Can you suggest any games we can put on the app? Or a way forward? — Scope | Disability forum
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Can you suggest any games we can put on the app? Or a way forward?

renacahill
renacahill Community member Posts: 145 Courageous
edited October 2021 in Sensory impairments

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  • renacahill
    renacahill Community member Posts: 145 Courageous
    Hello Chris.  My grandson is 7 and has cerebral palsy with very poor fine motor skills.  I won't go over the lack of SLT in our area except to say he has been badly let down and is non verbal.  Receptive language is very good though.  He attends a mainstream primary so SN SLT is very much (absent) therapy led!  

    He has an iPad and I have purchased proloquo2go and a keyguard so that he can try to communicate.  We have a little understanding of modelling but time is against us as he is not allowed the speech app in school.  He has a folder with the same symbols in it but there is virtually no scope for language exploration because the icons are so limited.  

    is there any way we can encourage use of the proloquo2go as communication as he is just pressing buttons to see what happens, rather than make sentences or even request.  I'm told this is normal as he needs to explore the app.  Can you suggest any games we can put on the app?  Or a way forward?  
  • LondonSpeechTherapy
    LondonSpeechTherapy Community member Posts: 60 Connected
    edited January 2017
    Good evening,

    So sorry for the late reply. May I ask who recommended this particular app? The challenge is there is no 'one size fits all' app and as such choice of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) is very much individualised. Sorry for all the questions but what communication system does he use at school? My concern is that he needs consistency across his settings and using a complex app such as proloquo2go (if it is suitable for his needs) requires repetition. 

    Very best wishes


    Chris 
  • renacahill
    renacahill Community member Posts: 145 Courageous
    Hi Chris.

    unfortunately we have had very minimal SLT input over the years and the school uses pecs cards on Velcro for making choices and a visual timetable.  

    Elliot has shown he can read and decipher individual words phonetically and enjoys books and being read to.  He understands the stories but is more interested in turning the pages.  He is severely physically disabled so any movement based activity is exciting for him and he participates in the only way he can.  

    we have asked for a formal assessment at ACE on several occasions but still not had one.  I phoned them up myself and they advised to start a folder with symbolstix icons to ask for basic items and express basic needs.   I had made up this folder in time for the SLT/school meeting and this is what the SLT suggested.  Elli can manage this easily but was bored after a few weeks.  He still uses it at school.  There is little scope to increase this because of his poor fine motor skills.  

    I bought the proloquo2go myself a couple of years ago after seeing he interacted with the iPad well and it was the easiest thing for him.  An eye gaze is the only other option.  He has a touchscreen computer screen which we use when we can but the portability of the iPad makes this the obvious choice.  Proloquo2go is very customisable and seemed the best option to me, but we had no idea of modelling or teaching it so left it until now.  Elliot has the iPad and this app attached to his home chair and is now exploring it's use.   He has started making short sentences...I want my mouth exercises.....I want to watch tv ......I want to go school....   He is getting the urge to keep pressing buttons out of his system and I see now he is looking at cause and effect when he does it.  

    We we have a private SLT now but this is for talk tools and mouth exercises to try to encourage eating (he is tube fed) and make better use of the small verbal  ability he has,  

    He finishes at his current MS school this year and is going to a conductive education school where they emphasis communication and movement.  He is becoming more disengaged in MS and we think it's because of the lack of communication. 

    Its a bit overwhelming because there are so many physical needs we have to address.  
  • LondonSpeechTherapy
    LondonSpeechTherapy Community member Posts: 60 Connected
    edited January 2017
    Good morning and apologies for my late reply, 

    Is your private SLT also looking at AAC (such as apps and eye gaze etc) in addition to talk tools? Can they trial Proloquo2go? 

    Chris

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