Class+3_Team+1

= __ Proloquo2Go in the Special Education Classroom __ =



= = = __Introduction __ = The number of schools who have provided IPads to students is growing rapidly. IPads provide many benefits for students some of which include keeping the students engaged, their simplicity, and hands-on-learning. Students are much more willing to learn when they get to use this device. Pads are much more cost effective when compared to desktop computers or Macs. IPads are also easy to carry around, can easily fit into backpacks, and can be charged anywhere. There are thousands of applications for IPads. One of these applications is the Proloquo2Go. = __Definition of a New Concept/Tool Related to Web 2.0 __ = Proloquo2Go is a product from Assistive Ware that offers a high quality communication resolution for people who have trouble speaking. Proloquo2Go is affordable, and its effects are just as good as a thousand dollar augmentative and alternative communication device. Teachers, parents, and SLPS recommend this product for both children and adults with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, and developmental disabilities (Assistive Ware, 2011). Proloquo2Go is a worldwide application that can be utilized on devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. =media type="youtube" key="dKc1Ss5d1Nw" height="315" width="560"= = __History of Proloquo2Go__ = Proloquo2Go could be considered one of the more recent additions in regards toward augmentative and alternative communication in assistive technology. The application Proloquo2Go was originally “created in collaboration between AssistiveWare and Sennott Cousulting”(AssistiveWare). The creators of Proloquo2Go, Samual Sennott and David Niemeijer, started their work in 2008. The application itself was not yet released in the App Store until April of 2009. It was Sennott and Niemeijer’s goal to make a communication device that was affordable, yet effective.

= __Issues of Proloquo2Go__ = Specific issues with Proloquo2Go for students with special needs are the ways in which it is presented. Some students have difficulties learning how to navigate the application at first and may become frustrated. For some, the complexity of the application itself may hinder its use, as some students require the use of a simpler augmentative device. The touch screen may be another hindrance of Proloquo2Go’s accessibility. Besides the base cost of the iPad or iPod touch, this application costs another $189. When thinking about this aspect cost becomes another issue in its accessibility. = = = __**Advantages and Disadvantages of the Proloquo2Go**__ = There are many advantages and disadvantages to the Apple application Proloquo2Go. This application benefits mostly students who are delayed in speech or are non-verbal. Some of the advantages to this application are; it supports functional unprompted communication among a student who is non-verbal with students or adults who are, it helps with access to social information, helps students communicate not only in school but also at home and out in public, it provides a voice for these children, and lastly it really reduces the amount of frustration and stress that is put on students who are non-verbal or who have a delay in speech. Another advantage to this application is the fact that it is very portable. A person who is in need of this device every moment they are awake will be able to download it on an iPad or iPod touch. The iPod touch is smaller and more convenient with students who do not have any fine motor skills issues and the iPod touch is for students who may have vision and fine motor problems (Samuel Sennott, 2012). Some disadvantages to the proloquo2Go are how small the pictures are that the students need to be pressing. The students with fine motor skills may still have trouble pressing the correct button on the iPad and even more trouble on the iPod touch. There are also no adjustments that can be done on the screen sensitivity, meaning students who may have tremors could accidently push the wrong button multiple times causing frustration among themselves and leading to them giving up very quickly. These are the disadvantages to the Proloquo2Go. Looking at the evidence there are many more advantages to this application but the disadvantages are things stopping students from using it and should be altered so every student can use it just as easily (FINKELSTEIN, 2011).

= =

**//__Future Direction of New Concept/Tool__//** When looking for the future direction of the this tool there wasn’t to many things that were going to be changed. The people at Apple software would like for the devices to have a sensitivity option along with making the symbols and keyboard, for typing in sentences, bigger and more accessible for student with fine motor and vision issues (FINKELSTEIN, 2011).

= __Conclusion__ = The iPad has so much to offer for those students who are non-verbal or have delayed speech. The Apple Software company keeps coming out with new applications that can be purchased for these students and implemented in their everyday life to help them achieve what they need and to communicate with others around them. The Proloquo2Go has really changed things for students who are non-verbal in a good way, they now can speak to other classmates, order their own food, and talk with friends like everyone else around them. Hopefully Apple will continue to come out with different applications to help students in different areas succeed where they need to.

= __References__ =

FINKELSTEIN, A. (2011, October 13). //Apps for Autism – Proloquo2Go featured on CBS News 60 Minutes//. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from inov8 educational consulting: http://www.inov8- ed.com/2011/10/apps-for-autism-proloquo2go-for-children-with-autism-on-cbs-news-60- minutes/

Samuel Sennott, A. B. (2012). //Autism, AAC, and Proloquo2Go//. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association : http://div12perspectives.asha.org/content/18/4/137.full

Assistive Ware. (2011). // Proloquo2go //. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/proloquo2go/id308368164?mt=8

Renolds, T., & Alvarez, J. (2009). The History of Proloquo2Go. In //History //. Retrieved February 12, 2012