Mid-Tech Assistive Technology for Intellectual Disabilities
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1. QuickTalker Communication Device
- Cost: $159.00 through $199.00 (enablemart.com)
- Description: This communication device is a good solution for beginning communicators. Multiple levels allow the ability to pre-record different sets of messages and easily change between each set of messages for use at different times of the day or with different activities. The QuickTalker features common sense controls, built in symbols storage, a rugged casing that will withstand many years of use and a built in handle that makes it a breeze to transport between classes or locations. It operates with 4 AA batteries.
- The QuickTalker will help individuals with severe to profound intellectual disabilities easily communicate with the help of both pictures and audio.
- Pros: (1) User friendly. (2) Easy to carry and transport. (3) Lightweight
- Cons: (1) User must consider battery life.
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2. Coin-U-Lator
- Cost: $32.00 (enablemart.com)
- Description: The talking coin-u-lator makes coin counting easy and fun with realistic coin buttons and a dollar bill in place of standard numbers, and has both addition and subtraction functions. There are options to order activity cards and worksheets for the coin-u-lator. Requires 3 AA batteries to operate.
- Students with intellectual disabilities can benefit from using a coin-u-lator to learn about the value of coins and other skills for counting money that they can apply outside of the classroom especially for older students working towards getting into the workplace. When the students press the realistic coin buttons and dollar bill, each makes a sound announcing the amount. It provides immediate feedback, such as "good job" or "Ooops" letting students know to go back and fix their mistakes.
- Pros: (1) Reinforces audio, visual, and tactile learning. (2) Provides hands on learning
- Cons: (1) It doesn't mention whether the coin-u-lator reads bigger bills (2) It doesn't read foreign currency for diverse students.
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3. ProxPAD Choice Maker
- Cost: $795.00 (enablemart.com)
- Description: The ProxPAD is a single location communication and learning aid that uses powerful RFID sound tags. This device is effective for one-on-one or group setting. This includes 30 large (credit card sized) blank tags, labels, and laminates, programming tag set, and a power adapter. It features a touch or swipe tag that is used to play recorded vocabulary, and a large target area for message retrieval , The ProxPAD weighs 1 lb, operates on 4 AAA batteries, has a digitized speech, built-in microphone with speaker and volume control.
- The ProxPAD uses sound tags that is an excellent choice for persons with severe intellectual disabilities who need to acquire tangible objects or other site cues to learn and initiate communication. One would make sound tags to match the user's abilities to support. For example, attach a sound tag to a water bottle to speak "I want a drink" or a sound card to a doll to symbolize the activity "I want to play". This would be another AT that would help individuals with intellectual disabilities communicate and learn expressive language with tangible objects and a voice output. Also, issues with hand functions gives the user two options: To have the sound card make contact with the screen or swipe it to where the tag comes in close proximity with the screen.
- Pros: (1) Tangible objects with the words to produce a voice output builds cognitive abilities. (2) Reinforces tactile learning (3) Provides visual
- Cons: (1) Expensive (2) Looking for objects to attach may be difficult