Declaration of Interest Statement. The authors disclose they have no financial or other interest in objects or entities mentioned in this paper.

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1 Declaration of Interest Statement The authors disclose they have no financial or other interest in objects or entities mentioned in this paper. AAC apps salient features, accessibility issues and possible solutions According to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), more than 2 million people in the United States experience complex communication needs (CCN). The CCN may be congenital (occuring at birth), acquired (arising later in life), or degenerative (worsening throughout life). Common causes of CCN are Autism, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Cerebral Palsy (CP), Intellectual Disabilities (ID), Muscular Dystrophy, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), to name a few (ASHA, 2011). Individuals have the right to express their needs, regardless of whether they have a disability and the degree of its severity. When individuals have CCN and are unable to communicate through speech, this should not mean that they are not entitled to communicate at all. As speech is one of many communication methods, using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an important alternative for people who are limited to express themselves using speech (Gorenflo, Gorenflo & Santer, 1994). The earliest form of AAC included letter/or symbol displays and analog communication systems (AAC-RERC, 2011). These no/low tech AAC systems are still being used for people with CCN, but they are relatively slower and less efficient than mid-tech (battery operated) or high-tech AAC (electronic based) systems to satisfy the communication needs in their lives. As technology has evolved, high tech AAC systems have been developed and are widely used these days. The most important feature of mid / high tech AAC is the speech generation feature (either digitized or synthesized). Many AAC vendors have developed various kinds of AACs (from low tech to high tech). By using AAC, many people with CCN, including the presenter, can have more opportunities for social interaction, education, employment, self-esteem, etc. As mobile touch screen technology has emerged, various communication applications (a.k.a. apps) have been developed. At the time of writing, there are a number of communication apps that can meet the needs of people with CCN. Using communication apps compared to the dedicated (or PC-based) AAC systems has several advantages, like being affordable (significantly lower cost than dedicated/pcbased AAC), multi-functional ( ing, browsing the Internet, social interactions, music, games, etc.), socially acceptable (using a mobile device has become popular), and portable (relatively smaller than other dedicated AAC) (AAC-RERC White Paper, 2011). In terms of portability, the presenter has been able to stop bringing her heavy laptop which has her communication software installed when she attends a small meeting, a conference, etc. As a side note, the presenter is the associate professor in the newly developed fully online Assisive Technololgy Program of the Special Education Department at George Mason University in Virginia in the United States. She is an AAC

2 user and teaches several graduate level classes, both face-to-face and online, related to Special Education and Assistive Technology. Although using a communication app has huge potential, we must consider many aspects before we use it. Notably, there are some accessibility issues for people with physical and/or sensory impairments who have difficulty using touch screen interfaces (AAC-RERC White Paper, 2011). However, it is very relieving to know that professionals in the Technology (especially Assistive Technology) field have diligently thought about accessibility issues and actually developed tools/features/strategies for people who may need alternative access methods. During this session, the presenter will share her own experience with utilizing a variety of AAC systems in her teaching career and introduce her AAC course in the fully online Assistive Technology Program at George Mason University. Next, she will introduce various up-to-date communication apps and review the salient features of different communication apps. Finally, she will discuss accessibility issues and suggest possible solutions for those who may need alternative methods to access a touch screen. References AAC-RERC. (2011). Mobile Devices and Communication apps. Retrieved November 18, 2011, from American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA). (2011). Information for AAC Users. Retrieved November 18, 2011, from American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA). (2011). AAC: More Than Three Decades of Growth and Development. Retrieved November 18, 2011, from Glennen, S.L., & DeCoste, D.C. (1997). Handbook of augmentative and alternative communication. San Diego: Singular Publishing Group, Inc.

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