PRODUCER/WEBSITE KEY BRIEF REVIEW InnerVoice: Communication / itherapy, LLC www.innervoiceapp.com
InnerVoice is a unique speech-generating, language learning app for Apple tablets that uses some very special technology and applications to help individuals learn speech, language and social communication skills. These include Microsoft’s Artifical Intelligence (AI) and Visual Language. When first beginning the app, users select an image that will speak for them- the avatar they choose can be their own picture, or one of the 6 faces included in the program or they can add any other they want. Pictures can be modified by selecting a voice (child, man, woman), changing the pitch, rate and degree of mouth movement. When making avatars, you can also add hair, beards, glasses, etc. When your completed avatar speaks for you, you choose facial expressions, emotions and tone of voice by selecting icons for happy, sad or angry. In addition to conversing with others, this allows users to have the option to explore language by trying different emotions, voices and expressions with their sentences and observing the differences. For communicating, users have the option of using color-coded symbols on a grid, or text to speech with an on-screen keyboard. When using symbols, the grid can be adjusted easily to display the number and size symbols and buttons you prefer. When entering button content, you are guided to use the color-coding system, which helps organize vocabulary for easier and more efficient access. The beginning grid is pre-programmed with basics to help you get started and can be easily modified. You can also share communications with others by making videos of your avatar speaking , and then posting the video to social media or by sending it as text message. Chat Mode is designed to work like Amazon’s Alexa or Microsoft’s Cortana to stimulate conversation. Users can practice simple conversational skills, with text to speech or voice. Touch the microphone and say Hello and the device will respond with “Hi, there”. Words will also be displayed. Ask “How are you?” and it will answer “Great,enjoying this day.” Enter, using the keyboard and word predication, “Do you like ice cream?” and it will answer “Yeah I do”. You can ask all kinds of questions. Chat Mode is useful for those who need practice asking and answering questions or engaging in simple conversations. With Visual Language mode selected, users can use their devices to look around and observe their environment. In this mode, their screen will display their avatar on top and what their device is facing on the bottom. Just take a picture and listen to the name and description of that item spoken aloud by the avatar. The descrip- tion appears also in print. Other features include text-to-speech in English and Spanish, ability to create video-modeling narratives and social stories that can be spoken by avatars and shared, sign language support, phrase history, data collection, back up and restore, and much more. The program is easy to use and intuitive to customize. It was designed for people with Autism by Lois Jean Brady and Mathew Guggemos, both ASHA- certified Speech-Language Pathologists and Certified Autism Specialists (CAS). Inner- Voice is an amazing next step in communication. See the website for a very comprehensive collection of videos and discussions about the app, its evidence driven features, its use of artificial intelligence and visual language technologies, and its application as a multi-sensory language and learning tool .
Inner Voice AAC app https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44wlDAxwu14
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www.closingthegap.com/membership | October / November, 2019
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