| TapToTalk News and Reviews |
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TapToTalk User Reviews
Most recent first
About a week ago I added a folder of places to eat (the logos) to our son's TapToTalk.
Today he chose where we were going.
He chose Golden Corral.
When we pulled up, he smiled one of the most beautiful smiles I think I have ever seen.
It was the first time he actually was able to pick where we were going to eat.
(Not my favorite place but I really didn't care after that smile.)
Thanks again to you folks at TapToTalk for giving him his own voice!
Fay Bareham, Parent
My 9-year-old autistic son loves TapToTalk.
He is verbal but when he is angry or gets frustrated he uses this app to talk.
Thank you! God bless.
Marilyn Hunt, Parent
My 11 year old son's TapToTalk vocabulary is growing constantly.
He is now taking his own photos, we help him put the synthesized voice to them so it is uniquely his voice.
He cruises through all the levels of folders with no problems.
Fay Bareham, Parent
I can't put into words the doors you have opened for my son, who hasn't really had a 'voice' for the last 19 years
and now uses TapToTalk to express who he is, and what he wants. I can never thank you enough.
Heather Ball Houston, Parent
I recently visited my godson in Texas.
He has autism...I had heard about TapToTalk, but nothing had prepared me for his unprompted communication efforts!
While his mom was out doing chores, he came to me and asked for specific food choices;
I never thought I'd get to experience that with him.
I was so excited I wanted to take him out to a restaurant right away to buy him what he asked for...wanted to say thanks from a grateful godmom.
Lyn Johnson, Godmother
My son started using (TapToTalk) at 28 months, and he can now tell me things like when he wants to relax with pizza and a dvd.
He's three now. He looks very proud of himself when he is presented with that which he requested using TapToTalk.
He takes his to his early childhood program on a Nook Color. His teachers love it.
Christi Westerdale, Parent
I tell everyone who will listen, especially those we know with non-verbal kiddos, that YOU have given our daughter a voice!
Last week, my husband was offering our daughter several choices of cereal for breakfast,
she kept pushing the boxes of cereal away.
She got up, got her iPad and handed it to him to turn on.
Once on TapToTalk, our daughter went to the "I want to eat" album and touched "I want scrambled eggs."
My husband said, "Oh, you don't want cereal, you want scrambled eggs."
Our daughter clapped her hands (what she does when we understand her) and sat down at the table
AND patiently waited for her eggs to be cooked!
Susan Tarr, Parent
My son is 11 years old.
He has had various speech devices over the years but they have been bulky and hard to carry so it was not something he was interested in. His iPod looks just like his dad's phone. He can clip it on his belt just like Dad.
It's cool to him.
One day he had what my friend called a 'Helen Keller moment' where he suddenly realized that he was 'talking' due to TapToTalk and the iPod. For the first time he feels as if he has a voice of his own. Now he won't let it out of his sight.
TapToTalk has made for several moments of HAPPY tears for us.
Fay Bareham, Parent
TapToTalk changed our lives!
My four year old son uses it all the time now...he told his teacher on the first day of school,
"I want to go home. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy..."
I didn't even know he knew those pictures meant anything since he'd never used them with me!
Lynn Pennington Munger, Parent
Oh yes, TapToTalk is a life changer!
How the world looks at my son who has Down Syndrome, how he views his abilities, amazing!
Jill Mather, Parent
Loaded it in the evening, the next morning my little guy told me what he wanted for breakfast!
He'd NEVER used a communication device before!
A Parent
Kevin is not very verbal, and it's extremely rare to hear him say an entire sentence.
When he opened TapToTalk, he first tapped the Toilet icon, which says, "I have to go to the bathroom" out loud.
After the application said this phrase, Kevin repeated it.
We all looked at him in excited disbelief--he's not one of the kids who frequently repeats instructions from people or conversations that he overhears, he sticks to basic words and strings a couple of them together.
Of course, Kevin went back and journeyed into the "food" section and proceeded to make the application say, "I want to eat a (insert food here.)" and repeated the phrase.
This successful interaction was very encouraging!
Jack Kieffer, Kevin's Friend
When I tried the test drive on my son, it was perfect as it required minimal navigation through the pictures.
He did not have to "find" them.
The choices just opened up for him.
I am grateful for the affordable price.
Otherwise, my son would not have this opportunity.
Thank you.
A Parent
This (video) is Morgan's introduction to her new portable communication device the TapToTalk.
Morgan has Cohen Syndrome and is nonverbal, she has been using AAC for communication but we were looking
for something portable and affordable for her when we are on the go.
This great software can be used on multiple applications.
Morgan is thrilled at this new option for communication.
Lisa Simonson McElhinney, Parent
If my son has to have autism, I am glad it's in this age of technology when there's TapToTalk to help him.
Thanks for your help today and for developing such an important product at an affordable cost!
Jane Sundmacher, Parent
My 85-year-old father has suffered from Parkinson's for several years.
Between lost speech and minimal use of his hands, he was very frustrated.
Today I dropped an iPad in his lap, and fired up the TapToTalk I set up for him.
It was a pleasure to see his big smile as he tried it out, and had no problem using it.
His favorite button is "I hate doctors!"
"Oldfart" Smith, Son
I just want to say that I love this program.
It's a great tool for my son who has autism and I really like the fact that I can use it on the DS.
Karina Huertas, Parent
My 9-year-old daughter is non-verbal but loves to tell us what she wants!
She has a Dynavox, but because of the complexity of programming, we are giving it up.
Thank you for providing such a great product for those who need it most!
This population gets overlooked and over-charged, thank you for not falling into that category.
Amber Johannes, Parent
I am currently working on this programme with my 13 year old non-verbal child!
On iPad. He loves it and school are also backing us up...I have found it easy to programme.
Tracy Graham, Parent
It works excellent with my children.
Two are autistic, and I just asked my daughter "what do you want" and she pressed "a smoothie" and then repeated it...it's working well for me, I use mine through my Nook Color, thought I'd share!
Santiea Dawn Skinner, Parent
We just recently started using TapToTalk with our 4 year old on his iPad.
It's absolutely amazing.
He is autistic so it now travels back and forth with him from school.
His teacher and paras have been very excited about the possibilities it holds!
Sarah Williams Maize, Parent
I just renewed our subscription.
Our daughter is 12 years old and non-verbal.
She took to TapToTalk quickly and is now able to communicate a lot of her wants, needs, and feelings.
This app is truly a gift to our daughter and us.
Susan Tarr, Parent
Our son's school just got him an iPad so we've moved (TapToTalk) from the Nintendo to a larger, easier to use format.
This really underscores the value of TapToTalk's multiple platform design.
Thanks again for all the great work!
Tomas Saucedo, Parent
I wanted to say thank you because it allows my non-verbal daughter to tell me her basic needs.
Last night she wanted milk, and unbeknownst to me she turned the iPod on, went to the TapToTalk App,
and got the milk request ready for when I came into her room!
It was so awesome. I love that she can tell me things now, and your app is so easy to use.
Becky Brown, Parent
You are rocking my daughter's silent world of Rett Syndrome! Thank you!
Ted Malinoski, Parent
My daughter "told" me that she "loved" and wanted a hug for the first time, on her 9th birthday!
She got the (TapToTalk) for her birthday present.
Thank you!
Amanda Perkins, Parent
I was blown away.
Here is a program that does everything the real fancy and expensive devices do, but playable on a DS.
I played around on it for a minute, and couldn't believe how easy this was to use.
In three presses of the screen, I said 'red, juice, please.'
That might not sound like a lot to some people, but to a parent of a non verbal child, it's a whole new world...
To him it's like playing a game, but to us, he is communicating.
With this, now he can say, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, and in our case I need to go to the potty.
John Pompa, Parent
Seeing Hudson who is non-verbal have a way to express his intelligence now is utterly priceless!
We are so excited!
There are plenty of AAC apps out there but we chose TapToTalk because of its visual appeal to a preschooler;
the symbols are bright, fun and obvious in their meaning.
It's great! Hudson simply taps a symbol and it speaks.
For example he taps the picture of a ball and his iPad says, "I would like to play with a ball please."
Too cool!
Rebecca Curry, Parent
I just started to work with this program for my daughter who is non-verbal and currently uses PECS to communicate.
I cannot believe how easy it is to use your program!
The video tutorials are great!
Peggy Colorado, Parent
I took my son to school this morning.
He does not want to be there.
He opens up his DS with his TapToTalk and says "I'm sad" and I said "Why?"
and he touched "My mom went away."
I wanted to cry, this was a first for me and him telling me his emotions.
I said "I am staying for a while" and then he pushed "I'm happy."
I held back my tears of joy for this is huge for my son who is completely nonverbal and autistic.
Naomi Smith-Long, Parent
My son is 6 years old and diagnosed with autism.
I took pictures of him, family, members, our house, his toys, etc. and put sentences to each picture.
For instance, his picture says 'my name is Tyler.'
I would say within 2 days, Tyler began to say his name for the first time.
Chris Statham, Parent
Dare I say this is the best thing since sliced bread!
Our doctor is so totally amazed at how my son can whip out his iPod touch and communicate.
Jill Mather, Parent
So excited. My 21-year-old was able to order her breakfast at a fast food restaurant today.
She is very good with the iPod, so she has food, plus a restaurant level with separate menus for each restaurant.
She asked for biscuit, then clicked egg. Went to drinks, and asked for large, then went to soda and asked for Coke.
She is semi-verbal, but can't be understood unless you know her well.
She uses TapToTalk on the iPod for clarification purposes.
Katy Jean Fink, Parent
TapToTalk is the most amazing tool.
My son, age 9 who has Down Syndrome is communicating with it in ways he never has before.
It is so cool to have him utilize his iPod! Thank you from my heart.
And this is just the free version.
When we can, the purchase of the other version is going to make even a bigger difference in all of our lives!
Thanks so much for a brighter future for all of us.
Jill Mather, Parent
I am working with a 6 year old with Mowat-Wilson syndrome.
He is using the Nintendo version of TapToTalk appropriately.
He has been able to communicate novel statements.
He is even trying to repeat the phrases we have programmed into it.
He was not doing as well with other alternative communication methods.
I am delighted we have found something he enjoys that is not hard to programme.
Barbara Hallahan, SLP
Finally something better then carrying a big Dynavox V and worrying that your child is going to drop it and you have to get it fixed once again...So excited!
Rebecca Rachels Rawlings, Parent
We love your product!
We have a 5 year old son with severe Apraxia and I am buliding multiple libraries for him to use.
The price is reasonable and he does not have to carry the huge keyboard-type thing around to express himself.
You all should be very proud of what you do! Thank you!
Mike Carlin, Parent
After playing with TapToTalk in the car, she (used it to) let me know she was frustrated because she
was hungry and wanted steak and a smoothie.
I started to cry. It was my first actual conversation with my kid in 8 years.
Someone told me that she was mindlessly pushing buttons.
But I know my child, I know her facial expressions.
She had a eureka moment when she hit the button and she ended up with a milkshake and a piece of steak.
Yes! You best believe I went out to the grocery and bought her a steak after all of that.
Amanda Perkins, Parent
In addition to another AAC device that my daughter uses, TapToTalk has also now become an integral part of her life (as well as our entire family, school personnel, and SLPs she works with), helping her communicate in ways that otherwise would not be available to her.
As I myself have become a pretty knowledgeable user in setting up and modifying the information on her TTT on a weekly basis,
I was glad to help at the ARCC (Apraxia Resource Center of Connecticut) conference and take the time to educate and/or inform others about your product,
as there are many advantages over other AAC devices that we personally have seen and/or used thus far.
Cindi Policki, Parent
Thank you for your help...the programs (albums) are how I want them to be now.
This product is exceptional and this help has been incredible.
The school and I are very grateful. Thank you.
A New York Educator
Finally shared this with our IEP team today.
Now working on getting the albums for school set up.
Thank you for giving our children a voice!
School district is buying the program to have at school too!
They can also now encourage other children/parents to use it!
Adrienne Dobrocke Bievenue, Parent
We love you TapToTalk! Without you we'd still be waiting on our school to get us a device,
but once we found you, our son has a voice on his DS and our iPhones! Thanks!
Carolyn Gonzalez-Galvan, Parent
I can't afford the augmentative devices but knew I wanted something that would help (my son)
since he has limited emerging language and had been
non-communicative for years. This was a godsend! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
A Florida Parent
I just wanted to let you know we love your product.
My daughter with autism is almost eight years old and is nonverbal.
She lights up with a big smile when she pushes a picture and hears the voice request something.
We are looking forward to using the TapToTalk at school and with her friends this year.
Sandy La Grand, Parent
I am floored...speechless...this product is a dream come true for me and for so many other parents of non-verbal kids!
Taking advantage of the technology available is amazing.
Thank you for finding another tool for my son.
Heather Oliver-Hamilton, Parent
My son is almost 10 but is much like a toddler in ways.
He does a fine job using TapToTalk and they use it at school with him as well.
Crystal Wright Daso, Parent
My son used it at school starting last year. He was 4 then.
He has no trouble using it and only needs occasional cueing to attempt speech attempts while using it.
Otherwise he is completely independant with it.
Marne Shanklin, Parent
I would say (you can use it as young as) around 2.
It takes some fine motor skills depending on how small the pictures are.
I started very simple with my son and gradually made it more challenging.
He is doing great!
Jennifer Randall Hayden, Parent
My son is Aspergic and even though he can talk he cannot state an emotion without seeing the face that matches how he feels.
So thank you, you have given my specking (little) boy a better voice.
Lee Purcell, Parent, New South Wales, Australia
The school ordered it first and it is amazing. So we are now getting one for home.
A Nebraska Parent
Through research on various programs to assist non-verbal students,
TapToTalk rated the highest and had the best reviews.
I purchased this for a student in my school district and hope
to purchase more in the future to assist other students.
A Texas Educator
Thanks so much! I love you guys! My non-verbal child loves you too!
A Massachusetts Parent
I was looking at apps on my new iPod touch when I saw your free trial app.
I was actually going to purchase another AAC app for my child, but TapToTalk worked wonderfully for her.
Thank you!
A Minnesota Parent
When looking at several different iPad software AAC products, I contacted all the vendors with simple questions anyone could answer.
TapToTalk's support came out as a clear winner.
TapToTalk couldn't be any simpler to use.
It's design is exactly like I would have done.
Michael Needham, Parent
Thank you for helping my family by giving my son a voice when he doesn't have one.
A Canadian Parent
This is a dream come true!
I am a mother of a 9-year-old boy who has ASD.
He has some speech but is not that great communicating.
This is going to help him so much
and it won't even point him out as different because it's
a game machine that every child has.
Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart for finally making
my child feel average!
Nicole Lynn MacNeil, Parent
Emel told me she wants me to make her a McDonalds album for her
TapToTalk so she can order her own food.
That's my job for tomorrow.
She just loves her TapToTalk.
Thank you.
Caroline Louise Curran, Parent
My son is starting to get the hang of TapToTalk and we are having a blast building his albums!
Thank you so much.
I am going to shout the praises of your product and technical support from the rooftops and to anyone who will listen to me.
A great inexpensive, fun, socially acceptable, voice output device.
It is great and we love the DSi XL to run it on.
Big screen easy for him to tap on given some very significant fine motor issues.
Erica Weber, Parent
I too will shout praises from the rooftops!
Wonderful product.
Nintendo and TapToTalk make learning fun!
Dixie Blackstock, Parent
Our Malachi is 9 years old and nonverbal.
He has Autism and is at the low functioning end of the spectrum.
Malachi has been using this for several months now and transports it
between school and home. We had a planning meeting a couple months ago at
school with the assistive device lady to figure out how best to make this work.
So it now has albums loaded up for school use and he can click on
"I need a break" and then picks what he wants to use in the "break room."
He can use it to say how he's feeling, what he wants to eat, etc.
I highly recommend this program to anyone.
Support at TapToTalk is so fast to respond.
They’ve been incredible.
So if you have a child who would benefit from a way to get what they want
to say out, check it out.
It's been amazing for our family and it's just so affordable.
Especially since many kids already have the device anyway.
Crystal Daso, Parent
I have been having so much fun designing my student's TapToTalk.
Social interaction is a big part of a child's life.
I have one screen of feelings. She loves to go over and tell her friends,
"I like you, you're my friend" with her TapToTalk.
I also have a pic of someone getting pinched and I recorded the words,
"don't pinch me it hurts."
On the play screen, I have a picture of a nurse and if she chooses that
it goes to all the things in the dramatic play center we have set up for
our doctor's office: shot, bandaid, stethoscope, etc.
Joanne O'Leary, Special Ed. Teacher, Fort Collins CO
We just got our TapToTalk...over the moon. More orders on the way. The children love it. Thank you.
We use the TapToTalk as Emily's communication device.
Emily is 7 and has used PECS since she was 4.
I decided that the PECS weren't travel friendly and it was annoying that those little velcro pieces would be found all over.
(See Maria's Review Video)
Maria Orofino Yakkey, Parent
Got mine and my son's school ordered one as well! LOVE IT!
Krista Bruno Vaughan, Parent
I work for an agency that provides support to people with Autism in residential settings. I purchased this product for a 17 year old non-verbal girl who has severe tantrums due to the lack of expressive communication. She is still learning how to use it proficiently but she picked up on the basics very quickly. She loves it!
It took me a little bit to navigate the set up program but once I figured it out I was able to build a personalized and effective library for her. I love that I was able to incorporate pictures of her family and program my voice (because she's a girl and she needs a girl voice).
The instructional videos online where very helpful. This program is VERY inexpensive compared to the other bulky hard to use augmentative devices that can run from $1500 to $3000. Not to mention the Nintendo DS systems are socially acceptable because every kid I know (and some adults too) carry these around everywhere.
Our company is excited about this and we will be getting more for other participants that we support.
Kimberly Lehuanani Andrus
TapToTalk has been great for a little girl in my class who has severe apraxia. She is very smart but the words just can't come out.
We got the TapToTalk set up and she carried it around very proudly. With no prompting, she took the TapToTalk over to an adult in the room carrying the valentine heart she just cut and pasted and colored, and she went through the pictures on the TapToTalk and selected all the things she used for the heart she made. The scissors the glue and yes the marker, but not any marker; she tapped the picture of the marker and eight colors came up and she picked the blue one. And guess what? She did use a blue marker. She was so proud to share.
She loves the TapToTalk so much that she even took it with her in the bathroom! We had to explain that it would be safer in her cubby.
Joanne O'Leary, Special Ed. Teacher, Fort Collins CO
I have found that TapToTalk is easy to use. My son enjoys it and it is easy to carry around. One of the nicest features of this system is that using the Nintendo to communicate with doesn't make him stand out among other children.
Tammy Lessick, Parent
(My son) was able to say Merry Christmas to everyone this year for the first time, thanks to TapToTalk. It really made it a special Christmas.
A North Carolina Parent
TapToTalk is quite something. My son loves it! Thank you.
A Canadian Parent
I've been using it with him since he's been home from
school...he's used it to tell me what snack he wants
to eat twice and that he wants water. He's able to click
on the first screen like the "I'm hungry"
picture to get to the food pictures I uploaded.
I searched for pictures of Lay's, rice cakes and Eggo
waffles so that (there) could be pictures for what he
actually is asking for. He was able to click on the
"drinks" picture to take him to where he selects
water.
A Wisconsin Parent
With the TapToTalk, he is now communicating independently. I believe that this will be a great asset for school work. I can set up a screen for multiple choices, A, B, C, D and E. Independently, he will be able to answer questions that are presented as multiple choice.
A North Carolina Parent
Since we started using the TapToTalk, he (autistic son) has been independent with communication. The first time he used this was to communicate what he wanted to eat and drink for supper. The smile on his face was amazing. He answered quickly and was rewarded with what he wanted. Since then, he has used it to tell us how he feels and where he wants to go.
Tammy Lessick, Parent
It's working great! We have introduced it to our child, and he can already request juice and Oreos. The word is spreading like wildfire here in Charleston about this thing! Our ABA consultant is in love with it, as are all the teachers and therapists.
Tanya Sanders, Parent
TapToTalk has helped my client with autism to continue to function independently both at home and in the community. It is handy, user friendly, inconspicuous and affordable!
Rajashree Srirangarajan, Speech Therapist
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TapToTalk in the News
Most recent first
Communication Tools for Education
02-17-2012 News-Line for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists
02-15-2012 The Groovy Garfoose
01-27-2012 Tech 2 (India)
01-23-2012 Life with five monkies
01-15-2012 Rapid City Journal
01-11-2012 The Autism File
01-11-2012 TechVision
01-05-2012 Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids
01-05-2012 Appolicious Advisor
11-09-2011 Marin Independent Journal
11-03-2011 The Unoffical Apple Weblog
11-03-2011 KLTV
10-27-2011 GottaBeMobile
10-27-2011 PCMag
10-18-2011 13WHAM (ABC)
10-06-2011 Going Mobile-Apps for Life
09-28-2011 Autism Epicenter
07-30-2011 The Grammaticist
07-12-2011 Autism Plugged In
06-05-2011 TherapyApp411
05-27-2011 PDF Devices
04-28-2011 Autism Plugge In
04-27-2011 Middletown Journal
04-20-2011 Absence of Limitations
04-09-2011 Autism Hangout
04-05-2011 Montana Autism Education Project
03-31-2011 Tech & Learning
03-28-2011 Awesome Autistics
03-24-2011 Examiner.com
03-07-2011 iTaalk
02-19-2011 Saanich News
01-28-2011 The Times-Picayune
12-30-2010 Parent Tested, Parent Approved
12-07-2010 Childhood Language Center of Orange County
10-03-2010 Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
10-01-2010 Gadgets DNA
08-15-2010 New Horizons Independent Living Center
07-02-2010 Disaboom
06-07-2010 Super Mommy to the Rescue
05-24-2010 Our Journey Thru Autism
05-07-2010 San Jose MetBlogs
04-23-2010 Hands Up!
04-21-2010 Down Syndrome Assn. of Greater St. Louis
04-15-2010 AutismLearningFelt
04-15-2010 Examiner.com
03-24-2010 Answers for Autism (page 3)
03-22-2010 eHow
03-01-2010 Down Syndrome Assn. of Greater St. Louis
02-28-2010 Call Scotland
02-26-2010 Autisable
02-23-2010 PLAYing with Passion
02-15-2010 Parents Helping Parents (PHP) eNews
02-01-2010 Find a Voice Newsletter
02-01-2010 Out of the Ordinary
01-24-2010 United Cerebral Palsy Respite Resource Newsletter
01-10-2010 Super Mommy to the Rescue
01-07-2010 Down Syndrom Association of Wisconsin Newsletter
12-01-2009 OUR Journey Thru Autism
11-26-2009 eHow
11-25-2009 AAC News
11-25-2009 I am Micro-Managing
11-22-2009 NBC News
11-18-2009 Mom Blog Network
11-1-2009 Mom Blog Network
10-28-2009
3 Part Product Review:
TapToTalk Communication for Autistic Children TapToTalk and Our Reactions Tips for Using TapToTalk AutismLearningFelt
10-20-2009 The World of Interactivity
9-28-2009 |