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.

You’d like to configure Tobii Dynavox PC Eye 5 to work with Clicker on a Windows device.

To use Tobii Dynavox PC Eye 5 with Clicker’s Eye Gaze, you will need to adjust the settings as detailed below:

6. After these changes have been made on TD Control, open Clicker.
7. Select Options > Access > Eye Gaze.
8. You can then edit the dwell time and appearance of the dwell color to your liking.
9. Once you have made these adjustments to the Clicker Eye Gaze settings, you are ready to start using Eye Gaze.

Clicker’s Eye Gaze is primarily designed for children from early years to age 11, to give them access to the core functionality of Clicker.

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 Clicker Communicator app 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.

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.

Clicker compatibility.

Resolution

Our own Crick Switch Box works directly with Clicker. Once it’s connected to the computer, you can start using it immediately.

THIRD PARTY DEVICES     

Most switch interfaces work by converting switch presses into keyboard key presses.

If a switch interface can be configured to mimic the F7 and F8 keys for Switch 1 and Switch 2 respectively, it can control Clicker on a basic level.

However, fine adjustment of timing settings (see related article) won't be possible.

You want to improve switch accessibility in Clicker (for Windows / Mac).

Resolution

Some users have difficulty pressing switches reliably.

Clicker includes timing settings that can be adjusted to suit these users (providing a Crick Switch Box is used). The table below lists various issues and the corresponding settings that can help.

To view these settings, open the Options ribbon tab in Clicker and select Access. Under Access Options, choose Single Switch or Two Switches.

Issue	Solution	Effect	Result
Items scan too quickly. (Single Switch only)	Increase the Speed time (Figure 1)	Increases the time an item is highlighted before the scan moves on.	The scan moves slower.
User accidentally presses switches.	Increase the Hold Duration (Figure 3)	Increases the time a switch must be held down before the press is accepted.	Accidental presses are ignored because they aren’t held down long enough.
When purposefully pressing a switch, the user accidentally presses it multiple times.	Increase the Repeated presses (Figure 3) (Must be higher than Hold Duration)	Increases the duration in which multiple presses are treated as one.	Accidental presses are ignored because they occur too soon after the first press.
The scan starts before the user is ready. (Single Switch only)	Option 1. Select the Start scanning after option and adjust the seconds beneath (Figure 2)	The scan pauses on the first item for X seconds before moving on.	The user has X seconds to prepare for the scan.
	Option 2. Select the Press switch to start scanning option (Figure 2)	The scan doesn’t start until a switch is pressed.	The user can start the scan when they are ready.
When purposefully pressing a switch, it takes time for the user to stop pressing.	Option 1. Increase the Autorepeat Delay (Figure 3) (Autorepeat must be enabled for switches)	Increases the time before a held down switch repeats a press.	Accidental repeated presses are prevented because the first press isn’t held down long enough.
	Option 2. For each switch, uncheck Autorepeat when switch X is held down. (Figure 3)	Turns off autorepeat. Autorepeat Delay no longer has an effect.	Presses don’t repeat, no matter how long a switch is held down.