Cboard

Cboard is an Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) application designed to help children with communication difficulties and speech disorders to communicate and express their needs, feelings and thoughts. The Speech Group at FEEIT, together with partners from the Association for Assistive Technology “Open the Windows”, prof. d-r Veselinka Labroska from the Institute of Macedonian Language “Krste Petkov Misirkov” and Stefan Janev, M.Sc. from Melon Inc., and with the support of the Macedonian office of UNICEF, adapted Cboard for use in Macedonian and Albanian. Within the project we also created a new speech synthesis voice for Macedonian intended for use in assistive technologies – the female voice “Suze”.

The application was promoted at INNOFEIT, and the event was attended by Jovanka Trenchevska, Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Patrizia DiGiovanni, UNICEF representative, as well as representatives from “Open the Windows” and the FEEIT team.

Cboard is free software created with support from the UNICEF Innovation Fund. It can be downloaded for free from “Google Play” and installed on an Android mobile device or tablet. Alternatively, it can be accessed directly on the Cboard website. “Open the Windows” created a detailed guide for using Cboard, as well as for installing the new voice “Suze” which can also be used with standard screen readers.

Cboard can be used as an aid to children and adults who face a number of speech and language disorders to facilitate their communication using symbols which are synthesized into speech. It can be used in a variety of settings, starting with the child’s family and preschools, early intervention centers, schools, resource centers and speech therapy services and can mainly help with early childhood development and early inclusion of children with disabilities starting from pre-school education and beyond.

So far, more than 170 professionals including inclusion teams from ten kindergartens, preschool teachers, therapists, psychologists, members of the Committee for the International Classification of Functioning and special educators have learned about the application of alternative and augmentative communication, including Cboard, in working with children who have communication difficulties and speech and language disorders. Experts who tested the application in the pilot phase confirm that children respond particularly well to the text-to-speech option, that they show improvement in the range of words and in expressing their needs.

Acknowledgement

The localization of Cboard and the creation of the voice “Suze” was supported by the Macedonian office of UNICEF within the project “Inclusion of children with disabilities in preschool education”. Zvonimir Stanecic, a supporter of RHVoice, also provided his help in the realization of the voice “Suze”.