#CovConnects have been working in collaboration with Life Path Trust Community Day Opportunities and AbilityNet to provide their citizens with refurbished tablet devices to help support communication.
Life Path Trust support people with learning disabilities and Autism in the Coventry and Warwickshire area to be valued, develop and achieve.
Life Path Trust were gifted eight refurbished tablets with the apps 'I Can Communicate!' and 'Speech Assistant' pre-loaded onto them. These apps are known as AAC software or Augmentative/Alternative Communication software, which allow the user to choose words and phrases that can be fully customised with pictures and text options, which can support anyone to communicate non-verbally.
As the apps are customisable, staff at Life Path Trust have taken to uploading their citizens names and pictures to the apps as well as common phrases with pictures to their citizens individual tabs in order to help make their communication more bespoke and unique.
The #CovConnects team and AbilityNet's Disability Consultant, Alex Barker, recently visited Life Path Trust at the Henry Fry Community Centre to further train the staff on how to make the most of the apps. One citizen was also present, and they were really enthusiastic when customising the app around an upcoming day out.
Early conversations with the Life Path Trust team demonstrated there are many opportunities technology could enhance and support people to communicate. It's also important to note, that the team are mindful that devices are not a replacement for encouraging good verbal communication and honing their listening skills. However, if used correctly this technology will be used to greatly enhance the lives of the people Life Path Trust work with.
A spokesperson for Life Path Trust said: "One particular citizen, who has limited verbal communication, has started to use the equipment and input text himself. This was a real eye-opener and showed us that their understanding and comprehension is far greater than we at first realised. We are now using this to help further tailor his support plan and ensure we are maximising the different opportunities available to him."
The Life Path Trust team have reported that more and more of their citizens have been asking for the tablets when they want to convey something more complex. As well as this, the citizens themselves have been teaching their peers how to use the tablets and encouraging others to use them!
If you'd like to learn more about Life Path Trust, you can visit their website, to find out more about assistive technologies, visit AbilityNet's website.
The apps used on the tablets are:
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