My son loves this app but the volume is kinda low. Today I put it on maximum volume but could barely hear him while driving. It’s fine if your at home with no noise otherwise it’s difficult to hear. Please fix.
It seems as though the app settings and customizations do not backup with iCloud backup. Grabbed my sons device today for school and noticed the app had disappeared off the iPad (weird because it’s always in guided access to prevent things like that happening). Reinstalled the app and none of our custom buttons/icons were there. I restored the iPad from a previous cloud back up and still the app was back to original status. We lost months of custom button and phrase building because we thought the iCloud backup would protect us against lost data. Incredibly frustrating and disheartening, my wife was almost in tears. Please make the app settings and customizations backup with iCloud backup. Just for piece of mind.
Great app when it works…however there is a lag problem in the app that causes too much time in between pushing a button and then the voice speaking the word button or to go to a new screen. I can’t seem to find any way to contact the developer to fix the problem. The link to report problem takes user to an error page.
When the app works, it’s great. It gives my son a voice. When it doesn’t (quiet common lately) it robs him of his voice. Current issues: - randomly swaps vocabulary - freezes on vocabulary screen - freezes on main screen - allows one selection then freezes These aren’t just, occasional “restart the app” fixes. These are recurring on a daily basis, and I’ve spent hours upon hours attempting to fix this for my son to enable him to communicate with a voice. This is easily a 5 star app, but considering the fact that some days we can’t even utilize the app, it’s barely worthy of 1 star. I’m giving it 2 stars because he’s so happy to be able to communicate when it is working.
Recommend a bilingual voice. For example one that can say English and Spanish words in same sentence. That being said the Spanish vocabulary is a wonderful addition. Keep up the great work!
Great app. My nonverbal autistic son now has a voice, he’ll even study the app on his own. Also there is plenty of room to add new words and to customize it to your child.
Our school uses this, and after years of indecision we finally took the leap! We are very pleased with the improved communication we have with her. She has a partial trisomy 18
This App is wonderfully constructed. I like its set up, ease of use, and the ability to personalize! However,the main draw back is that for a 12 year old, the app's vocabulary is severely lacking. There are not enough words. (For example the words blueberry and coyote are not in the vocabulary along with other words.) And even though you can program them into the App, there are often not appropriate pictures to go with the words. (For example the word "sun" has over 10 symbols while the word "blueberry" does not have a symbol.) As a busy family we often do not have the time to program the amount of words and pictures needed for our 12 year old into the device.
At some point today the word prediction feature stopped working on both iPads we have this app installed on. The settings are all correct and no changes were made. Is this the result of an update? If so PLEASE FIX!! It’s a crucial feature in my daughter’s usage of the app!
Once you paid for an app, that should be it! Users should NOT be penalized for needing to remove an app and reinstall it again! That is robbery!!!! I enjoy using LAMP, but I WILL NOT TOLERATE being billed every time I reinstall it!
We like this app. We've had it for about one month. I like the setup. It is user-friendly compared to other apps we've tried. I like that the buttons on the original page can't be changed/moved around like in other apps. It helps the child memorize the placement of the buttons, so less frustration. However, you do have the option of customizing. I appreciate that this app is intuitive and we've been able to use it across settings. There's a website you can subscribe to for supplemental lessons to help with learning and using the app. It's $84 for a year. The lessons aren't that helpful and the pictures are outdated. There are free resources on the AAC lab website though that support the app with tips and suggestive activities. Last year iTunes offered this app half off on Autism Awareness Day.
Lacking Important Support Documentation/Help Screens
The success of this app relies heavily on the user’s ability to customize it by programming the app. Unfortunately, there is not a users’ manual available for the app—only a “Quick Start Guide” with scant information. This then becomes an exercise in frustration as one slogs through a trial and error method of programming, spending considerable amounts of time on a learning curve that could have been eliminated by a useful manual or even a help screen with a search field. Even though you have already paid $300, you are welcome to spend more time and money on online training or spend additional money on a “premium support” option. As the parent of a special needs child, I really don’t have time for that! For $300, I would think an online download of a decent .pdf users’ manual would be included. Even my new $300 television, which involves less programming, came with more support documentation than this app.
My daughter was introduced to this app 8-10 months ago. With the exception of a few word approximations, she is nonverbal and communicates using sign language. While she still uses sign language, the range of her communication is expanding daily now that we are using LAMP. We are lucky to have a great team at school. Her SLP specializes in augmentative communication devices- she did research and trials before landing on LAMP. The LAMP system must be understood for it to be implemented with fidelity and for one to appreciate the research-based design that, in addition to being an AAC device, fosters language and vocabulary development.
We have this app for our 5 year old who has fragile X syndrome and apraxia, and it has been really great for him. It is well worth the money as he uses it every day as his primary communication device. It is intuitive, and every word is no more than 3 taps away, unlike a LOT of other apps. It doesn't just talk for him, it is developing language by teaching him sentence structure, and it really works on his motor planning. He has gotten so much more verbal since starting to use this app, and I am very thankful to his SLP for introducing it to us!
Nine year old Daughter uses vantage light and being able to access her language on an iPad is dream come true. If your child is not using this software, I recommend attending a PRC "how to use" training for a device. I thought only teachers and slp could attend, not so. They also have good online manuals too,It is very time consuming,well worth it. We have already started to create her own vocabulary menu importing pictures from the iPad gallery. Well worth the cost..thank you, thank you for finally making this app.
Pros: My son uses it. It doesn't get better than that. Cons: 4. Icons. Some of the icons are different. My son hesitated at first with the new icons. He knew the sequence, but the icon threw off his confidence. I went back to change them to the same Vantage icons. 3. The blanks. On the Vantage Lite, the blank buttons take you back home. Nothing happens on the app. I need to go back and create blank buttons that navigate to the home page. Sounds weird, but my son is use to it like that. 2. Not all, but a lot of buttons are moved around in different places. Why? I thought I understood the concept of motor planning, but after going from a Vantage Lite to LAMP WFL... I'm confused. I went in and moved the buttons back to the Vantage Lite spots. 1. The volume. The voice output. This is huge to me as a parent. My son will be in the backseat of the car with his iPad and all of this motor planning is useless if I cannot hear him. The volume is fine in a quite room, but the real world is loud. My son's preference is LAMP, but if I don't hear him after two or three attempts, he goes back to his Proloquo2go. He can speak his mind through both apps, but the volume on Proloquo2go will get my attention every time which my son needs. My son does not need a AAC app with a low volume output. If he does start to verbally speak, he could mimic the same low volume output essentially whispering. I don't want my son to whisper, I want him to talk. Overall I had to make a lot of changes. I feel like the app was rushed. I've spent months making Proloquo2go work like a Vantage Lite. I got close, but not perfect. Options for speech rate and voice personalization would be useful so the user can learn to speak clearly and slowly. Proloquo2go has these options and that app costs less.
We currently have an Accent 1000 using full LAMP 84 words that our non verbal son has used to ask for basic request. We purchased this app as a temporary substitute while the Accent 1000 is out for maintenance. I found this app to be more intutitive to setup than the Accent but that might be due to the fact that I knew what to look for. My biggest concern for this app is that the volume is too low even with our iPad turned all the way up. With three other very verbal children, we can't hear our son make requests.
My son is 4 1/2 and is non verbal, my friend recommended this app, I'm so glad that she did, it took a while to learn this app and set up the page but once we got it set up and figured how we used it, we r are very happy with this app. My son learned it fast, now he's telling me on what he wants. It just like the ACC device.... we call it his talker!!!! I'm very very happy!!!!
I wrote a review several months ago re: the speed of the voice. The developer called me at home and several weeks later a fix was made. I am truly greatful for the fix! My daughter has been using the app for several months and we are really pleased with her progress.
The efficiency of vocabulary organization helps our students and families participate in group activities quickly and in their own words. We use the Word Lists and Vocabulary Builder all the time to practice and then turn it off to explore and expand to other similar words.
I am now at peace with trying iPads as communication devices with this app. I do have some issues with slow loading icons and crashing on first generation iPads. I am willing to put up with the bugs to have an app which supports core vocabulary and motor planning.
As an SLP/AAC specialist, I'm thrilled to see this app on the iPad! This is from one of the leading companies in the industry. It takes a little practice to learn the LAMP system, but once one does, it opens up a new world for AAC users. Thank you, PRC!
My son is autistic and we love the App but he wanted to put it on his phone so he wouldn't have to take his iPad everywhere and it's not available to download for phones . Very disappointing since we paid so much money for the App !
No one can figure it out. We can not get any voice on the program. All other programs have volume on the ipad accept LAMP. No support either accept email!
I use WFL with several students. It is a great app, but for two months the word finder has not worked. I tried to contact support, but an error occurred and I could not send it. Fix the word finder please. It’s really helpful...
LAMP Words For Life® is a robust augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app that combines the power of Minspeak, the Unity® language system and Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP™) principles and strategies. LAMP is a therapeutic approach based on neurological and motor learning principles that addresses the language development and communication needs of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. It provides a consistent motor pattern per word so that automaticity can develop. With thousands of frequently used words pre-stored and the ability to store customized vocabulary, the app allows for unlimited language growth opportunities. With the focus on access to individual words, the communicator can put words together to express their own thoughts in a manner consistent with normal language development. It is appropriate for anyone from beginning communicators who are just learning that they can affect those around them to skilled communicators with advanced language skills. Language development in typically developing children occurs through the combination of a consistent motor pattern, the sound that motor pattern produces, and the reaction they get from the environment. LAMP Words for Life presents vocabulary in the same manner so those language connections can be developed. LAMP Words for Life app is symbol based for those who are not yet literate; however, those symbols are paired with text to support literacy development. The vocabulary, structure, and teaching approach are based on research and clinical experience. What’s included? * High-quality Acapela and Almagu voices, The VoiceKeeper unique voice or VocalID unique voice * Pre-stored core and fringe words * English (US), bilingual English (US) /Spanish (Mexico), and bilingual English (US) /French (Canada) vocabulary files * Vocabulary Builder: Allows chosen words to be visible while the remaining vocabulary is hidden * Word Finder: Helps the user find where words are stored * Ability to store customized vocabulary and edit individual buttons * Data Logging with ability to automatically sync with Realize Language™ for analysis Three vocabulary levels within the app support language development from any skill level: An introductory level features 83 core words that are only one touch away for immediate reinforcement. A transition level requires a second button to be pressed before hearing those initial 83 core words paired with additional vocabulary. This level allows for the learning of extended motor patterns without the visual distractions of the full vocabulary file. The full vocabulary file gives the device user access to verb conjugations and word endings. It includes 3,000+ words and allows for the customization of personalized vocabulary such as names, favorite foods, and favorite places. Visit www.lampwflapp.com for more information on the app and for more information and training on the LAMP approach visit www.aacandautism.com. PRC-Saltillo (formerly known as Prentke Romich Company) is a pioneer in the field of assistive technology and AAC.
