iPad for communication

[Sue]

Please share your experience using the iPad for communication in the classroom.

[Kristin]

I have been using Predictable with a student with CP via an Ultimate (head)switch for about 4months. He mostly uses the phrase lists, although he will spell out and use the prediction window at times.  He is in a general ed 6th grade classroom-and they transition to three classes as well as to music, PE and library.  While the iPad is portable, we have found that with all the motor issues involved, the best place to begin to implement the iPad for communication is in a small group or informal times with his peers.  When a response or verbal answer is required in the classroom setting...it can take up to 3-5 minutes to generate the response.  An idea to addressed this is to ask the teacher for some topics in advance to make sure some phrases are preloaded for quicker access. 
Today, I thought I would teach this student how to add more phrases to Predictable....as I opened the Predictable manual and began to read the first step...he started clicking away on his head switch.  I thought he was just fooling around, so after reading the first step, I looked up...He had successfully added a phrase to one of the catagories..."I think this is great!"  He had a smirk on his face and I was shocked.  He scrolled through the phrases...and I realized that he had already been adding phrases.  Not all of them made perfect sense...but He had figured it out himself because he was given time to explore the App.
For being the first Communication App to be switch accessible...Predictable is cost effective and has worked seemlessly.  It is easy to program, easy to set up the switch interface and has given this child a voice. The challenge is to teach peers and staff to be patient as he is formulating a response.