Resources for Ukraine refugees

Hey Tek-ninjas! In the face of horrific news, and for me at least, a feeling of being able to offer no support, here is a potentially useful link from Tobii Dynavox. They are offering free, multi-lingual communication resources to help Ukrainian refugees express their basic needs in a fast, simple way. 

There are a handful of resources offered, but two highlights include a "communication board designed for use in settings such as country borders and refugee asylums to support those struggling to communicate in a different language, or for those with communication disabilities". Languages include Ukrainian to Czech, English, German, Hungarian, Moldovian, Polish, Romainian, Slovak, and Swedish. The second is a communication board for medical or hospital settings to support those struggling to communicate in a different language, or for those with communication disabilities. 

Please help share this message widely with people you know working for aid organizations at country borders, refugee asylums and medical/hospital settings.

TD i110 gets an overhaul!

 Hey Tek-ninjas! Let's talk about the TD i110! 

Back in the summer of 2018, I blogged about the i-110. At the time, it was the most rugged purpose built AAC device on the market and when purchased with funding, it came with a 3 year 360 support plan that basically said, if you break it, Tobii Dynavox would fix or replace it. It was the device that I sold the most of, and that is saying something for a company re-known for it's eye-gaze technology. 

Over the years though, Snap + Core First, became just Snap, growing to include many languages, and pagesets including PODD, Gateway, Aphasia, Scanning, and Text Literate pagesets.  It is a BIG program! Additionally, with several years of Windows updates, and general increase in demand on browsers the i-110 started to perform a bit sluggishly. It was time for some improvements. 

I'm so excited by the over-haul which Tobii Dynavox rolled out towards the end of February. With an ultra-rugged design, Gorilla Glass, intuitive user interface, and an IP55 classification (up from IP54) , the TD I-110 is an AAC device that delivers exceptional durability, performance, and reliability.  Once again, it is covered by a 3-year Support 360 warranty which includes extended support and damage protection, no questions asked. 

The TD i110 goes BEAST mode. Again. 

On the surface, the TD i-110 looks much like the classic device. And this is smart imo. AAC companies often get blow-back from users for changing hardware or software designs too often. Users express feeling "left-behind" by these changes. The TD i110 will feel familiar, like coming home. However, with twice the RAM, twice the storage, 10 hours of battery run time, Windows Hello, a higher quality rear camera, and the option to build to order with Windows 11, this is a significant upgrade. 

If you need to see/try/touch this device, reach out to your friendly neighborhood Solutions Consultant. 

Happy therapy!

Let's talk about TD Talk

 Hey Tek-ninjas! It's been awhile. Hope everyone is having a good pandemic.  Lot's of busy-ness going on in my work life. All good stuff. Tobii Dynavox recently released an overhauled i110. The changes are subtle at first glance but significant! I'll write more about that later, but for now, let's just say "faster, tougher, and more responsive". 

Today I want to blog about TD Talk. 

TD Talk came out when the TD Pilot was launched a few months back. The Pilot came out to great fanfare. I blogged about it here. With the excitement of true eye-gaze integrated with Apple (actually MFi) folks may have not paid as close attention to TD Talk, which accompanied the Pilot along with TD Snap. 

If you are working with folks who need AAC, specifically folks who are text literate, you want to take a closer look at TD Talk. While it does come pre-loaded on the Pilot, did you know that if you don't have a Pilot, you can still access TD Talk on the iTunes App store? 

TD Talk is available for free! It's not a trial. It's not temporary. And yes, the voices work. 

A significant factor in this decision was the need to help ALS clients who need a voice today, but perhaps don't qualify for funding at this stage of their journey. If they have an iPad, they can have a voice. Later, if they need DME with eye gaze, they can get a TD Pilot funded, and transition straight to that mode of access, without having to learn new software. Ultimately, we've been finding that a number of folks are appreciating the software regardless of age or disability. 

TD Talk offers a large selection of languages and voices to express yourself as naturally as possible. Allowing for fast, predictive sentence construction, and easy in-sentence editing, this is a remarkably lean, fast, and efficient communication app. 

User's will also appreciate the simple keyboard, along with a few quick-fire phrases to balance speed with flexibility. 

Take a look at it, I suspect you too will be impressed. 

Happy therapy!

Facilitating Assistive Touch Eye gaze!

Default Menu Size

 Hey Tek-ninjas! I'm obviously pretty excited about the TD Pilot, which I blogged about last week. 

The eye-gaze in the Tobii Dynavox AAC software utilizes the Region Based Interaction, which is so very amazing - frankly better than anything else on the market. Don't believe me? Contact your local Solutions Consultant for a demo. You will be blown away. It's as though a magnet pulls your gaze right to the target. 

Large Menu Size

Now, when you go out of the Tobii Dynavox software you then begin using Apple's Assistive Touch eye-gaze. The TD Pilot utilizes the IS5TD Eye Tracking Camera which provides an unparalleled experience, however, in the iOS environment you are not accessing the Region Based Interaction. 

One tip that may facilitate access is to increase the font size. This effectively increases your Assistive Touch menu, making targets easier to hit. The video above shows how to do so.

Happy therapy!

Hi-contrast Snap on iOS!

 Hey Tek-ninjas! So today's blog post comes to me from Tobii Dynavox Solutions Consultant and SLP super-star Jo Taylor. She reached out to me with this amazing tip. Snap, as you may know has an iOS version that is every bit as robust as what sits on the DME SGD offerings. That includes the SC Tablet, and the new TD Pilot with eye-gaze. 

Part of what I love about this solution is that it allows the caregivers to make just the AAC app or any specific app they want into a hi-contrast solution, and it simply requires a few taps and toggle. 

See the video below to set hi-contrast for just the Snap software. It's really easy to do! Thanks Jo!

Accurate AND precise eye-gaze on an iPad!

 Hey Tek-ninjas! Today is a big day for Tobii Dynavox and AAC users. This morning, Tobii Dynavox introduces the TD Pilot.  TD Pilot provides native integration of eye tracking in iPadOS and has been certified to meet Apple performance standards. It enables communication and full use of iPad apps for people with disabilities, via eye control and other access methods. The TD Pilot offers what is currently the only MFi Certified Eye-tracker on the market. 

While there are a few other companies that had dipped there toes into the eye-tracker world with iPads already, none of them (that I know of) have an equivalent offering with Region Base Interaction (RBI), essentially pulling the user's eye to the chosen target with accuracy and precision - indoors OR outdoors. Additionally, TD Pilot uses Smart bright pupil and dark pupil tracking technology which means that the eye tracker is always adjusting to the light conditions and the user to ensure the optimal user experience.

Just like on the proven Windows-based iSeries, TD Pilot has the celebrated Partner Window, and the same powerful speakers. 

TD Pilot when funded, comes with TD Snap, TD Talk, and TD CoPilot. The first many AAC stakeholders are familiar with. TD Talk is a brand new efficient text-to-speech app, and TD CoPilot is the companion app which provides calibration, software updates, and battery status. 

Everyone I've spoken with who has had a chance to test drive the TD Pilot has been very impressed. If you are going to be at ASHA this week, come by, check one out, and say hi to me! If you can't make ASHA, but want to see one for a possible user, reach out to your friendly neighborhood Solutions Consultant. They will be able to help you determine if the TD Pilot is right for you or your client(s)!

Happy therapy!

Welcome to the AAC party Tamira!!

 Hey Tek-ninjas! If you recall, back in March I wrote about Acapela's efforts to produce the first African American voices. On November 4th, Tamira, the first African American adult female voice will be available in TD Snap. Just run your updates and the voice will automatically appear in the voice selection section. 

Here's a sample of the Tamira voice:

If you are on Tobii Dynavox's email list, you should receive an email some time today informing you about the offering. The email will include a link to a Knowledge Base article giving you a little background information on the voice and where to find it in TD Snap. If you aren't on the mailing list, you can get on it by making a free account at www.mytobiidynavox.com. Additionally, there should be social media posts with the link to the Knowledge Base. 

Finally, as noted before, if you are looking for Continuing Education, click here, or your local Tobii Dynavox sales rep, click here. 

Happy therapy!