Proloquo

My boyfriend is non verbal and I was looking for a FREE app that he can communicate to me through, no though, you have to pay 10$ PER MONTH?!? I'm currently an unemployed highschooler and this got me excited for a minute too. 😤

Trying to find a program that grows with my daughter’s widening vocabulary has been a tough one. I have found others similar to this but that have no training unless you purchase their device for 1000s of dollars. She currently uses proloquo2go and was offered a few months free. Within three hours ( after my correspondences were answered, which is one of the only advantages of this app) we knew this isn’t it either. There is no way to change to larger font or make the icons smaller (there are some who are transitions away from icons as they master their aac devices) , no way to change the contrast, and the font size in communication bar when in typing is near 10 size font. Not only is this difficult for the visually impaired but with no option to toggle to a different language already offered by proloquo2go, it’s not equitable . Along with the subscription model- which is a high cost even when you look at the yearly subscription versus the one time cost of others- state programs that offer funding will not accept this as this is a subscription. Even your 5 year subscription is a subscription, those of us who rely on state funding to help our children access their basic needs of communication are being pushed out of a new opportunity to expand their communication. However, in this case it has several limitations that aren’t addressed anywhere and fortunately this was a free month. Please look back at your design to make this better for all to use.

I’m both a teacher of students who are learning to use AAC and a part time AAC user myself. As a teacher, I love the thoughtful way that this app was set up: both visually and in terms of vocabulary. My students are drawn in by the bright colors and able to attend longer because the vocabulary we are using is so thoughtfully put together, which means more time talking and less time navigating and searching for vocabulary! As an adult AAC user myself, I appreciate that the vocabulary is not all focused around elementary school topics, but contains the kind of vocabulary I want to use with other adults as well! Assistiveware took (and continues to take) the input of real world users (children AND adults) into account as they design and update this app and it shows. AAC apps are expensive, and it can take work to find the right match, but if you’re only able to invest in one AAC app, this is the one to pick!

I'm an adult autistic part-time AAC user, and I've settled on Proloquo as my symbol-based app of choice. When I first tried it, Proloquo seemed too simple and inflexible. After trying several other apps and finding myself overwhelmed trying to set them up perfectly, I can say: Proloquo is simple and inflexible, and that is what makes it so great. The grid size, base vocab, and organization are fixed, which means you can get started communicating instead of falling into the rabbit hole of customization -- Proloquo forced me to embrace "the perfect is the enemy of the good" as I got started. The 6x8 grid size sounds small, but the "related words" feature lets it offer a robust (12k-word) vocabulary without being overwhelming or slow to navigate. But my favorite part about Proloquo isn't the app, it's the company, AssistiveWare. They do important research into the wide variety of ways and reasons folks use AAC; they design their products to balance the needs of communicators and supporters without compromising communicators' rights; and they've been welcoming, supportive, and receptive to feedback as I've embarked on my AAC journey.

I began using the original Proloquo2go when I was having bouts of expressive Aphasia in college. Now I find it an easier way to work with trauma from my past and to express hidden feelings. I like the new app has a much wider breadth of the vocabulary and is more age-appropriate. I am writing in also to express some frustration because I’m having trouble tapping, the last tab on the app. I’m not sure if anyone else has written in to say the same thing it could just be my phone, but I also wrote this to Express my thanks as well! Thank you!

Proloquo was a game-changer for me. Easy to use and very simple to set up. Doesn’t offer “features“ like logging that could be used against its users, which I appreciate as an adult user of AAC software. My only real complaint is that the subscription model is a barrier to use for people with no income but who have financial support, but this is outweighed by how incredibly awesome it is.

The monthly subscription makes it so accessible and the quality is above every other app we tried. This app gave my toddler a robust vocabulary that he is already using and I’m so grateful!

I finally got onto proloquo, but there’s no text or label only option, maybe for people to use it more, you should add a label only option because not everyone wants to see symbols Shoved in their face

Didn’t realize there would be a monthly/yearly fee. I wish that had been more up front before downloading it to all my kids devices. I’m sure this is a great app but I now have to do a bunch more research to see if I have to pay monthly for every device or if it’s available for family sharing.

This is the AAC app my semi-verbal partner prefers, after she has tried multiple other options on the market. (And when I say prefers, I mean she absolutely raves about it.) Some of the highlights are: The app comes preloaded with an amazing and well organized vocabulary. My partner has handed me her device to try on a few occasions, and even as a non AAC user the interface is very intuitive. It comes with access to a great library of voices from Acapella, with options to adjust speed and pitch as needed. This lets her have a voice that matches who she is, and makes it easy for me to understand her as a communication partner. It’s easy to expand beyond the built in vocabulary. In addition to the symbol based board there is access to a keyboard, and the ability to add new symbols. My partner has been able to add many unique, unusual, and invented words we use in our day to day conversations. It’s even been possible for her to add custom pronunciations, in cases where they are needed. As a company, AssistiveWare takes their users seriously. Their support folks are super responsive, and they actually take feedback from users into account when making updates to the app. I also appreciate the ways the app is structured to protect the privacy and autonomy of its users. There is no logging functionality (just like with verbal speech!), and the robust vocabulary and access to a keyboard makes it possible for users to express themselves effectively.

Love the design and affordability of the app. However, my child does NOT need access to swear words or gender/sexual orientation topics. You’re stuck with whatever words they’ve deemed “most important” and you can’t change it. No thank you. I’ll find an app that allows me to customize it age appropriately for my child.

I love this app . however , I decided to give it 2 stars . here is why : 1 . the subscription model . please please please please please add a way to pay just once . that alone I would change to 4 stars . 2 . let us edit the right most column . this would be especially useful for adding neopronouns . 3 . don't limit where we can add new words . it is annoying . I do really really like this AAC , and I would use it over Proloquo2Go or along it if the first change was made .

Don’t get this as a quick help at home on your phone. You’ll waste your money. Can’t even see everything and can’t see to change screens etc.

I think this is on my mom’s account, but whatever. Simply put, there’s no reason someone should have to pay $10 a month to have a voice. Shame.

Please don’t make the disabled pay such an expensive subscription for accessibility features, we’ve got enough on our plates.

I have had this app and a $10 subscription for three days. When I try to make an account it will not let me add a password. I have emailed the company and they have yet to respond.

Not appropriate for a 4 year old. Cannot remove swear words (a whole category!) for my autistic child. Also political issues that contradict religious values like Mx. in addition to Ms., Mr. . Would not recommend

Literally designed for special needs kids but 10$ a month. What is wrong with you people..?

Wanted to try the free trial as my son has not warmed up to using a device and they charged me $20 not even the $10 that it was supposed to charge!!

I tried Proloquo because a friend of mine started using it and invited me to their support team (which is a wonderful and amazing feature!). After about three days, I started my own account and I’m planning on switching to Proloquo as my primary AAC app. I’m really excited about all the work y’all have done to put together a new app! Proloquo2go wasn’t a good fit for me. My brain didn’t know how to find the words in the categories easily. I ended up going with LAMP WFL. At this point, I’ve been using symbol based AAC for myself for 2-3 years. But I’ve never been satisfied with their commitment towards improving the quality of the LAMP app. Proloquo works great for me, and I appreciate Assistiveware’s commitment to becoming better with how they support AAC users and the AAC users’ support team. I’ve tried 4 or 5 different options seriously to find something that I could navigate as easily as lamp, but with a cleaner interface. Proloquo is the first thing that I’ve found that works better for me. It’s also the only AAC app on the market that I’ve tried that didn’t require extensive customization to support the vocabulary that I actually use. I’ve spent at least 60 hours customizing LAMP so that I didn’t have to rework the language that I use or type in every third word.once I decided to switch, I was shocked (and really excited) to see that the words that I need to add are mostly names of people and things related to my special interests. When I do come across a word that’s not in the system, it’s quick and easy to add it in. I do it in the middle of sentences most of the time. I’ve also worked with students who use AAC, and I love how you all have made sure that people will have access to a robust vocabulary when using your new app, no matter what. I’ve seen students get deprived of robust language options (or access to any formal system at all) so many times. And the monthly payment option brings it into reach for so many more people, especially for those that wouldn’t qualify for insurance coverage for AAC devices (like me!). I met a nine year old at camp whose iPad was lost in a flood. He didn’t have access to an app that supported robust language. I let him borrow my iPad with Proloquo. He was using it really well after only two days, and his mom is interested in doing more to support his access. I’m hoping that the Proloquo coaching app will help her learn to support him better—and from what I’ve seen so far, I think it really will. I’d love to see the app have an option to add more word forms to the right-most column. When a word that can be multiple parts of speech is selected, it currently only shows the noun endings for some words, instead of the noun and verb options. (Rock would have rocks and rock’s but not rocked, rocking, rockable, etc.) I also add ing to a lot of words that are nouns… so the addition of prefixes and suffixes to be creative with making new words (language evolves!) would be lovely. I’d also looove to see the system support more specialized alternative access options. Right now you can use any accommodations built into the iPad itself, which is awesome. Being able to scan in groups based on columns vs going through one button at a time would help make it more accessible to switch users and people using voiceover. A good first step would be changing the one at a time scanning pattern to do the top row first, then scanning through the remaining columns vertically. That way it would better preserve the logical groupings of words that is visually encoded by the colors. Id also love to see different symbol options available! I have trouble visually scanning through certain sets of symbols, so choices would be great.