This presentation gives an overview of the importance of distance communication, and means of access, for people with disabilities.

1. Telecommunication
and AAC
Going Mobile!
Presented By:
Kathryn Helland M.S., CCC-SLP
Kathryn.helland@temple.edu
Network,
Learn,
Share

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Learning Objectives
• First Learning Objective: Describe three ways in
which AAC can access telecommunication
• Second Learning Objective: Label three ways in
which access to telecommunication can increase
independence for people who use AAC
• Third Learning Objective: Relate three
challenges to effectively using AAC for
telecommunication

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Who am I?
• AAC Services Coordinator for the Institute on Disabilities
at Temple University
• Parent of a child with an autism spectrum disorder
• Speech-language pathologist
• Kathryn.Helland@Temple.edu

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Speaker Disclosures
• Kathryn Helland has no relevant financial
relationship(s) to disclose.
• Kathryn Helland works for the Institute on
Disabilities at Temple University; they are
paying for her registration to ATIA.
• I have relevant nonfinancial relationships with
the following professionals mentioned in this
presentation

5. 5
PowerPoints Evolve – If this causes you
anxiety, please contact the presenters for an
updated version (or any other information).
**And Don’t Forget Your Towel!**

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• Not being able to speak is NOT the same
as not having anything to say.

7. There are no Prerequisites!

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Updated version by NJC at the following link:
https://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/NJC-Communication-Bill-Rights.pdf

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How Does This Apply To Telecommunication?
• 12. The right to access environmental
contexts, interactions, and opportunities that
promote participation as full communication
partners with other people, including peers

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Communication Happens Everywhere!
Here!
Here!
Here!
Here!
And increasingly, this communication takes place at a distance

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The Age of
TELECOMMUNICATION
• What is telecommunication?
 Transmitting information
Distance communication
• What is the overall purpose for
telecommunication?
To stay connected beyond face to
face communication

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TELECOMMUNICATION
Telecommunication access:
• Creates independence
• Builds Confidence
• Supports Community engagement
• Can make it possible for people with
disabilities to participate!

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Calling the shots
Access to telecommunication
generates opportunities for :
• Self Advocacy
• Self Determination
• Emergency Preparedness
• Social Skills
• Employment

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Telecommunication Cont.
• Landlines
• corded/cordless stationary phones for
home/office
• Wireless
• cell phones
• iPads/Tablets
– Communication can happen over
Wifi

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Landline Features to Support PwDs
corded/cordless stationary phones for home/office
• Hands-free speaker phones
• Captioned Phones
• TalkBack dialing (verbal feedback)
• Answering Machines
• Large button phones with high contrast letters
• Backlighting
• PhotoKeys
• Amplification

16. Phone Relay Services: Old School?
• TTY relay services, the original and now traditional
relay service, which can be reached by anyone by
dialing 711 from a telephone or TTY1
• Voice Carry Over (VCO) for people who are deaf or
hard of hearing who communicate by speaking
• Hearing Carry Over (HCO) for people with a speech
disability who use a TTY
• Speech-to-Speech (STS) relay service for people with a
speech disability who use a telephone

17. Voice Carryover
Voice Carryover allows someone with unintelligible speech to talk on the phone via a trained operator

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TTY
Text Telephone

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Video Relay Service

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TDDP phones
Pennsylvania's Telecommunication Device Distribution Program (TDDP) provides specialized equipment, FREE, to
eligible Pennsylvanians who have disabilities which impede them from having independent access to telephone
services.

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But can we afford to sit at home, waiting
for the phone to ring??
• “That’s so 20th Century.”
• This can limit an individual’s ability to participate
in work-related and social interactions.
• When is the last time you posted to Facebook from
your landline?
• Communication happens everywhere, and this is
increasingly the case with telecommunication.
• But what about people who need
aided forms of AAC?!

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What does Telecommunication have to do With AAC?
• Isn’t AAC just for face to face?

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 AAC = Augmentative and Alternative Communication
 “Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
includes all forms of communication (other than oral
speech) that are used to express thoughts, needs,
wants, and ideas. We all use AAC when we make facial
expressions or gestures, use symbols or pictures, or
write.” (Who has used an emoji today?)
 http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/AAC/
What is AAC?
How about those who need AAC?

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Who and When?
• Who is eligible for a Communication system?
• In 1993 Pat Mirenda wrote, "We have discovered increasingly
that communication has only one prerequisite; it has nothing to
do with mental age, chronological age, prerequisite skills,
mathematical formulae, or any of the other models that have
been developed to decide who is an AAC candidate and who is
not.
• Breathing is the only prerequisite that is relevant to
communication. Breathing equals life, and life equals
communication. It is that simple.” When should a
communication system be available?

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What do people who use AAC need to
do?
• People using AAC have the same need to work, send emails,
self advocate, and participate in social media as anyone else
with a disability
• You could use an AAC device via landline on
speaker phone, but…
– How does the listener respond to an AAC device?
– Does the use of a landline only restrict access to
the larger community?
– Does this restrict work opportunities?

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• Is it possible to bridge the gap between the “abled”
world and the world of those who use
augmentative and alternative communication?
• AAC is becoming more familiar
• Stephen Hawkings held auditions for his new voice
• His voice is heard on TV shows such as The Big Bang
Theory
• Speechless is a popular TV series
• There is a growing familiarity with AAC

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Communication with Dedicated AAC
Devices
• Dedicated speech-generating devices may
give the option to create a Bluetooth
connection with an Android phone,
allowing the user to communicate on the
phone via their AAC.

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• A Bluetooth connection is made between the
speech-generating device and the Android phone
• The speaker then uses their SGD to dial and create
their message
• It can be important to have a pre-stored message
asking for patience and letting the listener know
that you are NOT a robo call.
• “Hello, I am using this device to speak with you.
Please have patience while I create my message. I
am not a robot, I promise!”

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How well does this work?
I asked a friend, Ami P., who uses an Accent
1400, if he would mind giving me his input.
“Ok. It will cost you $75. The phone works, the Bluetooth
technology does cut off when the backlight shuts off. I was
joking about the $75.”
How did I reach Ami to ask him?
Via Facebook Messenger on my
mobile device!

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Potential hurdles to implementation
• The cost of the phone and data plan
• Some states provide wireless options in their TDDP
programs, but this is not universal
• Having to re-set the Bluetooth connection (repair the
two devices)
• Technology changes quickly and the company may
not update list of compatible phones to keep up with
those available (compatible with only certain
operating systems, 3G, 4G…….)

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Possibilities…..
• Run a business!
• Francis Tsai the Eyegaze Artist

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AAC apps for Telecommunication
• Mostly iDevice-based
• Can be used over Wifi
• Telecommunication by SMS message
• Email
• Post to Social Media

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Augmentative Communication
Apps
•TouchChat Suite
•Proloquo2go
•Speak for Yourself
•Avaz
•Predictable
•Proloquo4Text
•Verbally
•CoughDrop

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Export your message
• to text messaging, Social Media, Reminder
apps, and Email
• Be sure to add a picture in your contact list
for each person
• Accessible to those who can read names, but
not spell

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Apple Apps and Phone Calls
• Not yet…..but could hold device next to a
phone on speaker

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The iBox by Teltex
The iBox connects your iPad-based AAC app directly to your landline,
allowing you to make calls

38. Other Beneficial Features
– GPS
• Allows for greater independence, use of public transportation
– Accessibility Features (Voiceover, Scanning, Switch Recipes)
– Automatic Responses - Wireless devices may be programmed to automatically answer or redial certain
calls or messages.
• Voice Control - Use your voice to make a call, play music, enter text or find a contact (Hey, Siri!)
• Reminders & Alarms - support for organization
• executive function
• iOS 11
– https://aaccommunity.net/2017/10/working-with-what-you-have-ios-11/
– Magnification, OCR, indoor navigation for malls and airports

39. Tablets, AAC, and
Telecommunication
Apple, Windows, Android
Wireless Telecommunication!

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Apps for Telecommunication
(Creating social connections for people with disabilities)
• Google hangouts (talk, text, & video)
• Google Duo (simplified video chat)
• Talkatone (talk & text)
• Glide
• Marco Polo
• Skype (video and messages)
• Facetime
• One advantage to Google apps is that they are cross
platform and will work on both Android and Apple
phones

41. Cellular versus Wifi
• Cellular, of course, requires
a phone plan….
–Examples include pre-paid, 2
year plans
– AT&T GoPhone Daily.
–T-Mobile Pay As You Go.
–Comcast Internet Essentials
plan for Seniors

42. Wifi Enabled Device
• Includes iPads and other tablets
• Free wifi “Hotspots” available in most
areas
–libraries, coffee shops, fast food restaurants

43. Finding Wifi
• Wifi Finder apps allow
you to find hot spots
out in the community

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AT Act Programs
• PIAT offers services to the public, including
–Device Demonstrations
–The AT Lending Library
–Try before you buy!
–The TDDP Program for eligible Pennsylvanians with
disabilities
• Can help people acquire landline phones to meet their needs
• The Wireless Pilot — Report now in the hands of the state
Find your state’s program:
https://www.at3center.net/

45. Pennsylvania’s Telecommunication Device Distribution
Program (TDDP)
• Provides free specialized telephones to Pennsylvanians who have disabilities that make it
difficult to use a standard telephone
• Individuals applying to TDDP must have an authorized professional certify the disability
• Must be 6 years of age or older
• Individual gross income of 200% of Federal Poverty level or less
• Must have telephone service (landline) and the ability to learn to use the equipment they
receive
http://disabilities.temple.edu/tddp

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The Wireless Pilot Project
• Report has gone to PUC
• Phase II included AAC apps and the Sesame Phones
• Collected qualitative and quantitative data on the
importance of Wireless Telecommunication for PwDs
• If approved, wireless devices (and AAC apps) may be
provided through the TDDP Program

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Participants
• 4 received iPads or iPhones with AAC apps
• 2 received symbol-based apps
• 2 received text to speech
• If approved, AAC apps will require an
Eval/Recommendation from an SLP
• “Hey, just want to touch base with the iPhone, “Bobby” is
getting quite good at sending messages, they still didn’t
work out the glitch but he’s able to clear the sender field
and pick out who to send and send it, independently.
• What made me think of writing you is that he is going to PT
and we are setting up an exercise program and we are also
use the built in health app on the phone to monitor his
activity levels.”

48. Controlling Consumer Technology
• AAC apps and devices can be used to control Virtual
Assistants!
– This can enable communication, play music, listen to your to
do list….
– As well, there is a growing use of Virtual Assistants to
activate internet-enabled environmental controls.
– Imagine having complex physical and communication needs,
but still being able to order a pizza, turn on your lights, set
the thermostat, and play your own music!
Photo credit Luis Perez

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Voice Control of Hey Siri, Google Assistant
via SGD
• Synthesized voices in speech-generating devices can
be used to access AI voice assistants
• AAC apps on the iPad can activate Siri on the iPhone.
• Smart Home technologies can greatly benefit people
with physical and communication impairments.
• A new avenue for increasing independence for PwDs.
• Still a work in progress, but a growing market
• Even IKEA is marketing smart home tech now.

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Other Possibilities…..
• Control of Smart Home Technology
– Listen to music
– Get the weather
– Emergency communication
– IFTTT Programming
• Have Google Assistant alert your family member if you need emergency
help
• A geo tag can be sent as a text to notify them of your location

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Options for People with Complex Bodies
(Not AAC, but really, really cool!)
• Use Bluetooth joystick on wheelchair to control
Sesame Connect
• Sesame Connect software can be loaded onto a
Google Nexus tablet or phone
• This can easily be mounted to your wheelchair
• Sesame Solution software allows the individual to use
their head position to control an onscreen mouse.
• Voice control using, “Open Sesame” command.
• Responsive to less than perfect
articulation

54. What are you doing this
weekend?
(Try NOT using telecommunication for 24 hours!)

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ACES 2018
• COME JOIN US IN PHILLY!
• (Fly Eagles, Fly!)
ACESINFO@TEMPLE.EDU

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FOR INFORMATION contact:
PIAT
Pennsylvania’s Initiative on
Assistive Technology
Tel: 800-204-7428 (voice)
866-268-0579 (tty)
Email: ATinfo@temple.edu
Web: disabilities.temple.edu/piat
Find Your State’s AT Act Program:
https://www.at3center.net/stateprogram

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Thank you for your
time and attention!
Check out AACCommunity.net
My contact information: Kathryn Helland
Tel: 215-204-3032
Email: Kathryn.Helland@Temple.edu

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Thank you for Attending!
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CEUs.
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59. Kathryn Helland M.S., CCC-SLP
Kathryn.helland@temple.edu