Supporting Parkinson’s Disease with Text-Supported Communication

As Parkinson’s Disease progresses, speech intelligibility may be impacted.  Some people may find a keyboard and/or prestored messages useful to aid them in communicating as their speech becomes more difficult. For individuals who are having difficulty communicating through natural speech alone, you can combine our tools with supported speech to maximize communication.

To accommodate for changing motor needs, our solutions offer various settings for touch than can be beneficial.  In addition, keyguards are available.  Keyguards are durable plastic grids that can be placed on the screen to give more support when selecting on a touch screen. 

Tobii Dynavox offers two options for text-supported communication: 

Communicator 5 - Our preferred and complete AAC system, Communicator 5, was developed to support communication access for those with progressive conditions. The Text Communication Page Set enables individuals with a keyboard, prestored phrases, and access to programs such as Telephone, E-mail, Chat, and social media apps. Communicator 5 lets you adjust bed positions, open doors, turn lights on and off, control TVs, and more. Adjustments can be made to access methods in the advanced settings menu. Check out the Communicator 5 training cards here.

Text Page Set in Snap Core First – If you are looking for a place to get started with supported communication, the Text Page Set in Snap Core First may be helpful. The Text Page Set offers messages organized by topic as well as a keyboard with word prediction and can easily be customized with personal information.  In addition, the Dashboard provides access to smart-assistant pages such as Google Home and Alexa, which can help you control your environment.

To access our Text Page Set training cards, click here.

Please note: If reading becomes difficult, symbols are available with text labels in other page sets.