Well, sometimes this ICT business can just all be a bit too much...

In the past we have often recommended the use of the Firefox web browser with the CliCk Speak! add-on as a solution for people looking for a text-to-speech solution for reading text from a web site. It is easy to use, highlights sentences as they are spoken, uses a high quality SAPI 5 voice, e.g. Heather, provided that you have one on your computer and is free!

Unfortunately, Firefox is frequently updated and recent versions of the browser have not been compatible with the version of Click Speak downloadable from the CliCk Speak web site. It appears that the original developer is no longer supporting the program. Fortunately, an anonymous programmer, known as 'Sortadan' has produced a fix for new versions of Firefox. Remove any previous version of CliCk Speak from your Firefox add-ons and download the new version from the Rapid Library web site. You will be asked if you want to install CliCk Speak 1.6.1. If you do this and restart Firefox, when requested, you should have a new toolbar with a working version of CliCk Speak.

Further information is available in our Quick Guide to Installing and Using CliCk Speak.

Stakeholder Views: People who use AAC

The Scottish Government is supporting the development of national guidance for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). It will make recommendations on the provision and support for AAC. The guidance, for children and adults, will be directed to all statutory agencies in Scotland: Health, Social Work and Education.

Make your Voice Heard!

If you use AAC, or are the parent or carer of a person who uses a communication aid, you are encouraged to share experiences, and make comments and suggestions related to the question areas. Your comments will be subject to strict confidentiality. If you would like to help, please complete the questionnaire available from the Augmentative Communication in Practice: Scotland web site and return it to:

AAC Project

Adult Care and Support Division

Primary and Community Care Directorate

2ER

St Andrews House

Regent Road

Edinburgh

EH1 3DG

Alternatively, email: Alison Gray, Project Manager (alison.gray@scotland.gsi.gov.uk).

Towards the end of last year we heard about the Franklin Anybook Reader, an interesting new device to support reading, and we managed to borrow one from Seiko, with help from Bert Brooks at Scottish Learning Products.

Great for Parents...

The Anybook Reader is a pen-shaped device measuring roughly 16cm x 3-4cm, which allows the user to make and play back a recording of somebody reading the text on a page of a book. This is done by associating a recording of the text, stored in the pen, with a small white sticker that can be attached to a page in the book. The recording is played back by touching the sticker with the tip of the pen. (The sticker can be removed and re-used without damaging the book.) The obvious application of the device would be to allow parents to make a recording of a favourite story book so that a child can listen to the recording of the parent whenever they want as they interact with the book with the pen. Could be useful if a favourite parent is away on a trip!

... and in Schools!

The pen could also be very useful in a school to allow a pupil with a reading difficulty to follow a story in a book. A teacher or classroom assistant would have to read the text on a page out loud into the pen and attach the sticker to the page. Pupils would then be able to listen to the recording whenever they want by just touching each sticker with the pen. Making a recording can seem a bit fiddly at first, but it becomes easy with practice and recording quality is very good. Rather than just use the pen to record the text on a page, the pen could be used to read text describing different objects in a visual scene. The Anybook Reader could also be used to create a simple, low cost communication aid for a pupil who has no speech, provided that they have sufficient manual dexterity to use the pen. Unfortunately, it is not possible to print or draw on the stickers, but a page of symbols could be set up and printed with Boardmaker, or similar software and stickers with appropriate messages attached to the sheet.

The Anybook Reader comes with a set of printed stickers, with pre-recorded sounds (vehicle noises, animal noises, baby crying, etc.). These illustrate what the device can do, but are of limited use. There are 256 blank stickers that can be used for recording and it is possible to buy extra sets, if required.

There are two models, which will both be available from Scottish Learning Products: The DRP-3000, costing £39.99 (+ p & p, + VAT), which gives 15 hours of recording time and the DRP-4000 (£52.50 (+ p & p, + VAT), which has 60 hours available.

We have a DRP-3000, which will be available for loan, though it is often required for demonstrations.

Today is Burns Night and so we'll all be reading, reciting and singing songs from the bard. You can even download a free App to help you remember the words and find out what they mean (See An App's an App for a that).

So, I was thinking, what about children who use voice output communication aids? How can they join in the fun? 

Well, I suggest they need a decent Scots voice for their communication aid for starters. So girls are maybe OK, because they can get Heather, provided free of charge courtesy of the Scottish Government. So click below to hear Heather reciting the first verse of A Red, Red Rose:

O my luve's like a red red rose,

That's newly sprung in June.

O my luve's like the melodie,

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

Not quite Eddie Reader, but better than some of the alternatives, especially if you want a bloke's voice ....

Here's Microsoft Sam performing the first verse of Address to a Haggis.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm:

Weel are ye wordy o' a grace

As lang's my arm.

 

Not pleasant.

Or we could have delightful Daniel assuring us that a man's a man for a' that:

 

Is there for honest poverty

That hings his head, an a' that?

The coward slave, we pass him by -

We dare be poor for a' that!

For a' that, an a' that,

Our toils obscure, an a' that,

The rank is but the guinea's stamp,

The man's the gowd for a' that.

 

Hmmm. Loses something I feel.

Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop said:"Robert Burns is Scotland's greatest cultural icon, recognised and celebrated all around the world. His legacy is of incalculable value to Scotland and the country's image abroad."

What we need on Burns Night is a high quality MALE Scottish computer voice! Then boys who use voice output communication aids can have their say too!

The Seeing Ear library is a free online library with about 2,300 books in digital format. Until recently only visually impaired or physically disabled people, or staff  working them, could join, but Seeing Ear has a new CLA licence which means that it can now be used by any person with a print disability, which includes dyslexia.

This is great news for pupils in Scotland and the UK because the library has files for loads of books by popular children's authors such as Jacqueline Wilson, J.K. Rowling, Eoin Colfer, Michael Morpurgo, and many more.

To join the libary and download books go to the Seeing Ear web site.

Most of the books are 'Plain Text' (.txt) files which can be read using almost anything on your computer, but you'll probably want to open them with Microsoft Word  or another word processor like OpenOffice and then change the font and font size to your own preferance. Then read them on screen or print them as e.g. Braille or Large Print.

Everyone loves the iPad but three of the (several, actually) things that make it less than ideal as a portable communication aid are lack of a carry handle and the fact that little fingers cannot resist self-distraction by constantly pressing the Home button. Also lack of volume, for loud and noisy environments. Amdi's brand new iAdapter seems to address all three of these with a rubbery protective cover, that includes a carry handle, a slide cover over the Home button and built-in amplified speakers (rechargeable battery). It also comes with a shoulder strap and a plastic stand for table top use. Not cheap, but.... We're looking forward to seeing it, and hoping a UK supplier picks it up quickly, will keep you posted on that.

A report on the use of digital papers in 2010 is now available for download. The report contains a lot of interesting (well, to me, anyway) statistics and feedback from staff who used the papers last year.

In 2010, 101 centres made 2000 requests for digital papers on behalf of 675 candidates. Compared with 2009, this represents a 71% increase in the number of requests, a 38% increase in the number of centres, and a 60% increase in the number of candidates. This continues the upward trend since the papers were first trialled in 2006. 

While more schools and candidates used the papers for the first time in 2010, the data also shows that most centres which used the papers in previous years made more requests for more candidates. Once a school 'goes digital', it seems the number of candidates increases each year, and the number of digital papers that a pupil uses also increases. This is good news because it shows that the papers are in most cases well received and meeting the needs of pupils.

Centres from 30 of the 32 local authorities requested digital papers, together with 5 colleges and 5 independent schools.

Candidates with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties were the largest group of users (60%) of digital papers, although pupils with a wide range of other difficulties also used them.

Each year SQA send a questiuonnaire to staff who used the papers and Maggie Quinn of SQA has compiled some useful observations which will help SQA and CALL to develop and support use of digital papers.

The report also summarises feedback from a Focus Group meeting held on 29th October 2010, which will also help improve quality of the papers and administration.

The Digital Papers project has been a great success: a really good collaboration between SQA, CALL, schools and pupils. One of the key players has been Sheila Rennie, SQA Manager of Assessment Materials and Publications. Sheila, along with her colleagues Patricia McDonald and Maggie Quinn, has really driven the project along and the uptake of papers is a tribute to her hard work and professionalism. Sheila retired last year and we wish her well.

Portability is generally a key requirement of a voice output communication aid. A few dedicated communication aids come in 'handheld' size, and there continues to be much interest in iPods and iPads (cheapness is another attractive feature!) But amazingly, nowadays, you can buy a fully featured Windows 7 lightweight wifi PC with a 5" or 7" screen. There are touch screen only versions (X70, S5), or tiny clamshell with keyboard and touchscreen (N5). They have a fantastic 'instantly -on' feature and days of standby-time; battery life is pretty good (5-6 hours) but an extra speaker would be needed to give volume adequate for anything other than a quiet environment. The S5 and N5 are pocketable, the X70 is eminently hand-baggable. All are potentially switch accessible.

X70 (weighs 700 grams)

S5 (weighs 395 grams)

N5 (399 grams)

The leading manufacturer is Viliv, and these South Korean ultra mini PCs (UMPC) can be bought directly from the UK supplier, Think4 IT or from various online sources, eg. Dynamism , at around the £450 - £550 mark (ex VAT) depending on version & supplier. With communication aid software, symbol sets and communication vocabularies loaded, they can be bought from: SmartBox with The Grid 2; or Speaks4Me (premium added for software, support and extended warranty etc.). Check it out!

The 2010 Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books is an innovative nationwide reading project in which children and young people from every corner of Scotland read and vote for their favourite Scottish children's books of the year. Last year:

• Over 31,000 children were involved and an amazing 15,014 votes were cast;
• Over 400 schools and libraries in every corner of Scotland, from Aberdeen to Dumfries; Shetland to Arran, took part;
• The 2009 awards ceremony brought 650 young judges from across Scotland together to see their peers act out the winning books.

The Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books were originally set up by the Scottish Arts Council in 1999 and are now run by Scottish Book Trust.

Children can vote for their favourite book, from a shortlist in each of three categories, either as individual readers or as part of a reading group in a school, library or bookshop. The shortlisted books are:

Early Years (0 - 7 years)

• What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson
• Love from Louisa by Simon Puttock and Jo Kiddie
• Stormy Weather by Debi Gliori

Younger Readers (8 - 11 years)

• Invisible Fiends: Mr Mumbles by Barry Hutchison
• The Secret of the Black Moon Moth by John Fardell
• The Dragon Whisperer by Lucinda Hare

Older Readers (11 - 16 years)

• Crossing the Line by Gillian Philip
• The Witching Hour by Elizabeth Laird
• Grass by Cathy MacPhail

But what about disabled children who can't read the books?

CALL Scotland has worked with the Scottish Book Trust and the authors and publishers to create accessible digital versions of the nine shortlisted books. The idea is that children and young people with physical, visual and reading or dyslexic difficulties, who can't read or access the paper books, can read the digital books instead and take part in the awards.

• Children with spinal injury, cerebral palsy or other physical impairments can click a switch or press a key on a computer, to turn pages and read the books by themselves.
• Dyslexic readers or children with visual impairments can change the font size and/or colours on screen, or use text-to-speech software to read the books.
• The books can be read out by the computer using "Heather", the high quality Scottish computer voice that is available free for schools and pupils from CALL Scotland's The Scottish Voice web site.

The books are available free of charge. Readers and schools can request accessible digital copies of the book(s) they wish to read via the Books for All website or phoning 0131 651 6236.

During November 2010, all Primary 1 children in Scotland will receive a free copy of Manfred the Baddie from the Scottish Book Trust. Manfred won the 0-7 age category of the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books last year, and over 11,000 children voted in this age group. The books will be delivered to local authorities for distribution to every P1 class in the area. The author, John Fardell, is 'on tour' meeting pupils and will also be taking part in a Glow Meet on Thursday 25th November from 1.45 to 2.45. The Scottish Book Trust web site has more information and also videos and teacher resources and posters.

However, some children won't be able to read or access the books. Some pupils can't hold the book or turn the pages because of physical disability; some pupils with sight loss won't be able to see the book; others, with learning difficulties, will struggle with the text.

Last year we produced accessible digital versions of Manfred so that pupils with these 'print disabilities' could read the book and take part in the awards. Pupils with physical disabilities can press a key, click the mouse, or hit a switch to turn the pages, while children with other difficulties can listen to an audio narration of the story.

If you have any children in your class who won't be able to read the Manfred paper books and you would like a digital version for them, download a request form (PDF format or DOC format) and send it to us, and we'll send you a CD.

Note that these digital books are only for children who can't read or access the paper copy.

Eye Gaze Study Day

This year’s Augmentative Communication in Practice: Scotland Study Day on the use of eye-pointing and eye-gaze as methods to augment communication proved to be very interesting and informative.

Mick Donegan opened the day with a description of some of the eye gaze systems currently available, emphasising that there was no ‘best’ option and that it was important for a potential user to have an opportunity to try different systems. He stressed the need for assessment activities to be ‘failure proof’ and fun. He described his surprise at the number of people who only talked about the pain of using other forms of assistive technology after finding eye gaze to be a relaxing and stress-free method for computer access.

Janet Scott described her experiences of eye gaze with SCTCI. Initially sceptical, she has become a convert and now regards eye gaze as just ‘an expensive form of mouse’. It does not suit everybody, but it shows how technology has finally caught up with the needs of some clients for whom no successful equipment has been available in the past.

After this, there were various demonstrations by suppliers: DynaVox, Inclusive Technology, Liberator, Smartbox AT, TechCess and Tobii.

In the afternoon Clare Latham described the Look to Talk project, which introduced low tech eye pointing as a communication strategy for children with speech and language difficulties to use at home within the family.

The day concluded with a panel discussion covering such topics as funding and support issues; transitions from using low tech eye gaze, or switch access, to using eye gaze technology; mounting issues.

Buy the Book!

A book of the papers presented on the day, along with additional material, is available from the CALL Scotland online shop.

Feedback on the Day

“I loved hearing all the interesting stories. I always find these days motivational and go away with my head buzzing with ideas!” (Comment by a teacher attending the Study Day).

"Excellent day. Thank you! Information gained to assist with eye gaze assessment and selection - very useful."

"A really stimulating day. Fascinating. Thank you!"

We are pleased to say that we will soon be able to provide accessible digital copies of the nine books shortlisted for the 2010 Royal Mail Book Awards. The books have been produced in cooperation with the publishers and The Scottish Book Trust. Last year over 31,000 children were involved in the awards and 15,014 votes were cast. The accessible digital versions are for children with 'print disabilities', who canot read the ordinary paper books.

For example, children with physical disabilities who can't hold the book or turn the pages themselves (because of spinal injury or cerebral palsy, for example) can click a switch or press a key to turn the pages of the digital books. 

Dyslexic readers, or children with visual impairments can change the font size and/or colours on screen, or use text to speech software to have the books read out by the computer.

The books will be available on CD, free of charge, from CALL: details should be upon the Books for All web site by the end of November.

RNIB Scotland have also produced Large Print, Braille and audio versions of the books, for children with visual impairments.

Issue 4 of the ContAACt newsletter is out now!

Full of AAC news and views from people who use AAC in Scotland!

Look 'In the Diary' to find out what AAC events are coming soon, read about Barry's trip to Barcelona and get advice from the "Speak Out Group" on the best places to go in Dundee!

Why don't you click on Autumn ContAACt newsletter and read all about it!

Our friends at the ACE Centre in Oxford have now launched their SpeechBubble web site, providing a database of detailed information about almost all of the communication aids and software available in the UK. 

You can search for devices that fit into a number of categories, e.g. 'Simple Aids with one Message', or 'Computer-based Aids with Touchscreen', or try to find devices that have a particular feature, e.g. Visual Scanning or Recorded Speech. It is possible to combine search terms to find, for example, a device that can be accessed by using Morse Code, with synthetic speech that can be used for texting. (the DynaVox V and VMax fit the bill!).

This is NOT an assessment tool which parents will be able to use to buy their child a communication aid 'off the shelf', but it will be an invaluable tool for therapists looking for a suitable device for a client with specific requirements, offering suggestions that they might not be aware of.

This is a great resource that will save therapists a lot of time and effort and we would like to thank Mark Saville and colleagues at ACE for the huge amount of work that has gone into this exciting new facility.