GoTalk® NOW PLUS vs PECSTalk™

Attainment has been making augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools for 25 years. Our experience is front and center in GoTalk NOW PLUS, a flexible, easy-to-use, yet powerful app for people who have difficulty speaking. GoTalk NOW PLUS shares the same foundation as GoTalk NOW, and has all the essentials of an effective AAC app; adjustable page layouts, recorded and text-to-speech capabilities, and customizable navigation are all featured. So what differentiates PLUS from NOW? PLUS comes bundled with a wealth of extra content to help you get more out of the app. Between both SymbolStix and The GoTalk Image Library you have access to over 15,000 images! Also featured is Ready-Set-Communicate, a pre-made communication book for children ages 3-10. PLUS also contains 7 English text-to-speech voices, including 2 children’s voices. Please note an internet connection is required to download the additional content. GoTalk NOW PLUS offers three styles of communication pages: Standard, Express, and Scenes. In Standard pages, the action occurs when the location is pressed. In Express pages, recorded or text-to-speech messages build in a speech bar and play in sequence when the bar is pressed. Scene pages are built around a single photo or image. When you arrange invisible hotspots over people or objects in the photo, the hotspots play speech, music, or videos! Feel free to mix and match pages within a communication book. Create as many communication books as you need, each with unique settings and unlimited pages. Then share these books with other users via WiFi, and back them up for safekeeping via Dropbox or any Mac/PC. Envision the impact of blending video, music, and jump to actions among your pages. How cool is it to have your own private online galley to store and save your templates (up to five communication pages) for free, and to email these templates to parents and colleagues! Furthermore, GoTalk NOW PLUS is a full-feature scanning app! Features: • Choose 1, 2, 4, 9, 16, or 25 locations per page. • Use images from your iPad camera, photo library, GoTalk Image Library, or SymbolStix symbols. • Search the Internet in-app for the perfect image or icon. • Includes free download for Ready-Set-Communicate, a pre-made communication book for children ages 3-10. • Purchase additional pre-made communication books in-app. • Combine multiple images in a single communication location. • Color pages, borders, and text with any hue. • Move and size text with your fingers so it feels just right. • Record your voice or use our free text-to-speech voice. • Utilize 7 American English text-to-speech voices, available as free download • Buy additional voices for only 99 cents each, available in over 20 languages. • Add spoken labels (auditory cues) to any button. Great for scanning, guiding visually impaired users, and identifying any new or difficult vocabulary. • Trim videos in-app, and play them from any communication location. • Select our alternate video interface to pause or exit the video easily. • Link songs from your playlist to any communication location and control them with Pause/Play, Next, and Previous. • Include a core vocabulary button for extra quick access to important messages. • Share complete communication books via WiFi with any iPad user who has NOW or PLUS. • Back up communication books via Dropbox or to any Mac or PC for safekeeping. • Store and share interactive templates (each including speech, video, text, and jump to links) on our online gallery for free. • Download and edit pre-made templates from Attainment’s collection on the public gallery, also free. • Email links to your templates to parents and colleagues, who can open the template on their iPad by tapping on the link. • Print and save communication book layouts via PDFs. • Access PLUS with single or two-switch scanning. GoTalk NOW PLUS participates in Apple's Volume Purchasing Program for Education in the United States.

PECSTalk™ is an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) app used by individuals with complex communication needs, including those on the autism spectrum. Designed by the developers of the evidence-based Picture Exchange Communication System® (PECS®), this high-tech option is customizable and easy to use! With access to the full Pics for PECS library, multiple voice output options, and multiple languages, the PECSTalk™ app can be individualized for your learner’s needs. With PECSTalk™, users can construct a multi-picture Sentence Strip™ via a dedicated Sentence Starter™ page and create up to 30 digital PECS book pages for the in-app voice to speak. The digital display is similar in layout to a traditional PECS Communication Book while accommodating the more robust vocabulary of a Speech Generating Device (SGD). The PECSTalk™ app can be used to make requests, respond to questions, comment and ask questions. By converting pictures and text into spoken language, the PECSTalk™ app empowers non-speaking learners to fully participate in their school, home, vocational, and community settings. Languages Available: English, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish Features of PECSTalk™: Looks like a traditional PECS book with colored, tabbed pages with VELCRO® strips and a Sentence Strip so you can create a digital PECS book that looks identical to your learner’s book, accommodates vocabulary growth and grammatical expansion Access to the full Pics for PECS image library Create customized user defined images Backup & Restore- backup your books locally or to the cloud AND share across multiple platforms and devices Scrollable pages Universal No capabilities- rather than hiding or eliminating an image, a universal No symbol can be overlaid on an image indicating the item is not currently available. Capability to build bilingual books Drag and drop pictures from the tabbed pages to the Sentence Strip just like with a traditional PECS book Switch between pages by scrolling between and tapping on different tabs Rearrange pictures on the Sentence Strip without having to delete pictures Clear Sentence Strips with a single button push or clear individual pictures by swiping them back to the book Integrated features from the PECS protocol such as constant time delay for the in-app voice Customize each book: Open or close the dedicated Sentence Starter page with a single touch Create 1-30 tabbed pages (with up to 28 pictures per page), each with 3 scrollable pages Each book can hold up to 2,500 images Customize each tab by number of VELCRO® strips, color, category icon, and/or number of pictures on each page Customize pictures: Use Pics for PECS images (full picture set included) or add images from your photo library and the web Change text on pictures as well as size Put text on top or bottom of pictures, or remove text Search function for the Pics for PECS library included Speech: Use included synthesized speech or record your own speech Incorporate the research-based constant time delay for ‘reading’ the Sentence Strip to create opportunities for the student to speak Select from included profiles or create new profiles to customize: How pictures are moved: tap, drag or both How to clear (reset) the Sentence Strip Visibility of Sentence Starter page Reading Sentence Strip left to right or right to left When to read the Sentence Strip: as each picture is selected or with a single tap of the “Speak” button after the Sentence Strip is completed Track Learner Usage: Day by day list of Sentence Strips constructed by the student Weekly and monthly analysis of most frequently used pictures