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Clicker - Literacy Software | Crick Software

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Award-winning software from Crick Software, Clicker is the complete literacy toolkit for elementary learners.

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Dyslexia Writing & Reading Assistive Technology | Ghotit Dyslexia

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Ghotit Real Writer App for iPad assists people with dyslexia and dysgraphia in their English writing and text correction.
The application corrects badly spelled words, confused words, grammar, and punctuation like no other writing assistance tool and offers advanced word prediction with grammar and phonetics awareness capabilities.

The main features:

- Context-sensitive and phonetic spell checker;
- Word-prediction with grammar and phonetics awareness;
- Advanced grammar and punctuation corrector;
- Effective proofreader;
- Speak as you write (speech feedback);
- Reading assistance with dual highlighting;
- Independent text editor;
- Importing and sharing of text with other iPad applications;
- Integrated dictionaries;
- US, UK, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and South African English dictionaries;
- AirPrint compatible.

Intelligent Contextual Spell Checker

Severe Spelling Error Correction

In the world of spell checking, the degree of how badly a word is misspelled is measured by the editing distance of the misspelled word to the intended word. The trade-off is as follows: the longer the editing distance, the longer the list of candidate words that will be offered. Since ordinary spell checkers cannot properly grade the long list of alternatives, this long list is seen as adding "noise" to the spell checking algorithm. Ordinary spell checkers are tuned for people with mild spelling and typing mistakes, and therefore prefer to offer a relatively short editing distance in order to minimize the list of candidate words.
Here context spell checking algorithms come to play. Once an effective context spell checking is introduced, a larger editing distance can be introduced, since the spell checker can leverage the context of the sentence to optimize the suggested word list and remove the unwanted, out-of-context words.
Ghotit has developed an innovative context spell checker which is optimized for people with dyslexia, dysgraphia and other learning disabilities. Ghotit can leverage its context spelling engine to produce an internal long list of candidate words by defining a long editing distance, but then reduce this list and present to the user only the words that make sense in the context of the specific written sentence. High performance techniques were introduced in order to ensure that Ghotit's context sensitive analysis does not affect user experience and does not introduce spell checking result delays.

Ghotit is the best thing anybody did for us people who have Dyslexia. It gives me hope to write and be confident that the person who reads does understand what I wrote about... Being an advocate for equal rights and access to education for Dyslexic people, I very strongly recommend Ghotit. Well done guys! You Ghotit!

Kai Fromme Dyslexic, New Zealand

Misused, Confused Word Correction

Ordinary spell checkers either do not or provide very limited identification of misused words. If a spell checker does not have or has very simplistic context spellchecking algorithms, then it simply can not identify misused words. Without appropriate context knowledge, the spell checker does not have any information to provide for a misused word, and will leave such words as unmarked. In such situations, the writer will not even know that he has errors in his writing.
Ghotit context spell checking algorithms have been targeted to effectively identify misused words. A word that is spelled correctly, but has been identified as a misused word according to the words' sentence, will be marked as such, with a candidate list of words based on the exact context of the word.

Grammar Checker

Ghotit performs grammar and punctuation corrections. The corrections are performed using both grammar rules definitions and contextual spell checking algorithms that analyze the correct grammatical intention of the sentence based on the context of the sentence.

Split & Merge Words Correction

Many times users accidentally or not knowingly split words (e.g. "birth day" instead of "birthday") or merge words ("oneday" instead of "one day"). Ghotit detects these errors and makes the appropriate suggestions.

Self Learning Algorithms

Ghotit is the only spell checker that actually learns from the input the user enters.This patented technology, enables a user to run the Ghotit spell checker, and after the user provides some inputs the user may request to re-run the Ghotit spell checker to receive more optimized results.

Ghotit Intelligent Word Prediction

Ghotit Word prediction is a feature in the Ghotit Real Writer for Macintosh and helps a user in his writing by "predicting" a word the user intended to type. Predictions are based on spelling, context, grammar syntax, and frequently/recently used words. The word prediction feature assists in the writing of kids and adults who struggle with writing correctly, as it enables them to write correctly with fewer keystrokes.
Ghotit's word prediction provides highly accurate predictions, specifically when the writer is dyslexic or dysgraphic.

Integrated Text to Speech

Ghotit's main objective is to enable bad spellers to write with confidence. Using Ghotit's integrated Text-To-Speech features, users can have their written text read out loud to them. The users can then act as their own gatekeepers to ensure that what they have written is exactly what they intended to communicate. Ghotit has integrated the Text-To-Speech feature to different options of the Ghotit spell checker, including:

Integrated Dictionary

If you are a really bad speller then you usually have not only problems in writing but also in identifying a correct word from a list of words. Ordinary spell checkers offer you a list of candidate words. But if you are a bad speller, then you do not know for sure which word is the correct one. You need assistance in selecting the correct word. In order to overcome this hurdle, Ghotit has integrated its context spelling services with a dictionary, providing for each suggested word its meaning/s. This additional information provides the effective information for a bad speller to select the correct word from the suggested words list.

Ghotit Real Writer App for iPad was last modified: by

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Ghotit Real Writer App for iPad assists people with dyslexia and dysgraphia in their English writing and text correction. The application corrects badly spelled words, confused words, grammar, and punctuation like no other writing assistance tool and offers advanced word

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Spell Better app is a free iPad app (upgrade for 9.99) that provides word prediction capabilities with read back /text to speech capabilities. The upgrade provides export options and additional notes. As the function of writing is to publish or share information, the lack of export (locked) in the free version limits use, however, it does have some good qualities:

Phonetic word prediction

Text to speech capabilities

Dictionaries available to look up predicted words (however the definitions can not be read aloud.

Three prediction vocabularies sizes (3,000, 12,000 or 33,000+)

Other options:

Text size, font types

Prediction and speech options

Two background colors (Pale yellow or light gray)

Ability to trial the app for free.

The Open Dyslexic font is also an option in this app which is a benefit for some student reading needs.

Here is a quick video review of Spell Better (free) app, created by the folks at iCATER:

Check it out to determine if this is helpful for your students.

Carol

About Carol Leynse Harpold, MS, AdEd, OTR/L, ATP, CATIS

OTR/L with more than 35 years experience in pediatrics, school based therapy and adult rehabilitation. Masters of Science in Adaptive Education/Assistive Technology with 20 years experience in AT in education of elementary, middle school, secondary, post secondary and work environments. A RESNA Assistive Technology Practitioner with ACVREP CATIS credentials, servicing adults and students with disabilities in employment, education and home environments. Currently a graduate student in the University of Alabama Birmingham Low Vision Certification Program.

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Carol Leynse Harpold, MS, AdEd, OTR/L, ATP, CATIS

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Spell Better - A Free Word Prediction App

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Spell Better app is a free iPad app (upgrade for 9.99) that provides word prediction capabilities with read back /text to speech capabilities. The upgrade provides export options and additional notes. As the function of writing is to publish or share information, the lack of export (locked) in the free version limits use, however, it does have...

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The augmentative communication apps include Predictable, ChatAble and Scene & Heard - which are all used in multiple languages across the globe. To support children learn to read and spell, we partnered with Oxford University Press to create a range of apps featuring the popular characters, Biff, Chip and Kipper.

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Touch Chat

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Chat Editor

Chat Editor is a free download, replacing the former TouchChat Windows Editor. Chat Editor will allow users to modify or create page sets on a Windows® computer and then transfer them to a TouchChat, Chat Fusion or Nova Chat device.

iShare Service

iShare is a subscription that gives a TouchChat device access to a large server, through the wireless connection on the iPod®, iPhone® or iPad®.

In-App Purchases

There are additional vocabularies, language packs, and voices that can be purchased in the Upgrade Store from within the TouchChat App.

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Chat Editor is a free download, replacing the former TouchChat Windows Editor. Chat Editor will allow users to modify or create page sets on a Windows® computer and then transfer them to a TouchChat, Chat Fusion or Nova Chat device.

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Quick core is a large vocabulary set, with all buttons at most 2 button-presses away. Currently Quick Core 112 has about 4,500 words but can grow to up to 12,000. We are often working with therapists and experts to revise and improve our vocabulary sets.

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Cough Drop Core Board

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Have you ever worked with clients who could benefit from AAC but resisted using it because they don't realize that other people can't understand their speech? Or a family who resists AAC because they perceive their loved one as intelligible when they are actually depending on the context to help them decipher the message? Have you ever worked with service providers who disagree on just how comprehensible their client's natural speech really is?

It doesn't happen often, but there are occasions when it can be helpful to remove context cues from the mix and take a hard look at how well we understand someone's natural speech. Formal testing may certainly play a role here, but informal assessment activities can also be helpful. Here is a task we sometimes use in these situations.
The Materials
Develop a list of 20 words and/or 20 sentences that will serve as the stimuli. For a non-reader, use pictures of familiar concepts (such as sock, tree, and blue), to test single word intelligibility. Use more detailed pictures, like those from problem-solving tests, to look at intelligibility at the sentence level. For literate individuals, you can create a stack of index cards with the target words or sentences.
The Task
Position the client across from a significant other, who will serve as the communication partner. It's important that the partner sits facing the client, but positioned so that they CANNOT see the list that the client is reading from (or the stack of pictures if the client is a non-reader).

Have the client read the list of words or sentences. Non-readers will label or describe the pictures.

As the client reads or describes the pictures, the partner writes down what he/she heard.
The Data
When finished with all the items, compare the partner's answers with the actual things on the list that was read (or to the stack of pictures used by non-readers).

Count up the number of words perceived correctly, and do the math to convert to a percentage. For example, if Sonia heard Bill incorrectly 10/20 times at the single word level, his intelligibility in this task would be 50% (with a familiar partner, in an unknown context). If Jenna described pictures in 20 sentences containing a total of 100 words, and her mom transcribed 75 of them correctly, we'd record that as 75% intelligible with a familiar partner in an unknown context. (More on the conditions for qualifying speech intelligibility here.)

The results can help us make better decisions on how to proceed but should be shared carefully and with sensitivity. Hearing that your speech is nowhere near as clear as you thought it was, or learning that you actually aren't understanding your spouse/child/student as well as you thought you were can leave us feeling raw. Clearly, this is something we have to approach thoughtfully.

Ultimately, though, these data, along with information from significant others and results of additional testing, can help teams make decisions about the role of AAC. Given this information, teams may decide that AAC is likely to play a prominent role or a secondary one used in specific contexts or to clarify communication breakdowns.

Have you used strategies like this to get a better handle on speech comprehensibility? We'd love to hear about your experiences.

This post was written by Carole Zangari

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How Much Do We Understand When Context Cues Are Removed?

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Have you ever worked with clients who could benefit from AAC but resisted using it because they don't realize that other people can't understand their speech? Or a family who resists AAC because they perceive their loved one as intelligible when they are actually depending on the context to help them decipher the message?

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We've had many nice comments about the resources shared by AAC SLP Alicia Garcia, clinical lead of the AAC Clinic at One Kids Place, a children's treatment centre in northern Ontario. With over two decades of experience in pediatric rehabilitation practice in private and public settings, Alicia's ideas for how to support AAC learners and their families are tried and true. In today's post, Alicia shares thoughts and materials for situations in which the AAC is needed to repair communication breakdowns.

Children with unclear speech not only have different intelligibility levels but also different levels of awareness, focus, and interest on repairing their communication breakdowns. We use different approaches based on how they react and respond when they are not understood.

As a general guideline when a communication breakdown occurs, regardless of the child's profile, we first try determining the level of urgency or importance of the child's intended message. If it looks like the message is time-sensitive, we ask questions such as: "Do you need help?" "Do you want permission to do something?" "Do you need me to come with you?" "Can it wait?" If we perceive urgency, we focus on solving the child's problem, as opposed to addressing the breakdown.

When the child has no awareness that a breakdown has occurred, we try helping him/her notice that they were not understood in a gentle, subtle manner. It is important to focus on maintaining the child's interest in communicating. At this stage we, partners, take most responsibility to repair the breakdown by:

Looking for language and speech patterns: learning about the child's most common conversational topics, typical sound errors; conditions that may help improve intelligibility such as slower or louder speech

Proving feedback and asking for repetition e.g., I'm sorry, I didn't get that; Say that again?

Asking questions: try guessing what the child might be saying e.g., Did you say____?" Is it about _____?

Using familiar translators: If we know of a peer or family member in close proximity who understands the child, we acknowledge verbally the breakdown and involve the child in finding help e.g., I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you're telling me; let's find Johnny

Some children may have the awareness that they are not understood but don't have enough focus or attention to use AAC to repair the breakdown. In these cases we try:

Introducing AAC by modeling during natural, incidental communication: when we hear a potential breakdown (i.e., we know what the child is communicating but other people may not), we model by pairing what the child is saying with a picture, a gesture or a sign

Prompting and expecting the use of AAC tools only during scripted, game-type activities (as opposed to natural face-to-face exchanges). For example, we practice using a device during barrier games where the partner and child take turns describing and guessing pictures or objects, or practice pointing to pictures during functional scripts such as pretending going shopping, ordering at restaurant, meeting new people, answering teachers' questions

Some children seem to have some level of awareness and good focus but no interest or desire to repair their communication breakdowns. We focus on encouraging engagement, in making sure the child understands that we are interested in what they have to say. We try finding out why the child has no interest in repairing breakdowns and try developing a consistent clarification process for partners to implement. We focus on promoting opportunities to have the child experience payoff of successful repairs.
Tips to Teach Children How to Use Augmentative Communication for Clarification Purposes
Children whose speech is not clear frequently have a difficult time learning to use pictures to clarify the messages they are trying to communicate. Just having a device or pictures available is not enough. They need training to learn to use these tools to make themselves understood. The following tips are recommended when introducing a clarification system (device, picture book etc):

Teach the child to respond to the question: What is it about? The child needs to understand that just repeating what he said does not help us understand him better. We start teaching the child to respond to this question by MODELING the phrase "talking about" many, many times during the day. For example, when the teacher talks about how cold it is today, the communication partner says: "Ms. Smith is talking about the weather" and then looks for the picture of weather on the device

Spend time with the child learning the location of the pictures on the AAC system. Both, communication partner and child need to be able to find pictures within categories in a relatively fast manner. You need to spend time with the child exploring where pictures are located. E.g., applesauce is in the FOOD and DRINKS button, swimming is in the ACTIVITIES button, mom is in the PEOPLE button. Partners should do the navigation out loud e.g., "I'm trying to find the word HOCKEY.... Let's see... is it here, under Activities?... No, it's not... Maybe it's here, under Sports... YES, I see it here"

Until she child learns to navigate the AAC system, partners should take ownership of repairing the communication breakdown. Partners should hold the AAC system in front of the child and point to pictures of categories while asking questions such as "Are you talking about... someone?(PEOPLE)... something you did? (ACTIVITIES) ... a place you are going (PLACES)? Partners should gradually fade the level of support until the child is comfortable finding pictures to repair communication breakdowns on his own

Communication partners need to be become more systematic and aware of their questions and requests for clarification. It is recommended to follow a pattern of steps. For example, asking the child to:

1. Slow down (encourage him to keep trying)

2. Say it in a different way (i.e., "tell me more")

3. Show with his hands or body (by acting it out or pointing at things in the environment) or Draw it

4. Use the device

Other valuable clarification resources are the iPad Calendar and Camera Roll:

CAMERA ROLL: encourage the child to take photos or objects and events representing activities he has participated in. Photos allow the child to initiate conversations - especially with less familiar partners. Have the child take photos from special places he goes (movie theatre, restaurants), people he encounters, activities and events he participates in. Encourage the child to take photos of books and characters he likes to talk about. This will be a way for the child to have contextual cues readily available. Add in photos from new units at school that the child has difficulty saying e.g., dinosaurs, volcanoes, insects. Model using the camera roll. You can add labels to pictures while keeping them in the camera roll using the app PhotoName.

CALENDAR: it keeps family and school partners informed about new or interesting topics that the child may want to talk about. It also lets the child comment on activities in which he participates in regularly. The app Photo 365 allow partners to enter photos on a blank calendar grid.

You can download Alicia's handout on this topic and a questionnaire for communication partners here.

This post was written by Carole Zangari

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How We Do It: Using AAC to Repair Communication Breakdowns

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We've had many nice comments about the resources shared by AAC SLP Alicia Garcia, clinical lead of the AAC Clinic at One Kids Place, a children's treatment centre in northern Ontario. With ov...