AssistiveWare is best known for Proloquo2Go, which most in the assistive technology world give credit for making mobile devices a viable option for those needing an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solution. Proloquo4text is another offering from AssistiveWare and it is a quality product with the end user in mind that has a myriad of customization options to fit most user’s needs.

Overview

Proloquo4Text is a simplified text based communication app for those with strong literacy skills needing a means for communication. The app is available for iOS devices to include iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. This AssistiveWare video will get you started with understanding how the app is used.

Features

As mentioned Proloquo4Text is feature rich. To give you an idea of the amount of customization here is a link to the resources page: http://www.assistiveware.com/product/proloquo4text/resources

The features can be broken down into three main categories; Appearance, Language/Speech, and Text Entry/Word Prediction

Appearance

Being able to change the look of an app is something that AssistiveWare excels at. The screenshots below give you an idea of the options available and also a small taste of what those options look like from both the portrait and landscape view.

Language and Speech

There are a variety of voices to choose from within this app. With the 1.2 update there is now 95 voices in 15 languages to choose from. Here is the listing of voices with samples included: http://www.assistiveware.com/product/proloquo4text/voices  As the choice of voice options continue to grow there are now expressive voices available to include happy and sad. The personalization options include rate, pitch, and editing of word pronunciation.

Text Entry and Word Prediction

When producing text the user benefits from what AssistiveWare calls Quick Blocks, in that there are blocks located on the screen to provide quick access to items that may be used frequently.  Quick Talk, Sentence Prediction, Phrases, History and Word Prediction are quick block options. The user  can see the Quick Blocks in a variety of ways on either the right or left side of the text pad with only two choices seen at any one time but all are available with button selection. The Quick Talk and Phrases blocks can be fully customized to provide fast and efficient speech options. When producing text from scratch Proloquo4Text offers learning word prediction. This option can be customized to learn only correctly spelled or all words. The word prediction selections displayed can be from 1-10 words with the ability to change the font size.

Summary

Once again AssistiveWare has produced an industry leading product that competes with and in many instances outdoes the competition. For more information on AAC communication apps be sure to check out Jeannie Krull’s app comparison guides:

AAC Text-To-Speech Apps with Word Prediction: Comparison Matrix

AAC Comparison Matrix: Apps from Original AAC Manufacturers & Proloquo2Go