At $189.99, Proloquo2Go is far from the cheapest App Store offering. Believe it or not, though, that price is actually a bargain--one a certain market is seriously happy to pay.
The target market? Parents of kids with special needs--specifically those with autism, apraxia, and other disabilities that affect their communication. Many of these kids can't speak, or can't speak as fluently as their peers, but they understand what's going on around them, and they do have things they'd like to say.
Augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, devices can supplement existing speech or replace speech that is not functional to improve social interaction, school performance, and--not for nothing--to give the kids a better sense of self-worth. Electronic AAC aids use picture symbols, letters, and/or words and phrases to create messages. Equipped with an AAC device, a child with cerebral palsy whose speech is limited suddenly has a way to tell you, "I want to go to Grandma's house this weekend!" or "I ate cake!"
Proloque2Go is just one of a growing number of AAC apps quickly gaining ground in the special-needs community. The reason is hardly surprising: before these apps came along, AAC devices could cost upward of $10,000--a cost many insurance companies would not cover. And for that hefty price, you got a heavy, clunky device that screamed, "I am different!" You would have looked cooler lugging an actual Commodore 64 around--though, at least then, you could have rocked the whole retro-chic look.
Kids aren't the only ones benefiting from these apps, of course--stroke and accident victims, as well as adults with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) and other progressive degenerative diseases are also tapping into this growing market
Part of the reason Proloque2Go and other similar apps work so well is that they offer Apple's familiar--and intuitive--iOS interface, relatively reasonable pricing, and the ease, portability, and cool factor of an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad: tap items in a grid or list view to insert them into the Message window, then tap to speak. Tap and hold to access conjugations, plurals, or possessives. Edit standard items, add custom words or sentences, or customize settings such as icon size or background and text colors.
Users can also reorder items within categories, which--as the quick-start manual explains--is critical because users quickly learn where items are located and can concentrate more on what they want to "say."
"Proloquo2Go is supereasy to program," said Ellen Seidman, mom to Max, a 7-year-old with cerebral palsy. "In five minutes, I created a 'Weekend folder' with photos I'd copied from the Internet ('I visited Aunt Judy'; 'I went to a park with Daddy'; "I ate chocolate ice cream'; 'I found a ladybug in my house')."
Retelling events is an important developmental skill, and giving kids a way to do that--without having to rely on a speech therapist to program an expensive device--is truly a breakthrough for many families.
My developmentally disabled 6-year-old was still away at camp when I first got the app loaded on my iPod Touch, so I had to improvise. My (neurotypical) 4-year-old had the app up and running, with no prompting, in moments. He was ecstatic to request dessert, tell me that he needed to go to the bathroom, and insist that it was not bedtime (no dice), all by tapping on the Proloque2Go screen images.
