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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1518973
words a child can choose from,” says Ashburn. “Proloquo has such a large vocabulary that Jay can choose almost any word he wants. The built-in keyboard makes his options limitless.” Back in Amsterdam, AssistiveWare’s team of researchers, AAC experts, designers, developers, and quality assurance engineers — including 27 local employees and an additional 35 around the world — innovate the technology behind the products and push forward research and advocacy work around AAC. “Most research in this field looks at the change that happens upon an intervention for a single person,” Niemeijer explains. “We instead have consent-based anonymous data on tens of thousands of AAC users. That’s not common. We bring insights from a larger scale to the table, which leads to interesting conversations.” Apple’s Guided Access, an accessibility setting introduced a decade ago to restrict devices to a single app, radically improved the app’s potential. “Before that, one of the challenges families and schools had was that the child would start in a communication app, but then jump out and go to another app,” says Niemeijer. “With Guided Access, it was possible to keep the focus on learning and communicating.” Developing for the Apple ecosystem holds another key advantage: Apple maintains software support for years, making it a sound investment for families and schools. “It gives us the time and space to focus on innovation,” Niemeijer says. “That way, AssistiveWare doesn’t get stuck in the past.” For the next generation of AAC users, Niemeijer hopes this form of communication becomes as widely accepted as texting. More than developing the technology, the stigma around AAC represents the biggest hurdle for its users. “I still think we have a long way to go,” says Niemeijer. “If you can’t speak, the assumption is still that you probably don’t have much to say. That assumption is the biggest problem. I hope to see a shift toward respecting this technology so it can have the biggest impact.”