Proloquo2Go - Communication made easy!

The Proloquo2Go is great for people with verbal dyspraxia. It provides augmentative and alternative use of speech and communication, as well as providing vocabulary and symbols to help the user communicate with speech-to-voice.

Verbal dyspraxia affects the child’s ability to correctly pronounce sounds, syllables and words, as well as making speaking very difficult. Accessing vocabulary can also be a problem for the child and prove to be very frustrating for the child when trying to speak (American Speech Language Hearing Association, 2011). The Proloquo2Go provides a range of opportunities for clients with these difficulties. It provides a natural sounding text-to-speech voice, allowing clients to voice their intentions and communicate with others - which they find extremely difficult otherwise (Child Apraxia of Speech Association, 2011). A default vocabulary of over 7000 items allows the client to easily choose what they want to communicate by the simple push of a button. As expressing emotions can be very hard for people with verbal dyspraxia, this application can successfully aid emotional expression (Child Apraxia of Speech Association, 2011). Subsequently, vocabulary can be added by the user to adapt it to their personal communication style. The Proloquo2Go has 8000 symbols that represent real life situations and objects eg. Dog, or fork. Access to recently spoken items allows for ease of use and conversation (AssistiveWare, 2010).

What a great invention!

http://youtu.be/BD_1sdNEwfg

AssistiveWare. (2010). Proloquo2Go: AAC in your back pocket. Retrieved 11^th May, 2011, from http://www.Proloquo2Go.com/

American Speech Language Hearing Association. (2011). Childhood apraxia of speech. Retrieved 12^th May, 2011, from http://www.asha.org/ public/speech/disorders/childhoodapraxia.htm

Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association. (2011). What is childhood apraxia of speech? Retrieved 11^th May, 2011, from http://www.apraxia-kids.org/site/apps/nlnet/content

The Internet and Online Communities

The following three online communities I'm going to discuss regard intellectual disabilities:

http://www.specialfriendsonline.com/public/

http://www.abilityonline.org/

http://www.thearc.org/page.aspx?pid=2543

Purpose of ‘special friends online’ :

People with intellectual disabilities get support by developing friendships with other parents, carers and professionals all over the world.Take away the feelings of being isolated by enjoying online chatting and joining in with the general and specialist forum. Users get peace of mind by utilising our 24 hour helpline manned by people who care.Learn more about conditions like Aspergers, ADHD, Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and many others.

Purpose of ‘ability online’:

It provides people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to experience friendship, support, and skill development at a time when they need it most. Young people with disabilities and illnesses connect with all kinds of possibilities that address their needs for friendship, support and information.  They meet and chat with other people like them in a virtual world that goes beyond boundaries and barriers. They make friends, get tips from mentors, and freely participate in an atmosphere of collaboration, companionship and support.  

Purpose of ‘the arc’:

Learn about a range of intellectual disabilities, including aetiology and diagnosis. Has access to ways of being involved in the intellectually disabled community, and access to other support services.

Services provided on each site:

‘Special friends online’ :

• Very interactive with photos, videos and a 24-hour helpline and instant messaging.
• People can contribute by becoming a sponsor or member of the community
• People contribute support and information for other people with/family members with intellectual disabilities.

‘Ability online’:

• Is very interactive, the site has many pictures and has a positive feel to it. It allows members with intellectual disabilities to chat online 24 hours a day in a safe environment. The text of the website can be changed to allow people with visual difficulties to access the site also.
• People can contribute through chatting, giving donations and attending events advertised on the site.
• Contributing time and a listening ear/support is what people contribute when interactively using the site.

‘The arc’:

• Access to events and other support services. Site isn’t very interactive, made up of 4 major tabs with headings, although these are very clear.
• People can contribute by ‘getting involved’ in the community and giving money to the organisation.
• Very informative and provides clear information regarding different disabilities, this could be very helpful for people without this knowledge.

People choose to contribute to each community as they may seek support from others experiencing the same unique disability. Gaining understanding from others and information regarding their condition is also important and offered in all of these communities. Information is reciprocated in the instant messaging functions. The help-line is information that is also shared both ways also, and is a good way for families of intellectually disabled people to gain an insight.

This excerpt is from a poem written by a mother with a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). People can discuss and post these poems online.

"His temper's outrageous" "He has hands in his food".
He hears this and wonders, just what's wrong with me?
I tell him, "You're special, you have A.D.H.D.".

Tracy Nicolaus (http://www.specialfriendsonline.com/public/)

Ethical issues that may arise in online communities are lack of privacy when chatting online. Not actually knowing who you are chatting too may result in abusive behaviour by the other party. This could also lead to a lack of accountability for negative behaviour. Run by volunteers, money issues may also lack for accountability if funds were to be handled in a dishonest manner.



Understanding Epilepsy

The following videos explain, or show some examples of epileptic seizures that can go unrecognised:

http://youtu.be/e10FSjHvV74 “Understanding Partial Seizures”

http://youtu.be/JPUp5LwtQ_k “Complex Partial Seizure”

http://youtu.be/z9V2sNmIoJk “Absence Seizure”

http://youtu.be/lkd5cCEE1g4 “De ja vu Seizure”

http://youtu.be/-ENP6NSkmTU “De ja vu Seizure”

http://youtu.be/wPnuH1zCga8 “Simple Partial Seizure”

Society’s knowledge of epileptic seizures often only goes as far as ‘grand mal’ or what is now referred to as ‘tonic clonic’. These seizures see a person falling to the ground shaking uncontrollably. However, I have personal experience of four other types of epileptic seizures – complex partial seizures, absence seizures, simple partial and de ja vu seizures which are less commonly known outside of the medical field. Some of these seizures can go unrecognised by the untrained/unaware eye, and the person experiencing the seizures may simply be perceived as acting very strange. In epilepsy, the brain's electrical circuitry doesn't work properly. Normally, the brain sends electrical signals throughout the body to control movement. In epilepsy, the brain sometimes creates an electrical storm - called a seizure - that scrambles these signals. While it lasts, a seizure affects how your brain works. That's why you can suddenly experience uncontrolled body movements, unusual sensations, or changes in behaviour or awareness (http://www.epilepsy.org.nz/main.cfm?id=49, 2011). A person experiencing ‘absence seizures’ has no recognition that they are having the seizure at the time, although it may look like they are just off in a daze. All of these seizures can be very detrimental to the person experiencing them, as extreme fatigue and nausea after every seizure (not to mention embarrassment!) can last for a day, and many seizures can occur over the period of a day. These types of seizures are diagnosed by an electroencephalogram (EEG) and CCTV video of the epileptic. All these seizures can be medicated with anti-convulsants, however for many people this is a very arduous and long process in order to find the right mix of medication. Driving for 18months -2years after your last epileptic seizure is forbidden for safety purposes. The long term effects of these seizures can include medication side-effects and memory problems.

So what is YouTube anyway?

YouTube is a social networking site on the Internet, that allows people from all over the world to share videos for free. YouTube allows users to develop video blogs, partake in e-learning and potentially become famous (Justin Beiber!). Unlike television, users aren’t interrupted with advertisements in the middle of watching a video, however businesses can advertise on the YouTube website which appears alongside the videos. The wide variety of site content is accessed by simply typing in keywords and phrases to identify the topic of interest. Not only can businesses advertise, they also offer products and services for free by placing a video clip on the site. Anything and everything is now offered on YouTube, from comedy spoofs to sports games and movie clips. See the spoof video ‘What is YouTube’……

What is YouTube? (2008). Retrieved 4^th April, 2011, from http://what-is-what.com/what_is/youtube.html

So what is YouTube anyway?