Dedicated device or tablet

Also called Dedicated AAC device, Tablet AAC, iPad AAC, Consumer device

A purpose-built aid or an ordinary tablet with an app. The real trade-off is not the price tag but mounting, sound, ruggedness and who fixes it.

What it is

A dedicated device is a machine built and sold for communication: a rugged tablet with loud speakers, a handle, mounting points, long battery, often an eye-gaze camera or switch ports, running one communication app and little else. A tablet solution is an ordinary iPad or Android tablet with an AAC app installed, in a case.

Both are speech-generating devices. The dedicated ones cost several thousand pounds; the tablet route can cost a few hundred, or nothing if a free app is used on a tablet already in the house.

Who it can help

A tablet suits people who use touch, who don't need a wheelchair mount or a switch interface, who want one device for talking, watching and messaging, and who have somebody handy with settings. It also suits trials: nobody should be committed to a device before they have used something.

A dedicated device suits people who need eye gaze, a keyguard, a wheelchair mount, a speaker loud enough for a classroom, a battery that lasts a school day, and a supplier who repairs it under warranty and lends a replacement. For a person whose device is their only voice, that support contract is not a luxury.

How it works

The app does the talking either way; the hardware decides how reliably the person can reach it. Dedicated devices come with switch ports, eye-tracking, mounting plates and cases as standard, and their suppliers set them up, train the family and take them back when they break. Tablets need those things bought separately and set up by someone, and Apple or a phone shop will not know what a keyguard is.

Sound matters more than people expect. A tablet's speaker is designed for a face a foot away; a person who needs to be heard across a dinner table or over a playground needs an external speaker or a dedicated device.

Locking matters too. A tablet that also plays videos may be used for videos; some families restrict it to the AAC app, and some deliberately don't, on the argument that a talking device that is also fun gets used more.

Getting started

Start with the tablet you have. Open the Talk board on it, add it to the Home Screen, and see how the person gets on over two weeks. That trial is data for any later assessment.

If touch works but the tablet is too quiet, buy a small Bluetooth speaker before you consider a dedicated device. If touch doesn't work, or the person needs a mount, go to your local AAC service and ask for an assessment; do not buy a dedicated device privately without one.

Ask for a loan of any dedicated device before it is bought or applied for.

Where to get help

A specialised AAC service will decide whether a person meets the criteria for an NHS-funded device, and which; a speech and language therapist is the route in. The main UK suppliers are Smartbox, Tobii Dynavox and Liberator, and naming them is not endorsing them. Communication Matters and ACE Centre give independent advice, and The Sequal Trust and Cerebra help with funding.