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Proloquo2Go
Pros: Numerous options allow adults to customize the app to suit students' abilities and needs.
Cons: There's potential for frustration if customizations and settings aren't chosen carefully.
Bottom Line: The price is hefty, but Proloquo2Go carries its weight by providing students and teachers an effective, one-of-a-kind communication tool.
Create a username for the first user, and then choose a main category that fits their current communication level: Core Word (for kids who are able to combine words and make sentences); Basic Communication (single-word communication); or Blank Vocabulary (all customized). The Home grid appears with basic words and images in buttons on a six-by-six grid, which you can increase or decrease to suit each student's needs. Kids tap on the desired buttons, and they appear above the grid where the words are spoken consecutively. Use the default vocabulary database, which can switch easily between languages and includes different regional accents and voices. Or buy a database through an in-app purchase that offers a different way to customize word choice. Proloquo2Go contains extensive customizations and many helpful tutorials.
Proloquo2Go is an app designed to help teachers and therapists empower kids who have limited or no speech with an alternative way to communicate. It uses an adaptable, multi-size grid format to present images and words on "buttons." Buttons represent different groups of items, actions, "little words," and more. Students can choose from single words or combine words to make detailed sentences that express their wants, needs, or emotions –- almost anything. You can add buttons using your own pictures or images that are meaningful to each user. As students use the type pad to spell or tap buttons -- which you can set to adjust for fine-motor-skill delays or for repetitive movements –- they can form detailed and meaningful sentences ("I am tired. I need a break, please"). The app can speak students' messages using many voices, some youthful (British or American, boy or girl, and more), if desired. Words are categorized by type (such as verb, noun, or pronoun) and by a multitude of categories (food, family, or jobs, for example). There is also support for multilingual use.
It requires some setup and knowledge of each student's needs and preferences. Then, ongoing customization will optimize the user experience; it's very easy to change settings and use each option. Once the basics are mastered, choosing or adding new words and organizing choices in more effective ways will likely become second nature for teachers and therapists who work with multiple kids. Proloquo2Go can help students grow in communication as well as emotional identification. This may reduce frustration in the classroom, improve social interaction between students and with adults, and help many speech-limited students increase academic skills. With new updates, the developers are also making efforts to be inclusive, with gender-neutral pronouns, more representative voice selections, and female superhero icons.