My name is Amanda Mikulsky and I am an Occupational Therapist in the Howard-Suamico School District in Wisconsin.

I currently travel between five schools in my district providing support for specific students and answering questions from teachers.

In October 2015 I attended the Closing The Gap Conference in Minnesota with one particular child in mind. She is a kindergarten student with Apraxia and had no way of communicating. She knew a little sign language, but not much, and her classmates were not able to sign back with her. She also has poor fine motor skills so even the little bit of sign language that she does know is not exact, which made signing even more difficult.  It was my mission at Closing The Gap to find technologies to help her. I walked around the exhibition hall and attended sessions with her in the forefront of my mind. I needed something affordable and very easy to use, since I would be doing some of the programing. Even after I saw Clicker Communicator, I continued to walk around the exhibit hall and saw other presentations so that I could say that I gave everything a shot. However, nothing compared to Clicker Communicator. The ease of programing, the ready-made Vocabulary Sets and Core Sets, and the clean and simple look of the app sold me. I knew I wanted to try Clicker Communicator with this little girl!

After the conference, one of Crick’s Education Consultants hosted a webinar on Clicker Communicator for me and the rest of the team. This was a great way to show everyone the app in action! She was also able to explain how to purchase Clicker Communicator through Apple’s Volume Purchase Programme  - by buying more than 20 copies, we were able to receive a 50% discount, making the app really affordable. Then we were in business! We purchased enough copies of Clicker Communicator to allow all of the therapists in our school district to have a copy on their iPad.

The first student that I tried Clicker Communicator with was the little kindergartener that I had been working with. We tried it first in her art class. Typically, in this class, she sits with her hands folded and watches but does not attempt to communicate with her peers or with the teacher. This day we were learning about shapes in the community so I had prepared a Vocabulary Set for her with all different shapes. When the teacher asked the children to identify a stop sign, she gasped! She tapped the picture of the octagon on the iPad and, for the first time, raised her hand to answer the teacher. Tears filled my eyes as the teacher called on her and she made the iPad speak. She was able to participate in the lesson just like her peers. She beamed! Her entire body was happy! And now, just a little over a month later she is able to go in and navigate the app completely independently. She goes to the Vocabulary Set for each part of her day at the correct time and goes back to her core set as and when she needs to - she is only 6 years old!

We are using Clicker Communicator with so many children now that we have it on all our iPads. One teacher takes pictures of a little boy’s snack every day so that he can make his choice himself. The pictures go into the cells instantly so the teacher can do it on the fly. We have some teachers and speech pathologists using the app with learners all the way up through high school level. They are seeing success with students who have not had success with any other app that we have tried.

Clicker Communicator is allowing teachers and parents to unlock what is in these children’s heads. They are finally able to tell us about their day and about their inner thoughts. They have all of these wonderful thoughts; we just needed Clicker Communicator to unlock them.

My name is Beth Leggitt and I am a Speech Pathologist and an administrator at The South Eastern Special Education Cooperative (SESE). One of my main responsibilities is to conduct evaluations, look at the needs of the student, and find the best way to support those needs. I was at the Closing The Gap Conference and saw the Clicker Communicator app for the first time. My director asked if we were using this app, but at the time it was new so we did not have it yet.

We scheduled a webinar after the conference so that we could show the rest of the SLP team the app. I watched the faces of the people in the room as we saw the webinar and I could see everything "click" for them. Clicker Communicator is so easy for the teachers to use and to program; it was clear that this was an important tool that we were missing from our toolbox. Sometimes a dedicated communication device is the essential component needed to help a child communicate, and other times it's not a good fit. This app strengthens the ability of the SLP to find what best meets each child's communication needs.

"Clicker Communicator is such great value. It comes with great vocabulary and is intuitive when using. It is a great tool to have in your toolbox."

Once we got the app we used it with one little boy in particular. He was only using behaviors to communicate. We were using other tools with him, but we could not get him past responsive, object based vocabulary. He is about 5 years old and we really wanted him to initiate conversation and protest too. It is important at that age to be able to tell peers, "That's mine," or "I don't want that." We are currently using Core Set 1 with him and he is able to put together simple sentences. And he can do all this with the vocabulary that comes with the app! In the future we plan to take advantage of the free resources on LearningGrids or create our own Vocabulary Sets, but for now he is doing great with the core set. He is having such great success at school that we are planning to send the iPad back and forth between school and home. We want to expand his use of the app since we have seen success at school. Sending an iPad back and forth between school and home is much easier than sending a dedicated device. Everyone walks around with an iPad which means he does not look different from anyone else!

Clicker Communicator is such great value. It comes with great vocabulary and is intuitive when using. It is a great tool to have in your toolbox.

My name is Kristin Smith.  I am an Occupational Therapist and also the Assistive Technology Facilitator for CSD158 in Algonquin, IL. 

The district I work for has gone from a very small district to one of the largest districts in Illinois; and it is still growing! As the district continues to grow, we no longer need to contract out our AT evaluations.  We currently use a dynamic four step AT model (Consider, Choose, Trial, Implement).  During the “Choose” phase we decide, as a team, the features the AAC tool should have to best fit the needs of the student.  We then proceed to the “Trial” phase and allow the student to have exposure to the device for 4-6 weeks. This is very different than the traditional evaluation process we had in the past and means I am always looking for devices and apps to trial. This led me to Clicker Communicator.

My OT background first drew me to this app. What I mean by that is I was looking for something that was visually clear and was easy for students to navigate. As I began to investigate Clicker Communicator more, I was able to see just how easy it was to edit Vocabulary Sets on the fly. So, if a student is starting to melt down, the classroom teacher, the school social worker, or I, can edit or add a cell in that moment. Sometimes, this is enough to avoid a complete melt down. Our students are very visual so it is great to be able to take a picture and put it in the cell all in one step.

The Core Vocabulary Sets were also something that drew me to this app. I love Clicker Core 3! I have all of my students use Clicker Core 3 because there is so much language available. The students might not use it all at first, but, I love having it all there for them so that I can model.

The next feature that drew me to Clicker Communicator seems so small but in my opinion, it is one of the best features. It is the little red dot that appears when you tap the screen (you can turn this Show Touches option on or off). It seems like such a small feature, most teachers might never use it or even know it is there. But, for one little boy, it has changed everything because it helps to keep his focus on the screen. In the past he had used apps for communication, but he was not doing as well as we had hoped or expected. He would identify or label objects and provide one word responses to questions, but after that he was stuck. We wanted him to move past one word answers but we were struggling to help him make this transition. Using Clicker Communicator with the Show Touches feature turned on, he is now initiating conversation and creating 2-3 word phrases! I was concerned about the layout and categories in Clicker Core 3 for him; I thought it might be too advanced for him to learn where the words are located since he is only in preschool! But, he did amazingly with the organization of the app. He learned all of the pathways to his words in only 3 days! He also loves tapping the message area to make the app speak, all because he sees the little red dot when he taps. He speaks each of his messages before he moves on to the next sentence or statement. We would never have known how capable this student is if we had not tried something new. Even though we were nervous to try something advanced with a preschooler, he has taken Clicker Communicator and run with it!

Clicker Communicator has something for everyone. It is a very easy app to use and edit. There are great visual supports and you can turn on SuperKeys, which clusters and enlarges cells, for the students who need it. We tend to make assumptions with students who are nonverbal. We assume what they are capable of, but we really need to let them try different apps and programs to see their full potential. Each child is so different and unique. Sometimes we think an app will work and it doesn’t. Other times we think an app is too advanced but then the student starts using it and blossoms. Clicker Communicator is helping my students blossom! 

A goal for many of our AAC users is full, active, and meaningful participation in the general education classroom.

While the Clicker Communicator Core Vocabulary Sets contain many of the core and fringe vocabulary words students need to talk about various topics throughout the school day, another option is to search Crick Software’s LearningGrids activities, available within the app, for topic boards based on specific academic content that might quickly and easily enhance a student’s ability to participate in a classroom discussion.

One thing we know for certain is that teachers and therapists do not have a lot of extra time in the day for programming AAC devices. Recently, an SLP asked for my assistance programming the vocabulary her first grade student would need for an upcoming math lesson on shapes and their characteristics. We looked around and located most of the vocabulary spread out on multiple pages within the Clicker Communicator Core 2 Vocabulary Set, however the SLP was concerned this would slow the student down and serve as a barrier to her participating in the same time frame as her peers. Before we began programming a new shapes page from scratch, we navigated to the LearningGrids site through the app. Upon searching, we were pleasantly surprised to find an activity called “Guess the Shape” for Clicker Communicator PCS.

In addition to the core and fringe vocabulary in Clicker Communicator, this premade activity would serve as a supplement to give the student the specific vocabulary she needed to be able to participate in class conversations describing various shapes more independently than if she were to navigate between multiple pages to say, “A triangle has 3 sides.” With just a few simple clicks we downloaded the activity from LearningGrids, and in moments we had that activity linked to a button on the student’s math page.

The student was able to participate in a shape describing activity with her peers, and afterwards the classroom teacher commented on how well she did making her statements quickly with fewer prompts from staff. As AAC practitioners, we need to remember that while having access to robust core vocabulary is very important, so is being able to say what you need to say quickly and efficiently, particularly in general education classes where the topics are specific and the pace is quick. The activities on LearningGrids are important tools that can help Clicker Communicator users make strides toward their goals of independence and classroom success with less programming demands for educators, and I see that as a win-win all the way around.

Bridge College is a specialist college for 16-25 year olds with learning difficulties and disabilities, complex needs, communication disorders and autism.

I am part of the full-time therapy team here that supports any additional needs the students have as they work on developing key life skills, money handling skills and things that will help them get into work.

One of the students I work with is an 18 year old with cerebral palsy. He wasn't getting on very well at all with his old communication aid; in addition to experiencing technical and reliability issues with it, he had started to actively dislike using it.

I started looking for an alternative – he's quite chatty and I didn't want to slow him down with switches etc. so I really wanted something with direct access. He loves using the iPad and finds it very motivating so I wanted to find something that worked on this platform.

A colleague recommended that I take a look at Clicker Communicator. My instinct was that it would be a really good match for him. I loved the idea of the literacy support element; he has really strong literacy skills so an app that would enable him to express himself more freely and develop these skills rather than simply relying on pre-prepared words and phrases was a very exciting prospect!

An Education Consultant from Crick Software popped in to demonstrate Clicker Communicator to me – it seemed really easy to use, quick to program and I felt that the keyboard with symbol-supported word prediction would really speed up communication tasks.

So, I decided to trial it with my student. I showed him how to use it, and how to add new words and symbols that he came across. He just took it and ran with it – adding new people he met to the people page, building up vocabulary based on his interests, he got the hang of it very quickly. 

One of the key benefits I've noticed since he started using Communicator is how quickly and easily he can react to new scenarios and conversations as they happen, just adding in new vocab 'on the fly'. When he comes across new people or objects at college, he can just take a photo of them and snap it right into his Vocabulary Set. He now uses the app for various communication functions including greeting people, asking social questions, presenting opinions and supporting his numeracy skills. Recently, he was feeling rather ill and was able to use Clicker Communicator to quickly tell us exactly how he felt and which body parts were hurting. 

He enjoys using the app and has really taken ownership of it – he saves favourite phrases to recount something important he said earlier that day, deletes anything that he wants to keep private, it really is 'his'. Outside of learning sessions he uses his iPad to surf the internet, watch videos etc. but once he's in a session, he never comes out of the app – he's totally focussed and on task. It's fantastic that he has accepted it so quickly and become really enthusiastic about using it.

Clicker Communicator is really helping him to develop his literacy skills in particular – he's started to produce longer sentences, have a go at spelling more difficult words like 'excited', use more complex vocabulary and incorporate more punctuation. His writing speed is increasing too. 

From my perspective, the app has saved me hours of preparation time – it's so easy to use and to program. It's also given me real peace of mind when the student is out doing his work experience; I'm confident he will be able to spontaneously communicate and chat when put on the spot with a new person or scenario outside of the college.

We've just started trialling the app with some other students. They don't necessarily have as big a vocabulary as him but that's really no problem with Clicker Communicator – I can just go in and hide certain words or simplify the Vocabulary Sets to meet the students' needs and then build up their access to it as they learn and progress.

I'm so glad we found Clicker Communicator – it's a fantastic communication tool for educational settings like ours. 

‘Listen! I have a voice!’ To offer AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) to a child who either can’t, or won’t, speak is an amazing moment. When they realize that they can communicate by sharing pictures, symbols or by pressing icons on a device that speaks for them, their delight is instantaneous and infectious. We have access to an immense range of methods to support communication -  from low to high-tech; from the simplest ‘yes/no’ on pieces of card to complex devices that can be controlled by Eye Gaze alone. 

To give a child a voice allows for more than is at first apparent. Our whole lives are based on the four key aspects of communication: reading, writing, listening and speaking. When we experience barriers to any, or combinations, of these, our routes to express our needs, thoughts and emotions are challenged. Our personality is suppressed, as so much of human interaction is based on words spoken, shared and understood. 

When a child with very limited communication has no AAC support, the educators work incredibly hard to interpret any communication channels being used, however this inevitably leads to an interpretation of any message which is problematic…

Misinterpretation is inevitable, especially if the intended message is complex or unexpected in terms of context or stimulus. A reductive, practical ‘guessing game’ approach often ensues with a series of yes/no queries to try and identify the correct message. This may work if the message can be identified in such a manner, but what if the child wants to express love, or tell a joke, or wants to tell of something remembered and therefore not in current context?

The inevitable outcome if the intended communication is not successful is negative, perhaps frustration or anger; more worrying is the child who retreats and gives up trying. No matter how well intentioned, and how well an educator can ‘read’ a child, it is still the case that the communication is deciphered and therefore the child is not in control of the process.

So, having established that all of us not only need to have an accurate voice, but also have the right to have this supported effectively, there is a long-established route for working with and learning vocabulary. The term ‘core vocabulary’ was defined by Cross, Baker, Klotz & Badman (1997) as:

“a small set of simple words, in any language, that are used frequently and across contexts.”

The introduction of core words to AAC was a major move forward from simple choice making and requesting, for which only a series of nouns and verbs were needed. The core vocabulary (think high frequency words in reading) allows greater permutations of utterance, complex sentence structures and the ability to creatively play with language. We can move from simple guesswork; choices of preferred drink, snack or activity, to combinations of words that offer or request information; qualify understanding or remove misunderstanding; create and comment on mood and atmosphere, and enter into social communication opportunities as an active rather than passive participant.

Having been an active user of Clicker to support all aspects of literacy in the classroom, across all subjects, I had often created grids to use for those who struggled with speech. For many years, access to devices that offered a voice was firstly a very expensive option, and secondly only available after a long process of assessment. Clicker allowed me to use the classroom computer and the speech function of cells to let students join in with classroom discussions. By using and adapting the many grids available on LearningGrids, they could demonstrate their knowledge, or ask questions about our current curriculum topics. The advent of tablet technology and the combination of portability and price brought a new layer of AAC provision. Now, in addition to the low-tech resources and the very complex speech output devices with many other access functions, it is possible to have an app-based ‘voice’ on smartphone or tablet.

What works for me is that the app offered by Crick, Clicker Communicator, functions in the same way as other Clicker products, so there is no new learning curve and there is a direct relationship between the range of products. There are Communicator grids online to download and use or adapt, and you can also create your own. Core vocabulary has been present right from the start, thus encouraging a language learning approach and not restricting the choice of words available to be used. This is differentiated within three levels, all with a consistent appearance and layout, which supports progression and language learning but equally provides opportunities for experimentation and challenge. So, there is a portable voice, with immediate access to unrestricted core vocabulary and grids of topic-based or fringe vocabulary options - what more could we want?

Watching children in a variety of unstructured moments during the school day, the formal ones such as playtime or lunchtime but also those where they chat, joke, play games and talk about current interest topics, I began to consider how the child who relies on AAC can be active with their peers, or indeed, how they can be the leader or direct activities in pairs and group situations? Take a LEGO challenge, such as the ones commonly used as free choice, wet play or afterschool club activities; how could the child participate if perhaps they also could not manipulate the bricks? Starting to experiment with this, by creating grids that offer size, shape and color of bricks, combining this with common phrases needed for both construction and encouragement and, of course, with recourse to the core vocabulary and keyboard, a child is able to become the director of the build! Empowerment and leadership; control and the responsibility of ensuring eventual success, now lie with the child, rather than yet another activity scaffolded and without challenge. 

This has led to exploration of many other such situations and the way in which we can take Clicker Communicator beyond the curriculum, beyond the core. Playing Battleship, directing dance moves and playing word games such as I Spy, there is so much more for us to try, to provide, and to enjoy. Giving a voice is only the start, now the real fun begins!

When going to add or take pictures, you are experiencing any of the following issues:

You can't add a picture from your iPad's Photos because the list is blank.
or
You can't take a photo with your iPad's camera because the image is black and the shutter button doesn't work.

Resolution

To resolve these problems, you need to grant permission for the app to access your iPad Photos and camera:

1. Open your iPad's Settings app.
2. In the left pane, scroll down and tap the app name.
3. In the right pane, enable access to Photos and Camera.

When you have a sentence or word read back to you, you can’t hear the highlighted text.

Resolution

First, check your iPad's volume is set sufficiently (press the volume buttons along its edge).

If you still can't hear the speech, your iPad is probably in Silent Mode. This isn't always noticeable, as a muted iPad can still make noise!

To unmute your iPad:

1. Show the Control Center - swipe down from the top-right corner (bottom edge on iOS 11).
2. Tap the Bell icon so it changes from red (muted) to monochrome (unmuted).

If the Control Center doesn't show the Bell icon, it should be possible to unmute by using your iPad’s side switch.

For more help, please visit getsupport.apple.com.

When using LearningGrids:

• The website loads partially or not at all.
• You receive errors saying An error has occurred in the script on this page.
• When clicking Open, nothing happens.
• When clicking Open, you receive a Loading error saying the item cannot be found or is corrupted.

Resolution

This is usually caused by a firewall, proxy server, or web filter blocking connections.

If you're on a Windows device:

1. Open the Windows Start menu, start typing internet options and click the result when it appears.
2. On the Advanced tab, scroll down to the Security section.
3. Ensure the Do not save encrypted pages to disk checkbox is not enabled and then click OK.

If this doesn't solve the issue, please link your IT Support to this support article.

Alternatively, try visiting www.learninggrids.com in your web browser instead.

For IT Professionals

WHITELIST URLS

In your firewall / proxy / web filter, allow connections via HTTP (Port 80) and HTTPS (Port 443) to the following hosts:

www.learninggrids.com
learninggridsimg.blob.core.windows.net

PACKET INSPECTION

If your firewall / proxy / web filter has a deep packet inspection feature enabled, this can break SSL connectivity (as it decrypts then re-encrypts packets with a different SSL certificate).

This has happened to customers using products such as Senso, Fortinet and Smoothwall (classed as "HTTPS inspection" - not reported as a block).

WPAD / PAC PROXY (WINDOWS ONLY)

If your network uses WPAD and / or PAC files to deliver proxy server details to clients, please ensure Clicker / DocsPlus has been updated.

For now, users can visit www.learninggrids.com in their web browser instead.

INTERNET OPTIONS (WINDOWS ONLY)

1. Open the Windows Start menu, start typing internet options and click the result when it appears. 
   
2. On the Security tab, click Trusted Sites and then Sites. Add the following URLs:
   https://www.learninggrids.com
   https://learninggrids2.blob.core.windows.net
   
3. On the Advanced tab, ensure the following boxes are enabled:
   Disable script debugging (Microsoft Edge)
   Disable script debugging (Other)
   Use TLS 1.2
   
4. On the Advanced tab, ensure the following boxes are disabled: 
   Display a notification about every script error 
   Do not save encrypted pages to disk

The corresponding Group Policy for these settings lies within:

User Configuration > Windows Settings > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Edge > Internet Control Panel

MIME TYPES

All our file types are written in standard XML and contain no executable code.

When the LearningGrids web server responds, it includes the MIME content type of the requested file in the HTTP header (so the receiving device knows how to open it).

Ensure your firewall / proxy is configured to allow the following MIME types over HTTPS (and optionally SMTP to allow files to be emailed).

If the firewall / proxy supports wildcards, this will cover all Crick Software products:

application/vnd.crick.*

Alternatively, add each one individually:

DocsPlus

.pwbr - application/vnd.crick.docsplus

.wkspc - application/vnd.crick.clicker.docsplus

Clicker

.clkx - application/vnd.crick.clicker

.clkt - application/vnd.crick.clicker.template

.clks - application/vnd.crick.clicker.sentences

.clkc - application/vnd.crick.clicker.connect

.clkd - application/vnd.crick.clicker.docs

.clkb - application/vnd.crick.clicker.books

.clkbd - application/vnd.crick.clicker.board

.clktk - application/vnd.crick.clicker.talk

.clkm - application/vnd.crick.clicker.match

.czdoc - application/vnd.crick.clicker.cloze

.cztdoc -  application/vnd.crick.clicker.clozetemplate

You would like to control our iPad apps with a mouse or eye gaze device, e.g. a Skyle.

Resolution

iPads running iPadOS 13 or newer have a feature named AssistiveTouch. Similar to Switch Control, it provides a universal way for all mice and eye gaze devices to work with iPads.

AssitiveTouch is designed to help people who have difficulty using touch screens effectively. It does so in two key ways:

• It displays a persistent floating icon, providing easy access to a custom menu of actions. These range from gestures like scrolling / pinching to common shortcuts such as the Home Screen and Control Centre.
  
• It provides a pointer that you can move with a mouse or eye gaze device. With Dwell Control enabled, you can select items by hovering the pointer over them for a specific period of time.

The official Apple documentation is here:
support.apple.com/guide/ipad/assistivetouch-ipad9a2466d3/

AssistiveTouch offers many settings. It can be daunting for first time users, so here's some advice to get started!

CONNECT DEVICE TO IPAD

If your device has a cable, plug it into your iPad.

If your device is wireless, it must be paired:

1. Open the iPad’s Settings app and tap Bluetooth in the left pane.
2. Enable Bluetooth on the right to start searching for devices.
3. Put your device into pairing / discovery mode. The method varies but often involves holding down a pairing button. If you're unsure, check your device's documentation.
4. When your device appears in the list on your iPad, select it, and then accept the pairing request.

This is typically all that's required for standard mouse control.

Eye gaze devices will require a companion app installing to configure the tracking. Check your device's documentation for details.

SET UP ASSISTIVETOUCH

For eye gaze users and mouse users requiring additional assistance, set up AssistiveTouch:

1. Open the iPad’s Settings app and tap Accessibility in the left pane.
2. On the right, tap Touch, tap AssistiveTouch and then enable AssistiveTouch.
3. A black and white icon will appear. Drag it to a different position if preferred.
4. Scroll down and enable Dwell Control.
5. Use the - / + buttons to specify the time needed to hover over an item to initiate a dwell.

COMMON SETTINGS

These settings in Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch are often used to help tailor the experience to a person's requirements:

• Customise Top Level Menu
  Choose which actions are offered when the AssistiveTouch icon is selected.
  
• Custom Actions
  Skip the menu by initiating certain actions directly.
  
• Movement Tolerance
  The circle indicates how much "wiggle room" the pointer has while dwelling over an item.
  
• Hot Corners
  Initiate an action by moving the pointer into a screen corner.

You would like to control our iPad apps with switches.

Resolution

Our apps are designed to work with Switch Control (the iPad’s built-in switch access feature).

The official Apple documentation is here: support.apple.com/HT201370

Switch Control offers many settings. It can be daunting for first time users, so here's some advice to get started!

SET UP SWITCH CONTROL

1. Open the iPad’s Settings app and tap Accessibility in the left pane.
   (or tap General in the left pane and then Accessibility on the right)
   
2. Tap Accessibility Shortcut (bottom) and select Switch Control.
   This will let you turn Switch Control on / off by triple-clicking the Home button.
   We recommend deselecting all other items (at least for now).
    
3. Tap < Accessibility to go back. Now tap Switch Control.
   But don't turn Switch Control on yet!
    
4. Tap Switches and then Add New Switch:
   • To use the whole iPad screen as a switch, tap Screen, and then Full Screen. Set the action to Tap.
   • To add an external switch, tap External, and then press your switch. Set the action to Tap.
   • For two-switch scanning, add a second switch and set its action to Move to Next Item.

Switch Control is now ready. Whenever you wish to turn it on / off, triple-click the Home button.

SWITCH CONTROL SETTINGS 

You may want to adjust these settings in Accessibility > Switch Control:

• Increase the scan visibility
  Turn on Large Cursor to increase the thickness of the scan highlight.
  To make the scan a more distinctive color, tap Cursor Colour.
  
• One-switch scanning
  Tap Scanning Style and turn on Auto Scanning.
  To set how long the scan pauses on each item, go back and then tap Auto Scanning Time.
  
• Group items
  Items are initially scanned in groups. Select a group to scan the items within it.
  For a simple scan that scans every item individually, turn this off.
  
• Auditory scanning
  To speak items when scanning, tap Speech.
  You can set the voice and the speaking rate.

Some other settings:

• Pause on First Item: the duration the scan pauses on the first item before starting.
• Loops: the number of times that items are scanned before the scan stops.
• Sound Effects: an auditory cue plays when the scan moves.
• Hold Duration: how long a switch must remain pressed until it registers (may not work with all switches).
• Ignore Repeat: the duration in which subsequent presses are ignored (may not work with all switches).

REMOVE THE TOP MESSAGE

When using a Full Screen switch, a black bar explaining how to stop Switch Control appears at the top of the screen.

If it obscures something important, change these settings:

1. In Accessibility > Switch Control, tap Switches, tap Full Screen and change its action from Tap to Select Item.
   
2. In Accessibility > Switch Control, tap Menu Items and deselect all items.

When tapping My Files and selecting Google Drive in the left pane, your files appear but are dimmed out and won't open.

Information

This is an issue with the Google Drive service itself.

There are many ways to upload a file to Google Drive. Depending on the method used, Google Drive may classify a Clicker Communicator file as a different type. This causes the file to appear dimmed and unopenable in our apps.

We've updated our software to reduce the chances of this happening. However, older files may still be affected.

Resolution

To open a file that appears dimmed out in My Files, use the Google Drive app instead:

1. Go to your iPad's Home Screen and open the Google Drive app.
2. Browse to your file.
3. Tap the 3-dot icon in the top-right corner and choose Open in.
4. When the iPad sharing popover appears, choose Communicator from the list.

You would like to control our iPad apps with a mouse or eye gaze device, e.g. a Skyle.

Resolution

iPads running iPadOS 13 or newer have a feature named AssistiveTouch. Similar to Switch Control, it provides a universal way for all mice and eye gaze devices to work with iPads.

AssitiveTouch is designed to help people who have difficulty using touch screens effectively. It does so in two key ways:

• It displays a persistent floating icon, providing easy access to a custom menu of actions. These range from gestures like scrolling / pinching to common shortcuts such as the Home Screen and Control Centre.
  
• It provides a pointer that you can move with a mouse or eye gaze device. With Dwell Control enabled, you can select items by hovering the pointer over them for a specific period of time.

The official Apple documentation is here:
support.apple.com/guide/ipad/assistivetouch-ipad9a2466d3/

AssistiveTouch offers many settings. It can be daunting for first time users, so here's some advice to get started!

CONNECT DEVICE TO IPAD

If your device has a cable, plug it into your iPad.

If your device is wireless, it must be paired:

1. Open the iPad’s Settings app and tap Bluetooth in the left pane.
2. Enable Bluetooth on the right to start searching for devices.
3. Put your device into pairing / discovery mode. The method varies but often involves holding down a pairing button. If you're unsure, check your device's documentation.
4. When your device appears in the list on your iPad, select it, and then accept the pairing request.

This is typically all that's required for standard mouse control.

Eye gaze devices will require a companion app installing to configure the tracking. Check your device's documentation for details.

SET UP ASSISTIVETOUCH

For eye gaze users and mouse users requiring additional assistance, set up AssistiveTouch:

1. Open the iPad’s Settings app and tap Accessibility in the left pane.
2. On the right, tap Touch, tap AssistiveTouch and then enable AssistiveTouch.
3. A black and white icon will appear. Drag it to a different position if preferred.
4. Scroll down and enable Dwell Control.
5. Use the - / + buttons to specify the time needed to hover over an item to initiate a dwell.

COMMON SETTINGS

These settings in Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch are often used to help tailor the experience to a person's requirements:

• Customise Top Level Menu
  Choose which actions are offered when the AssistiveTouch icon is selected.
  
• Custom Actions
  Skip the menu by initiating certain actions directly.
  
• Movement Tolerance
  The circle indicates how much "wiggle room" the pointer has while dwelling over an item.
  
• Hot Corners
  Initiate an action by moving the pointer into a screen corner.

You would like to specify the correct pronunciation for certain words.

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Due to the complexity of text-to-speech technology, some words may be pronounced differently than expected (particularly names).

Fortunately, you can specify the correct pronunciation:

1. If the top toolbar is hidden, tap the black line above the Message Area, and then tap the top-right Edit View icon.
2. Tap the Settings (cog) icon, tap Speech, and then Pronunciation.
3. Tap Add New.
4. In the first box, spell the word correctly.
5. In the second box, spell it how you want it pronounced.
   This may require experimentation!

You would like all cells in your Vocabulary Set to speak immediately when tapped.

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By default, tapping a cell in a Vocabulary Set sends its text to the Message Area. Once a user has built their Message, they can tap the Message Area to speak it.

If you prefer to have cells speak immediately when tapped, disable the Message Area:

1. If the top toolbar is hidden, tap the black line above the Message Area, and then tap the top-right Edit View icon.
2. Tap Format in the bottom-left corner.
3. On the Details tab, turn off Message Area.
4. A message will appear. Tap Speak When Tapped.
5. Tap Done to finish.

To change it back, repeat these steps, but turn on Message Area and tap Turn off Cell Sound.

You would like an individual cell to perform an action, or play a sound, when tapped.

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To set an action / sound for a cell:

1. If the top toolbar is hidden, tap the black line above the Message Area, and then tap the top-right Edit View icon.
2. In the left pane, tap the relevant topic.
3. In the right pane, tap the relevant cell.
4. Tap Action / Sound and choose your desired option.

You would like to change how the Delete button works.

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By default, tapping the red Delete button in the Message Area clears the entire Message.

You can change this behavior, so that one tap deletes the last word and a second tap clears the entire Message:

1. If the top toolbar is hidden, tap the black line above the Message Area. 
2. Tap the Settings (cog) icon in the toolbar, choose Message Area, then Delete Button, and then select Delete last word first.