Rain, Rain, Rain?

As I sit here looking out my window it is raining AGAIN! Here in Indiana it has rained just about every day the entire month of June. With outdoor activities limited I've been thinking about some of the projects I have brewing. One of them is to present "Switch It Up: Move to Communicate" at the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference in Chicago October 29-31. I love this presentation because it lets me highlight some of the great kids I've worked with who have moved from basic cause and effect with switches to more sophisticated computer and communication device use. Positioning is critical for this to happen. Tiffany, my excellent physical therapist colleague, and I presented this session at the ATIA in Orlando in January and the PATINS conference in Indianapolis in November 2008. If you are a midwesterner - do not miss the Chicago ATIA conference - this is the first year that they are coming to us. Or, if you want a winter break, go to the Orlando version in January. Last January while I was there here at home the kids got 3 snow days and 12 inches of snow (not sorry to miss that). Go to www.atia.org for more information. Wow, I think it has stopped raining? No, false alarm - it just slowed down some. Hopefully next time I post it will be sunny.

Do You Use Audacity?

Have you found Audacity yet? It's the free audio editing software that lets you do so many things. Teachers use it to record podcasts for their students, students can use it at home to record their homework and email it to the teacher for an alternative to writing, and speech-language pathologists can use it for articulation, voice, and language feedback. I use it to add audio to my video clips because it is easy to change your voice pitch and speed - so I can be an entire cast of characters from my voice! Do you work with students who are nonverbal and use digitized speech devices? Instead of a teacher's voice coming out of the Step-By-Step, it is easy to use Audacity to change the pitch of the recorded voice to sound like a child. Then, just play the sound clip on the computer and hold down the "record" button of the device to record the message from the computer. Be careful - too much pitch change it you sound like Mickey Mouse! You can also clip portions of music to use for videos, websites, PowerPoint slide shows, and so much more.

Go to http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

AAC for your iPod

The new Prologu02Go software has been released with great reviews! Samuel Sennott,one of the creative minds behind this app for the iPod/iPhone, has several examples of adults and kids using this innovative, inexpensive tool on his website www.alltogetherwecan.com as well as the site www.proloquo2go.com. You can go to the iTunes store to get the app for a reasonable $149.00. The volume of an iPod Touch or iPhone isn't loud enough for communication, so you'll need a small speaker (you can get these for 5-10 dollars at various discount stores. But what a breakthough in technology!