does that relieve an enormous amount of pressure for making The "Perfect" AAC Decision, but it also means there's no major funding required, and therefore no insurance, no paperwork, no waiting period, no grant-writing, no approvals, no jumping through hoops, either! (In addition, the company offers a 30-day return policy, so if I'm not impressed with it, I could actually send it back and put that hundred dollars right back in the AAC fund. There's no risk.)
  


• It looks doable. I know this kind of programming always takes more time than I expect it to, but there are lots of good online tutorials and it really doesn't look complicated. I could start out with a basic outline for immediate use, and then tweak and edit and continue to build over time as needed; the customizing potential is great. In addition, the program navigation is so intuitive that I know we can hit the ground running and not get bogged down in learning a new language or reading complex training manuals. That's important, because there are very few resources or specialists in this area to turn to for assistance; I am, by necessity, the expert. I can do this!
  

• It's replaceable. My son is hard on electronic equipment. I mean *really* hard. He loves hand-held games and players....but it's still very likely that he will get too rough, or throw it, or drop it, or mess with the hinges, or pull on the cords, etc. (We have a Nerf protective shell and screen clings for ours, but I am still worried about those fragile hinges....) But this is basic, light-weight gaming equipment we're talking about! The hardware (platform) itself could be replaced, and the software is accessible online. That means the content can be downloaded again if anything goes missing. Breakage would not be a major tragedy; I really like that.
  

• Nintendo DS is a familiar platform for my son. He can already navigate on a Gameboy, and he's watched his older brother play on a DS many times. I'm confident he can figure this program out very quickly. In addition to being small, portable, and readily available, this system would also let him be just like his brother. (That's highly motivating stuff, right there.)
  

Is anybody else out there as excited as I am? I can't wait to get my hands my son's hands on this!

I have no idea whether this program will prove to be a disappointing flop, a valuable stepping stone, or a permanent solution for communicating with our son...but I am absolutely thrilled to discover TapToTalk as such a wonderfully practical and accessible AAC option!

Losing My Marbles

I'm going to tell you about a dream I had last night. Because everybody loves that! (I'm saying that tongue-in-cheek, of course, having finally un-glazed my own eyes after an extremely detailed recounting I was just forced to listen to over breakfast.)

Seriously, I do realize that making you read about my dream is kind of weird, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'll keep it short.

*****
This happened, that happened, another thing happened...and then I found myself leading Max through a crowded balcony to go sit with someone I could see about halfway up. The balcony was in a church, and the church service was in progress. It was very quiet, and we were facing rows of people, and I was trying to make our entrance as discreetly as possible.

Now the thing that made this whole scenario really challenging (and dreamlike, and worthy of repeating) was that Max kept turning into a marble.

The balcony was full of pews and steps and hard, echo-y floors (not to mention all the people with their feet and purses and WATCHING EYES) and my marble just kept rolling out of reach, ricocheting, dropping loudly down the stairs, and landing in the darnedest places. I kept shuffling through areas and reaching under people's seats to retrieve my little marble, and would set it back on track, only to have it roll away once again. I didn't know why my marble wasn't following me better through that maze of balcony, but I kept trying again and again and again.

The entire incident was confusing and frustrating and embarrassing and thank goodness, I woke up.

(Don't really need a dream interpretation manual for this one, eh?)

*****
Incidentally, the photo at the top of this post is one I took a couple weeks ago after noticing the bathroom door wasn't shutting correctly.

Coincidence?

Viola.

This has absolutely nothing to do with my son or microcephaly or anything at all, really, but I just realized that I accidentally typed "viola!" instead of "voila!" back there. I couldn't help myself -- I HAD to go back and correct it.

But now I have the giggles and almost wish I had just left it alone. I mean, who couldn't use a little laugh as they randomly stumble across that typo over time, right?

I'm thinking about adopting it as my new go-to exclamation. It's clean, it's catchy, it lends itself well to dramatic pronunciation, and it works to express everything from breathless appreciation ("Ooooo, Veeeeohhhhlaaaa!") to an angry expletive ("Oh Vi-O-La!!") -- or even an insult ("They don't know VIT from VYE-OLA!")!

Viola. heh.

Spackle & Patch

I decided I really need to go back and fill in some of the cracks and holes in this blog. So, I just finished up a bit of site repair and filled in some of those neglected spots with a few old posts I'd been sitting on for no apparent reason. (I mean, other than reasons like...hitting the spellcheck button seemed too exerting, or the post had no ending, or I fell asleep instead, or something.)

But -- voila! I deemed them "complete" and posted them.

Where can you find these virtual spackle & patch editions? Just scroll back.

Or, if you prefer, use this handy dandy guide:

1. We saw chicks.
2. Siblings had issues, part seventy-two.
3. We went to the zoo.
4. Max went to another zoo.
5. Max got a swimsuit.
6. We went on vacation. (In progress)

There are a few other posts that I'll be finishing up and adding in real time, because they didn't seem chronologically significant. (So if you notice Max's teeth randomly falling out and re-appearing, or his hair growing with bizarre speed, don't be concerned.) It'll all work out in the end.

7 vs. 8

I'm having a hard time seeing Max as eight.

As I watched Max today, I realized that there's a reason besides "birthday grief" that I'm having trouble calling him 8. It's a very simple reason, too.

He looks like a 7.

His body continues to grow (and his facial features do, too), though his head doesn't change much. So there's that. And there's also the fact that the gap between his chronological age and "age-appropriate" behaviors continues to widen each year, so that things that were more easily overlooked in a two-year-old version of Max become glaringly obvious in his 8-year-old self.

When people ask his age now, and I reply, "He's eight," there is a pause that occurs while their wheels begin to spin...and it feels like that pause is now lasting a few beats longer than it did before.

These things are all true, and I could easily go on, but what I'm trying to say is much more literal than that.

I really mean HE LOOKS LIKE A 7!

Seven is all angles and edges and lines and corners, slightly off-balance & a bit awkward. It's long and thin and sharp. It's bendy and tilted and seems to be perpetually aiming somewhere, hurtling towards a vague place just over there. Even in stillness, 7 implies motion. It's hard to capture and difficult to split. It's easily misread. Seven is odd.

But 8? Eight is round and smooth and even. It's perfectly proportioned and bubbling with symmetry. 8 is chubby and full, like babies, Buddha, fresh warm zweibach. It's quiet and still, poised and straight, endlessly balanced, Zen. 8 is easy to dissect and examine, mathematically and visually. 8 is complete, full-circle, finished (twice!) -- and when it gently lies down to sleep, it promises infinity. Eight is whole.

I often look for signs or symbolism that isn't really there. And when I see it, I want to believe it.

So today I'm wondering -- could it really be that simple? Is 8 a sign of things to come?

Magic 8 Ball Wisdom

Birthday Boy

Here's a D.I.Y. Budget-Friendly AAC Option: The Envue Digital Photo Album

We've had trial runs of several different AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices, but don't actually own one yet. As a result, I'm always on the lookout for creative -- (and cheaper!) -- alternatives.

Our current experiment involves the EnVue Digital Photo Album.

I chose the EnVue because of its large, clear 3.5" screen and user-friendly control buttons. I also liked it because it looks like an oversized iPod (which makes it extra-appealing for my son), but it is actually made of plastic and is very lightweight.

(Truth be told, "lightweight" here is implying a bit of "flimsy"...but I have come to view electronics as semi-disposable in our household, so I'm fine with its somewhat temporary feel.) (Oh, and there is also the beware of flying objects problem in our household, so, again, I'm fine with the nice, lightweight flimsiness; it won't do much damage.)

Another feature the enVue has that seemed intriguing is the thumbnail view option (labeled below as "Thumbview"). I like this because it provides another way to navigate through the photos, allowing you to see 9 photos at a time and then select the one you want.

I had planned to load a bunch of photos on the viewer that were loosely grouped by topic (eg., Self Care, Food, School) and then use the thumbnail view to navigate to the desired topic & image. In reality, it didn't work as well as I had hoped it would as the buttons are fairly slow to respond. Max prefers to simply arrow forward and back, pressing repeatedly until he finds the picture he wants. It isn't terribly efficient for quick communication, but it does make for a fun treasure hunting game along the way. And, in the end, he still gets there.

Click on the photo to see all the technical details.

Another feature I like about the EnVue photo viewer is that the memory card is optional, which gives Max one less thing to fiddle with and/or misplace. The internal memory can hold up to 60 photos, which is sufficient for our purposes. The product box contains everything you need to start using the device, including a cable which connects the viewer to your computer's USB port. The photo editing software starts automatically when you plug it in, which I appreciate because it means no downloads or CD-ROM to mess with!

However, I should warn you that the editing software is less intuitive than you might think at first glance.

Screen shot of the photo editing software interface. Looks simple, right?

Problem #1: It is possible to scroll through the photo images without scrolling through the accompanying file name; as a result, you might end up loading the same picture file over and over even though you were clicking on a different image. You'll see duplicates appearing on the right half of the screen if this happens, but if you're trying to select and load quickly, you need to stay alert.

(You're so lucky, getting the added benefit of my experience.)

Problem #2: Photos must be loaded in the order in which you want them to appear; you cannot move or organize them once selected. For random photos, this is not a problem; for a slide show with text or chronological order, plan accordingly! If you forget to include a picture that needs to be towards the beginning, you will have to delete and then reload all the subsequent photos in order to get it up there. (I would have saved a lot of time had I known this in advance! You're welcome!)

Though it would force you to sacrifice some degree of control over the editing that connecting to a computer permits, using the memory card would greatly simplify the loading process.

In fact, I think it would be a wonderful way to send photos back and forth between school and home. It would be quite simple to photograph a class party, or field trip, or other "hot topic" and then just pop the camera card in the viewer to send along with your child. (I'm going to try that method next and let you know how it goes! Maybe it's not as easy as it sounds.)

Want to know what Max is watching? CLICK HERE to find out!

The EnVue Digital Photo Album is no longer available from the official product website, but it is still listed at amazon.com (wide range of pricing, from $19.99 to $67.50!) and at WalMart (currently on clearance for $20).

The EnVue is not perfect, but it is a very handy shape and size and offers remarkably good photo quality -- all at an affordable price! I'm quite excited by it and think it's well worth purchasing at its current clearance pricing. (But if you have $67.50 to spend, I'd encourage you to look for an alternative product.)

I'd love to hear about other products (digital photo viewers, in particular) you come across that would lend themselves well to this type of D.I.Y. portable AAC usage! Any others out there I should try?