Talk Up! Augmentative and alternative communication system

Talk Up! is an application to convert Android devices (tablets or smartphones) in a communication device assisted through the use of pictograms.

It features optimized for maximum flexibility of use and simplicity of operation, for which he has worked under the opinion, experience and expertise of therapists, educators and parents design.

It is aimed at non-verbal children in the autism spectrum and to anyone who may benefit from visual communication tools.

The application allows to express different actions and create complex sentences by selecting pictograms belonging to different categories. After the prayer, the system will proceed to the reading of the sentence formed verbatim or together.

It comes with a basic set of pictograms that let you use 100% operational application from the outset.

Download Talk Up! Communicator

Note: The application uses some pictograms ARASAAC (http://arasaac.org/), created by Sergio Palao and distributed under license Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA).

How pictograms notebook work?

TalkUp! It is an alternative carriage (Tablets or Smartphones) with the functionality of a notebook augmentative communication.

Characteristics required for a notebook effective communications:

1. Ease of use: Any function required by the user should not take more than two steps
2. Simplicity of management: The management of content (images, sounds) must be independent of the application.
3. Multilanguage: The application can run in any language without being personalized.
4. Sounds: Sounds associated with pictograms should be easy to play and manage.

The application consists of the reproduction performance of a notebook augmentative communication, for it leaves with pictograms are grouped by theme. The pictograms are selected and added to the sentence strip to make the request, and the user can play the sounds of the sentence strip.
Like traditional communication notebooks, the application consists of 2 sections:

• Strip phrase: Low section sets where pictograms are inserted to make the request.
• Sheets Pictograms: Pictograms thematic groupings.

Sheets pictograms

They consist of several sheets (up to 20 depending on the version) to contain pictograms thematic groupings, each sheet has a different background color to distinguish. A sheet can contain up to 32 pictograms (whose bottom the associated text shown) may be in PNG or JPG format and are read directly from device directory, for which they are grouped into subdirectories. These pictograms are charged to the App in the snatch and she identifies leaf pictograms for each subdirectory.
From the above it is concluded that the location, order and position of the symbols are linked to a directory structure and function is no App, whereby the content management is simplified.
Allows horizontal displacements between sheets of pictograms laterally dragging the current sheet to the right - left, being strip phrase always fixed position.

     Behavior:

• When selecting a pictogram a copy in the sentence strip is created.
• The strip phrase can be powered by pictograms of different leaves.
• It is not permitted to select the same pictogram 2 times in the same request.
• The pictograms marked as unavailable have a particular treatment (see below).

Pictograms not available: You can specify the unavailability of the function of a pictogram marking the image by an "X" in red. The pictograms selected as unavailable or can not be dragged to the sentence strip according to the settings of the application.

Strip phrase

Consists of a lower section where selected pictograms pictograms sheets are inserted.
At the beginning the sentence strip is blank, except has marked a pictogram appears by default (eg Yogurt) in the administration section (see settings).

     Behavior:

• By clicking on the pictogram Click reproduce the sound (eg Yogurt).
• You can play the entire phrase clicking the play (>) icon.
• Clean sentence strip eliminating the pictograms one to one by pressing the X
• Clean entire sentence strip holding the X for 3 seconds

Configuration options Notebook communications

There are three settings for the application:

1. Pictograms default the sentence strip: the text of default pictogram will always appear in the sentence strip when the application is added.
2. Pictograms not available: text (os) pictogram (s) not available in the communication notebook displaying them with a red X is added. There is also the possibility of not allowing drag this pictogram on the sentence strip.
3. Resize Image and Text: You can change the sizes of the images and texts in order to give prominence to each other as the learning phase.

How do I manage pictograms?

Previous task manager is loaded to a directory pictograms and sounds associated in the formats indicated.

Description:

• The pictograms will be organized on the device subdirectories.
• Each subdirectory corresponds to a sheet of pictograms App
• The administrator simply create subdirectories theme and upload the corresponding pictograms.
• All work is done management level directories and do not need to perform actions on the App.

1. After installing Talk Up! Connect your device to your computer and access to the Android \ CommunicationBook folder. Here you can see the folders by default. Each folder corresponds to a sheet of pictograms.

2. Each folder can contain up to 32 pictograms which are sorted alphabetically. The texts to shew in the application correspond to the filename. Files can be PNG or JPG format.

3. To add / modify pictograms, download them to your PC first, connect to your mobile phone and copy the pictograms to the mobile device in the folder \ Android \ communication_book, in folders 01, 02, 03, 04 ... where they are already the old pictograms.

FAQ

What pictograms can I use?

You can use any pictogram always dispongas and when in PNG or JPG formats, which are common in the market.

How does the sound playback device for each pictogram?

The sisntetizador device's voice makes reading the filename of the icon, so it is important that the file name is spelled correctly.

How do I get the same pictogram is available on all pages pe I want?

For this pictogram is available on multiple sheets just repeat the file associated with the pictogram in the thematic subdirectories you want.

How do I make a pictogram is the first to appear on a sheet pe I want?

Pictograms are displayed in ascending alphabetical order, so if we add the "-" pictogram name is displayed first get the other (-quiero.png)

How does the Visual Agenda work?

The visual Agenda is a tool that allows children with difficulties in verbal communication anticipate and understand the  activities in time and know what is expected of them, thereby reducing anxiety who generates the new and unexpected.

Through the visual agenda informs the person of what they will do and for how long. This anxiety about uncertainty or to the difficulty of predicting what will happen is reduced. Using this tool helps to give an order to his world and improve aspects of their emotional wellbeing.

Talk Up! allows up to 4 visual agendas available, which can be used according to plan on the child's activities.

Edit an agenda

• Access the Visual Agenda from Talk Up! main screen
• Select edit an agenda, which will lead to the sheets of pictograms.
• Let selected pictograms in the temporal sequence required
• Once completed the agenda will record and return to the main screen agendas

Using an agenda

• Activate the agenda by the corresponding check
• Hold down 3 seconds pictogram active activity, which is marked with a blue box.
• To move from activity press 3 seconds the following graphic
• If we click on the pictogram Talk Up! will play the corresponding sound.

Change an agenda

• To change agenda will press the Check new agenda.
• The old agenda is hidden but the pictograms and the last activity performed remain stored until reactivate.