iPACS

release 2.0.1 is ok bordering on great

     

12/10/10
This app is for my grown son, who has autism and does not speak. At age 26, he is past the stage of throwing his communication device or flipping it up into the facilitator's face, so he is now the proud owner of an ipad. He hates meaningless line drawings, so it is important to be able to use his own photos. While he is still using facilitated communication for typing, he can tap his iPacs pictures independently, if I navigate to the right color of book tab. I can find 4 deficiencies which perhaps can be addressed in future releases: 1) I can't find a manual for release 2.0.1, so I can't be sure that I have all the details. 2) It's too difficult to page within a tab. There is a little dot in the center right above the "NO TTS" button, but it's too small. Fortunately this app also lets you page forward by tapping the lower corner of the page, and this is much easier, but the user needs a cue to remember it. Please add a dot to the corner of the page. Until he can page through independently, he is limited to only 6 pictures per tab. and 3) It doesn't seem to be possible to make an picture or page title view-able from the home page. There is a little blank square there, but no way to put anything into it. He must memorize which color is for what topic. This may prove insurmountable for him. 4) When he taps a picture in the red tab (favorites list) it provides a "back" button so that he may continue the conversation. But if he taps a picture in any of the other book tabs, there is no "back" button. So again, he will have to rely on a facilitatior to take him back to a screen where he can choose another picture to tap. Developers, please remember, the goal is INDEPENDENCE!