#AAC device

[shepandem]

Tips for Setting Up AAC:

Transcript: "I have been seeing many people on here saying they feel overwhelmed or confused about how to set up their AAC devices. I thought I would give a tour of my device to give people a place to start with putting together their own pages.

To start with, this is my core words page, it is the first thing I see on the app when I open it. The core words page has the most commonly used words in the English language. My grid has sixty buttons on each page because that is what is accessible to me, but you want to have as many buttons as you can access on each page to make navigating as quick as possible.

There are two main ways I know of that AAC devices are organised. The first is by parts of speech, the second is by category. I use bits of both in my device.

For example, I have folders for nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and little words like conjunctions and modifiers, which are parts of speech, but I also have folders for time, feeling, and common expressions, which are categories.

Here us my describing words page. It has a lot of common adjectives, and also has sub folders for specific types of adjectives.

"High"

"Below"

"Together"

"Funny"

"Weak"

"Whole"

"Rainbow"

Here is my feeling page. It is alphabetized and colour-coordinated by letter so that I can quickly find the colour of the letter I want without having to look through the whole list.

"I feel"

"Happy"

"Delighted"

"Confused"

"Overehelmed"

"I don't know what I'm feeling"

"I have lots of big feelings right now"

My quick fire page has whole phrases instead of single words.

"Me too"

"This device is my talker, it helps me communicate"

"Stop!"

"The time is 1:47 pm"

"I like you"

"Congratulations"

"That is frustrating"

Blithering idiot!"

"Not my circus, not my monkeys"

Under my core words page are more specific topic folders. They have a mix of nouns, verbs, and adjectives that are specific to the topic.

For example, here is my food page.

"Food"

"Breakfast"

"Hot dog"

"Coconut"

"Herb"

"Pitcher

"Thaw"

Some of my topic folders also have phrases, like my errands folder.

"I'm just looking, thanks"

"Do you have"

"How much is that?"

"Credit"

"Card"

The last thing I want to add is that AAC can have more uses than just communicating. I have a folder of recipes that my care providers help me put together to help me learn cooking skills.

"Let's make brownies"

"10 tablespoons butter"

"1 1/4 cup sugar"

"1/ teaspoon salt"

"Preheat oven to 325 degrees"

"Grease 8 by 8 baking pan"

"Mix butter, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla"

"Mix until smooth"

"Bake for 20 to 25 minutes"

You can make folders for things like grocery lists, routine, social stories, anything you want.

Anyway, I hope this tour was helpful, if you have any questions just ask.

"Questions"

"Thank you. For. Watching"

Thank you for watching.

[vixyz-aac-hoard]

Can ask for “early” and “late” emoji? Thank! /nf

Early Late

On Time

[thecouncil-aac]

Be the change you wanna see in the world /ref

Lowkey, we want to add some Khmer to our board, but don't know how Coughdrop is going to handle that

Especially considering we can speak it, but can't spell for shit

-Nyomi

i !!!! want !!!!!! bilingual!!! aac!!! ich will mit meine schwester sprechen !!! auf deutsch!!!!

[alex2xander]

Be nice and don't mock tumblr users that communicate differently.

Examples:

1.) Typing quirks

2.) No punctuation

3.) Random Capitalisation

4.) Long run on sentences

5.) Frequently misspelled words

6.) Missing spaces between words

7.) Repeating words and sentences

8.) Posts audios and videos instead of typing

9.) Express themselves through custom emojis

10.) Use an AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication) device

Some users have intellectual disabilities, use speech to text, struggle with grammar, have hand tremmers, have high support needs, etc.

Regardless of how they communicate and their reason why, they still deserve respect. They are trying their best.

[clownrecess]

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with undiagnosed physical disabilities

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with undiagnosed mental disabilities

Happy disabled pride month to mobility aid users

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who are in constant pain

Happy disabled pride month to AAC users

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with ableist family

Happy disabled pride month to fat disabled people

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with scars

Happy disabled pride month to disabled addicts

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who's disability is progressing

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who love their disability

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people who hate their disability

Happy disabled pride month to disabled people with underrepresented and/or uncommonly known disabilities

Happy disabled pride month to all disabled people. I love you. /p

[sirenium]

For anyone who is semi verbal, nonverbal, or otherwise struggles with speech, please know that there are people who will accept your methods of communication. There are people who won't infantilize you for using AAC, communication cards, making noises instead of words, etc. There are people who won't expect you to pick the mask up again when you stop being so 'talkative'. There are people who don't mind waiting for you to sort your thoughts, and are happy to include you in the conversation.

There are people who accept you as yourself, and I don't just mean toleration.

[thecouncil-aac]

For anon <3

We do it because if we anthropomorphize our disability aids (like our AAC, our ear defenders, our ESSA, ect), it "guilts" us into actually using them - we need them either way, but if we humanize them, we feel more attached to them and more willing to bring them around and rely on them when needed ^.^

It's a little loophole for us to consistently take care of ourselves

hello hopefully this isnt a offensive question but we arent very deep into the aac community and have been seeing a lot of people refer to their aac with pronouns or naming them and we were wondering for lack of a better way of phrasing why? were just genuinely curious and trying to understand!

thank you for the ask anon !!!!

some people are POSIC+ { which means they feel objects sentient } , people have special attachments to them or just for fun !!!! , all like us .

[nemo-bros]

i think lots of people do not realize how long it takes to set up aac (low tech or high tech)

low tech requires lots of printing and cutting and laminating and hole punching and more cutting etc

and high tech requires hours of sitting with device and customizing not just settings but words, folders, layout etc

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

it easy change my voice on AAC.

easier than mouth speak people.

go to setting. go to voices. look, there entire lists. you can try them on like coats in mall. if don’t like them, in press of button you can have something new.

some, can change pitch. can make deeper. can make higher. can make faster. can make slower.

world in your tablet.

it hard change my voice on AAC.

my AAC. is my voice. is identity.

can change with press of button. but not so easy. we have history. my identity entangled with how AAC sound. how i sound.

change voice feel like loss of identity. feel empty. feel lost. feel like line carve in stone, divide me in past and future.

it hard change my voice on AAC.

do speaking people have to choose from limited list of pre synthesized voices? do speaking people run into other speaking people with same. exact. voice as them, same pronounciation errors, same annunciations, same tone, same exclamation?

do speaking people have to compromise within self and share that same voice with other people, a voice that yours but never fully yours?

it hard change my voice on AAC.

mouth speak people. as they age. mature. grow old. switch context. voice naturally changes. voice grows with them.

mine stops. mine frozen in time.

transition from one life stage to another. should i change a voice? to make pallatable for people around me, more professional, more mature, more “taken seriously,” but lose self in process?

it hard change my voice on AAC.

many choices for “standard” (< white) american (< USA) english. many choices for british english. some choices for spanish.

where my diaspora accents? where my languages?

can my friend not speak their mother tongue?

- thank you for give me outlet for voice, but you all that i have

from nonverbal full time aac user

(as in nonverbal all the time)

[pixierainbows]

“ If you use augmentative or alternative technology to communicate and have equipment lost or damaged due to a national disaster, we can help!

Who We Are

USSAAC's Disaster Relief Committee responds to nationally declared disasters on behalf of USSAAC members, people who use AAC, their families, and other AAC stakeholders. We work collaboratively with other organizations to replace AAC tools and devices that are lost or damaged.

How We Can Help

I Have a Need

If your AAC equipment has been lost or damaged, we can help with a replacement at no cost. Use the ‘I Have a Need’ button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

I Want to Donate

To support USSAAC's efforts with monetary donations, communication devices, AAC app codes, or other AAC-related items, use the ‘I Want to Give’ button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

I Want to Volunteer

Enter your skills and location using the 'I Want to Volunteer' button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

FAQs

What equipment IS covered?

*Speech-generating devices

*Access switches

*Device mounting systems

*Communication boards and books

*AAC device batteries and chargers

What Happens Next?

Requests - we will contact you to get more detailed information about your AAC needs.

Donations - we will contact you when there is a need that matches your offer.

Volunteers - we will contact you when there is a need that matches your skills, time, and location.

Contact Us “

https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

[zebulontheplanet]

I’m. Still. An. Adult. I’m still an adult! Even when I’m using aac. Even when I’m stimming. Even when I refuse eye contact. I’m still an adult! Stop treating autistic people like they’re children. We aren’t children! Yes, I may have interests that are “childish”, yes I may need more time with things, yes I may need patience. But I’m still an adult! It annoys me so much when I’m babied by those around me. I’m still a person, I’m still a teenager, I’m still a adult.

[junkyrdsystem]

We're struggling to set up our aac. Has anyone got any advice to help us? We've only ever used low tech aac before

[fagtionnow]

disabled people do things. disabled people smoke. disabled people drink. disabled people steal. disabled people have sex. disabled people kill. disabled people aren't "clean creatures", we're people and we do things.

[tontoemojis]

Us with our machine in the wild !!! 🌞

pictures of Freddy & his machine { AAC device } out and about to make you feel less nervous about using your AAC device in public !!!!!!!

inspired by @clownrecess ' s post

↑ in a ballpark , ↑ in group therapy

↑ at school , ↑ in the car

↑ at the park 🌈

↑ school ’ s outside , ↑ on a walk

[shepandem]

Shep and Em’s Tips for Practicing with AAC:

- Google, “intermediate [your native language] practice sentences” and copy the sentences using AAC. For English, I like intermediate rather than advanced, because the advanced sentences I found used more complex vocabulary that was far less likely to be found on AAC buttons.

- Watch videos made for children or new language learners and copy their sentences on your AAC, or answer any questions they ask.

- Write paragraphs or stories on your device about characters you make up, or those you like.

- Info dump on your device about your special interests.

-Hold conversations in which you type out the responses of both parties.

- Copy song lyrics onto your device.

- To get practise using your more creative or less frequently used buttons, write poetry or song lyrics, or describe the space around you in as much detail as possible.

- Use AAC to talk to family members, pets, or stuffed animals (this method is Shep’s favourite).

[clownrecess]

Photos of my AAC device in public (or out and about) places to make you feel less nervous about using yours in public ^^

Target ^ School ^

Peircing shop ^ On a walk ^

At a park ^ In the car ^

In school parking lot ^ At an arcade ^