Real People. Real Words. Real Life.

CommuniCation BRought to Life

“CommuniCation is the essenCe of human life and all people have the right to CommuniCate to the fullest extent possible.“

ameRican SPeech - Language - heaRing aSSociation

What iS communication? communication is the process by which one person gives information to or receives information from another person in relation to their needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge or affective states. communication can be spoken or conveyed in other forms such as sign, writing or using a common set of symbols.1

communication is so much more than transferring information from one person to another. it is about expressing who you really are as a person. it’s about your individuality. it’s about having the ability to show people your unique personality, your beliefs, feelings and ideas. expression is a creative act that gives each of us a voice that defines our unique self to those around us.

true expression reQuires the right tools at

the right time in order to be suCCessful. 1 Beukelman and mirenda, 1998

communication is

VeRy feW thingS in Life aRe aS eSSentiaL aS the aBiLity to communicate. communication allows us to express our feelings, build friendships, interact with the world around us and show our unique personalities. for individuals with significant communication challenges, it is important to choose the right communication device and language system to support interaction during day-to-day activities as well as encourage the development and use of higher-level language. these considerations cannot be compromised as it is the language system that determines the potential for communication success.

in oRdeR to Be tRuLy uSefuL and meaningfuL, a Language SyStem muSt haVe a fRameWoRk and StRuctuRe. it must be more than a random collection of words and phrases. interaact does exactly this. interaact provides a structured, yet flexible, roadmap that reflects real people, real words and real situations. interaact takes individuals with significant communication needs from basic communication to complete self-expression. this means that there are no limits to what a person is able to say.

interaaCt provides a struCtured,

yet flexible, roadmap that refleCts

real people, real words and real life.

sign languagecommunication is

writingcommunication is

a speech devicecommunication is

talkingcommunication is

Sam has the right communication messages to deal with anything that comes his way.

With InterAACt, Jenny is learning how to use new words everyday. As her language and literacy grows,

her DynaVox will grow with her.

What iS inteRaact and hoW doeS it SuPPoRt communication?Language is the foundation of communication and expression. in order to be truly useful and meaningful, language must have a framework and structure. it must be more than a random collection of words and phrases. it must be appropriate for the communicator, meaningful to the recipient and relevant to the environment within which the communication is occurring.

it is because of this principle that dynaVox has combined a range of clinical evidence with powerful technology to create the most complete language system available on aac devices today, interaact.

interaact is the exclusive language framework used on all dynaVox devices. it allows individuals with significant communication needs to successfully communicate, develop high-level language skills and express themselves, in everyday activities. in addition, interaact supports communication across all age and communication ability levels.

individuals Can

CommuniCate

right away in

any situation.

InterAACt provides Jeremy with the words and messages he needs to keep up with the classroom curriculum.

InterAACt is so easy to use. Sandy spent less time reading manuals and more time communicating.

CommuniCation

needs are met

both now

and later.

say it

QuiCkly

and say it

in your

own words.

language is

presented

in a familiar

format using

real words

for everyday

environments.

meets the needs of individuals with signifiCant CommuniCation Challenges by providing the

words and messages needed to say:

how they Want

(precise)

what they Want

(real life)

when they Want

(efficient)

age ReLeVanceLanguage samples taken from children, teens and adults show that there are major differences in the needs, interests, environments and communication roles of the different age groups. While many individuals may talk about some of the same things, they may say them differently depending on their age.

communication environmentcommunication environments are the everyday situations where interaction with others can occur. an environment could be a place, like the library. an environment could be an event, like a birthday party. an environment could even be a standing obligation like the workplace. the environments in which we participate will have an impact on the type of communication messages that we use in those settings. interaact provides the right vocabulary to support interaction in many everyday environments.

communication abilityinteraact strives to provide the appropriate vocabulary needed for successful interaction for communicators of all language ability levels, including individuals who are:

emergentAn Emergent Communicator:

• Benefits from the support of communication partners.• is beginning to use simple and concrete symbols.• communicates best in familiar or motivating activities.

Context-dependent A Context - Dependent Communicator:

• uses symbols spontaneously to communicate basic needs and wants and is starting to understand more abstract symbols (e.g., hot).

• is beginning to combine two or more symbols to express unique ideas.

• is beginning to develop basic literacy skills (e.g., letter names and sounds).

independent An Independent Communicator:

• has literacy skills that are on par with same-age peers.• is able to talk about a broad range of age-appropriate

topics in flexible ways.• combines single words, spelling, phrases and complete

sentences to create novel messages.

note: independent communication is based on age appropriateness of skills. for example, a three-year-old child can be independent, but not reading yet because it is not age appropriate.

Continuum oF CommuniCation

interaaCt is based on a simple premise - that suCCessful

CommuniCation is primarily driven by three key faCtors

age, environment and ability

in addition, as we age, the purpose for which we use communication changes and thus should be reflected in our vocabulary.

CommuniCation ability in aCtion

sam CommuniCates best in familiar

or motivating aCtivities.

Sam is 34 years old and an emergent communicator. he loves to run errands on Saturday mornings with his father. With interaact and his dad’s help, Sam can make choices, greet familiar people and say what’s on his mind.

molly is beginning to Combine two or

more symbols to express more

uniQue ideas.

molly is 10 years old, has a diagnosis of autism and is a context-dependent communicator. her fourth grade geography class is learning how to read maps. interaact gives molly the vocabulary she needs to participate in classroom activities and share information with her friends.

John is able to talk about a broad

range of topiCs in flexible ways.

John is 59 years old, has aLS and is an independent communicator. he and his wife have run a catering business for the past 25 years. With interaact, John continues to manage the finances and day-to-day operations.

ultimate CommuniCation

every day the power of interaaCt lies in the way in whiCh it supports Continuity and progression aCross age and

CommuniCation ability levels. interaaCt enCourages CommuniCation and language development

by maintaining five Consistent elements in all page sets aCross the framework speCtrum.

the common elements of interaaCt

interaact includes topic Pages and Quickfires that encourage successful day-to-day interaction and support fast and efficient communication by making use of reusable words, phrases, and sentences. topic Pages (e.g., bedroom) provide common communication messages that are specific to those environments or situations (e.g., “good night. can i have another blanket?”, etc.). With interaact, the communicator will have access to hundreds of topics of conversation. Quickfires, on the other hand, provide access to words and short phrases that can be used in many situations because they are not specific to any environment (e.g., more, where, don’t, let me, etc.). topic specific messages and Quickfires can also be easily combined to create more complete messages (e.g., “hey wait, good night mom.”, etc.).

interaact is effiCient1

Precision elements facilitate the development and use of higher level language ability, literacy skills and novel message creation. Precision elements take advantage of single word vocabularies (e.g., core and categorical word lists) and keyboards and allow the communicator the ability to create novel messages by combining these single words together to create a complete thought (e.g., i – am – going – to – the - moVie.). gateway©®®, Xpress core, WordPower© and alphacore© are all examples of core word language page sets.

interaact is preCise2

all communication pages offer a consistent button layout strategy and a common progression across all age and communication ability levels. this will support the individual’s effortless transition from an emergent communication level to access to higher level message creation tools (e.g., morphology) and more vocabulary. these strategies ensure that the dynaVox will grow with the individual as their skills improve.

interaact is organized3

interaact offers ease of use through flexible and intuitive customization tools such as symbol libraries, new page creation templates and digital image importing.

interaact can beCustomized

4

interaact offers access to computer and environmental control pages to allow individuals to operate many household electronic appliances.

interaact ProvidesConneCtions

to the World

5

all five common elements work together to create

a robust and complete communication system.

interaact reflects real people (age and ability), real words (common elements), and real life (environment).

With InterAACt, individuals can achieve their goals, speak their mind and take their

communication to the next level.

to learn more about interaact or to download the interaact framework guide, lesson plans and videos, visit the introduction to

interaact Learning Path on the implementation toolkit at: dynavoxtech.com/training/toolkit

the diagram above provides a snapshot of the real-life situations and environments in which interaact can encourage active participation for individuals with significant communication needs. to get started, locate the age range of the individual with whom you work (e.g., young child, teen, adult, etc.). each age group has access to vocabulary for home, school/work, community and hobbies. the content in the diagram becomes more specific as you move out from the center. keep in mind that additional vocabulary that is specific to the individual can be easily added. also notice that the common language elements (e.g., core words, keyboards, Quickfires, etc.) of interaact are readily available in every communication environment. all of these elements work together to encourage active and efficient participation for people of all ages and communication ability levels.

150133 9/10

the dynaVox interaact language framework is an organized network of structured, yet flexible, communication messages that provides quick access to the right words for every situation. the words, phrases and messages found within interaact encourage communication independence and support interaction during typical day-to-day activities in the home, school, community and work environments.

real people. real words. real liFe

CMYK

3C PMS

BLACK

WHITE

2100 Wharton Street • Suite 400 • Pittsburgh, Pa 152031.866.396.2869 • dynavoxtech.com

The cost of a device may be covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance. Call 1-866-DYNAVOX for more information, or visit dynavoxtech.com to find your DynaVox Sales Consultant.

to sum it up, interaaCt is based on a simple equation:

= AGE + ENVIRONMENT + ABILITY + COMMON ELEMENTS

real people. real words. real life