iAutism

For the last days I’ve been testing i-Lexis, an application that, by its nature, fits into in the group of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). For children with some form of ASD, i-Lexis can be a useful resource for communication based on images, also known as image-based AAC.

Launching the application

When launching the application, i-Lexis displays a first screen, showing 4 choices:

1. Clicking on the large central hand, you go to the main screen, which leads to the main scenarios.
2. Clicking on the musical note you can mute the sound of the application.
3. Clicking on the help icon shows a short presentation that explains the main features of the application and how to access them. This is a small highly visual instructions manual, very visual and practical to become familiar with the application.
4. Clicking on the information icon, i-Lexis displays information about the developer and the various people that have been involved in the project.

Los escenarios

By clicking on the large central hand you access to the main different scenarios: vacation, home, school, events, the city, entertainment, miscellaneous and custom. From this screen and by clicking on any scenario you will access the related vocabulary, in this case images related to the selected topic.

In turn, these 8 categories are divided into 40 sub-scenarios. For example, if you select the “school” scenario, you access to another screen in which there are different sub-scenarios or spaces typical in a school, such as classroom, gymnasium, dining room, computer room, laboratory or library.

And from here, if you select one of these spaces, for example, the classroom, you can finally access the different elements of a classroom. Each of these elements has a hand icon superimposed.

If you click on the hand of any of these elements, the application shows it in the form of a pictogram of that element, accompanied by a descriptive text. Also, i-Lexis plays an audio clip with the pronunciation of the word or name associated with that element. i-Lexis gives us the option to play it at normal or slower speed.

Customization

Finally I am going to talk about the most versatile feature of this application, because even though it includes a library of over 265 objects, it is always very interesting to be able to add everyday things around you. To do this, from the main scenarios screen, you have to click on the camera icon.

This gives you access to a scenario where you can upload up to 10 custom images per page, with a 20-page limit, representing a total of 200 new custom images based on our needs.

Adding images is a very simple. You merely select an image from the library of images of the iPad and then record your own voice.

Using these images is like using the other ones. You select one of them to see it bigger and hear the associated audio clip.

To improve

The application design is flawless, very visual and intuitive, so there is little to criticize here. Also, the application is smooth and works properly without unnecessary delays or unexpected crashs.

On the other hand, and although the option of having a personal image library is absolutely correct, it is a pity that the developer has not gone a step further allowing the creation of sub-scenarios or categories, just as with the images of the library come preloaded. The most we can do is to sort the images through pages, adding the specific images to specific pages until the maximum of 20 pages which allows the application.

On the other hand, and although the option of having a personal image library is absolutely correct, it is a pity that the developer has not gone a step further allowing the creation of sub-scenarios or categories, just as with the images of the library come preloaded. The most we can do is to sort the images through pages, adding the specific images to specific pages until the maximum of 20 pages which allows the application.

In summary, i-Lexis is well thought out, very easy to use and with a flawless and innovative design.

-Iván

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i-Lexis HD 1.3.0

Web: http://www.dighentis.com/app_11HD.htm

Company: Alessandro Benedettini

Languages: English, Italian.

Functions: AAC based on images and scenarios.

iPhone/iPod touch touch: No

iPad version: Yes

Price: Lite versin is free; HD version is $24.99 / €19.99

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This post is also available in: Spanish