PROLOQUO2GO (Speak Out Loud)

In my last blog post, I talked about the iWriteWords iPad app. The iWriteWords iPad app is a supplemental activity that teachers or parents could use to help their child begin to learn to be able to identify and form letters! In this blog post, I am going to talk about an PROLOQUO2GO, or Speak Out Loud, which is an iPad app that can be used in the classroom to help autistic or nonverbal students be able to communicate!

In the video I watched, Sam Senott, Co-creator of the PROLOQUO2GO iPad app, explain how the app works.

The child presses pictures and words and the app speaks out loud to respond to and to ask questions.  As the child presses different words and pictures in a sequential order, the app provides a sentence for the app to be able to voice what the child wants to say.

Parent's Perspective:

 I think that parents would be absolutely thrilled to have their Autistic or nonverbal child be able to use PROLOQUO2GO! All parents want to be able to communicate with their children and be able to give them what they want. With the help of PROLOQUO2GO, parents will finally be able to have a conversation with their child and their child will be able to tell their parent what they want!

Child's Perspective:

   I think it would be extremely frustrating for a child to not be able to tell people what they are thinking and what they want. To be able to function as a human being we need to make sure our basic needs are met. When you are unable to express your needs, it is hard for a parent or a teacher to make sure those needs are being met. With the help of PROLOQUO2GO, an Autistic or nonverbal child would be able to communicate their needs and participate in a conversation. PROLOQUO2GO becomes the child's voice they never had!

Teacher's Perspective:

A teacher as well as a parent wants to make sure the student's in their classes basic needs are met. Every good teacher knows that a child can not learn if their basic needs are not met. If a child who previously could not speak, can now tell their teacher when something is wrong or if they need something, the teacher would be ecstatic! 

As I watched this video and learned how great the PROLOQUO2GO app was, I couldn't help but think about Roger. As his swim instructor, it's very stressful for me to not know how he feels. A lot of the younger kids I teach are deathly afraid of the water. When we try to teach them some of the skills, like putting their head in the water, they cry and tell us they don't want to do it. With Roger, he is unable to tell me whether or not he is scared. With the help of the PROLOQUO2GO app, Roger would be able to tell me what he was thinking and it would be a huge relief to know how he feels about the pool!

For more information about the PROLOQUO2GO, watch the video below!