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PECSTalk™

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Compatible with Android & Apple iPad

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Get it on Google Play Download on the Apple App Store

SKU: PECSIV+-1 Category: Tags: ,

Description

Now Available for Android Smart Tablets & Apple iPad

PECSTalk™ is an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) app used by individuals with complex communication needs, including those on the autism spectrum. Designed by the developers of the evidence-based Picture Exchange Communication System® (PECS®), this high-tech option is customizable and easy to use! With access to the full Pics for PECS library, multiple voice output options, and multiple languages, the PECSTalk™ app can be individualized for your learner’s needs.

With PECSTalk™, users can construct a multi-picture Sentence Strip™ via a dedicated Sentence Starter™ page and create up to 30 digital PECS book pages for the in-app voice to speak. The digital display is similar in layout to a traditional PECS Communication Book while accommodating the more robust vocabulary of a Speech Generating Device (SGD).

The PECSTalk™ app can be used to make requests, respond to questions, comment and ask questions. By converting pictures and text into spoken language, the PECSTalk™ app empowers non-speaking learners to fully participate in their school, home, vocational, and community settings.

Languages Available: English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish

Features of PECSTalk™:

  • Looks like a traditional PECS book with colored, tabbed pages with VELCRO® strips and a Sentence Strip so you can create a digital PECS book that looks identical to your learner’s book, accommodates vocabulary growth and grammatical expansion
  • Access to the full Pics for PECS image library
  • Create customized user defined images
  • Backup & Restore- backup your books locally or to the cloud AND share across multiple platforms and devices
  • Scrollable pages
  • Universal No capabilities- rather than hiding or eliminating an image, a universal No symbol can be overlaid on an image indicating the item is not currently available.
  • Capability to build bilingual books
  • Drag and drop pictures from the tabbed pages to the Sentence Strip just like with a traditional PECS book
  • Switch between pages by scrolling between and tapping on different tabs
  • Rearrange pictures on the Sentence Strip without having to delete pictures
  • Clear Sentence Strips with a single button push or clear individual pictures by swiping them back to the book
  • Integrated features from the PECS protocol such as constant time delay for the in-app voice

Customize each book:

  • Open or close the dedicated Sentence Starter page with a single touch
  • Create 1-30 tabbed pages (with up to 28 pictures per page), each with 3 scrollable pages
  • Each book can hold up to 2,500 images
  • Customize each tab by number of VELCRO® strips, color, category icon, and/or number of pictures on each page

Customize pictures:

  • Use Pics for PECS images (full picture set included) or add images from your photo library and the web
  • Change text on pictures as well as size
  • Put text on top or bottom of pictures, or remove text
  • Search function for the Pics for PECS library included

Speech:

  • Use included synthesized speech or record your own speech
  • Incorporate the research-based constant time delay for ‘reading’ the Sentence Strip to create opportunities for the student to speak

Select from included profiles or create new profiles to customize:

  • How pictures are moved: tap, drag or both
  • How to clear (reset) the Sentence Strip
  • Visibility of Sentence Starter page
  • Reading Sentence Strip left to right or right to left
  • When to read the Sentence Strip: as each picture is selected or with a single tap of the “Speak” button after the Sentence Strip is completed

Track Learner Usage:

  • Day by day list of Sentence Strips constructed by the student
  • Weekly and monthly analysis of most frequently used pictures

Foundational Skills:

Pyramid Educational Consultants recommends that all learners with complex communication needs have an AAC assessment to determine which system and modality will be best suited for them. We have found, and research supports, that beginning functional communication training with the PECS protocol helps learners gain the foundational skills of initiation and social interaction prior to using a high-tech AAC app or Speech Generating Device. Research has also shown that learners often complete Phases I through IV of the low-tech PECS Communication protocol within 3-6 months and that many learners will develop sufficient speech so that there is no need for high-tech AAC.