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Case Study: Proloquo2Go

Kristen Baldwin
EDUC 515
Professor Temple
Azusa Pacific University

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Abstract

In a world that is constantly emerging with new technology it is important to stay educated on the latest and greatest educational technology to incorporate in the classroom. In this paper
you will learn about an application that is being used in classrooms throughout the United States.
Proloquo2Go is an Apple application that is used for students who have communication difficulties. This app is used in all educational settings ranging from general education to severe special
day programs. This paper will analyze Proloquo2Go and how it has affected childrens lives particularly in the educational setting. Its significant impact will be shown through research,
diagrams and videos. Find out why Proloquo2Go has quickly become known as a worldwide life
changing application.

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Case Study: Proloquo2Go

David Niemeijer is founder and CEO of the company AssistiveWare. David holds a PhD
in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. AssistiveWare offers over ten different applications
(apps) that assist individuals with communication disabilities. Niemijer founded his company in
2000 after his friend became paralyzed as an outcome of a terrible car accident and could no
longer verbally speak. He first created KeyStrokes which is an on-screen keyboard for the Mac
(Wynsum Arts, 2012). After seeing the success with KeyStrokes, Niemijer created individual
apps tailored to physical impairments, vision impairments, speech impairments and reading difficulties. One of Niemijers most well-known apps in the educational system is known as Proloquo2Go. Originally called Proloquo, which means speak out loud in Latin, was designed for
individuals with speech impairments. When creating the app he did not know he would be creating a masterpiece to not only help his friend, but also thousands of other individuals with verbal
communication disabilities.
Proloquo2Go was first introduced in 2003 at an Apple Expo in Paris, France. Upon receiving exceptional reviews Niemijer launched the program in 2004. The program began as
Proloquo because it operated solely on Mac OS X. When Apple came out with the first iPhone,
Proloquo2Go was introduced because the demand was so high from customers for the program
to be offered on various devices (Wynsum Arts, 2012). According to creator, David Niemeijer,
Proloquo2Go provides a full-featured communication solution for people who have
difficulty speaking. For those who cannot read it provides symbol-based communication
using the SymbolStix symbols. For literate users it also supports a typing view with

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advanced self-learning word prediction. Using text-to-speech voices, users can use Prolo
quo2Go to say anything they want (Wynsum Arts, 2012).
Because of Proloquo2Gos wide range of features, it has been effectively used by individuals
ranging from age two to ninety-years-old. Approximately fifty percent of Proloquo2Gos users
are on the Autism spectrum (Wynsum Arts, 2012). The Autism community is growing rapidly in
the public education system and Proloquo2Go has proven to be immensely powerful in these
students education. In addition to the Autism community it is also providing support for students
with cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, developmental disabilities, apraxia, and traumatic brain
injuries (Assistive Ware, 2014). Proloquo2Go is allowing them to communicate and express their
needs, wants, and feelings in a way that otherwise seemed impossible.
Proloquo2Go has many unique features and can be tailored to meet the needs of all
students. According to AssistiveWare (2014), some of the features include,
1. Personalized vocabulary ranging from basic communication, intermediate core, and advanced
core levels.
2. Customizable pictorial symbols with over 20,000 images available through the program and
the ability to upload personal photos.
3. Language development options including grammar support for nouns, pronouns, verbs and
adjectives.
4. Grid templates customizable to the students daily life.
5. Share files and allow multi-user support for various therapist working with the student.
6. Utilizes fine-motor, visual and cognitive skills.

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The images below provide a representation of the programs features.

In addition to the outstanding features, it has also received high praise and received multiple honors and awards. Some of the honors and awards include, 2011 Best App Ever Award in
the special needs category, 2013 Webby Award Honoree, 2011 Bett Award, and 2014 Learning
Award. In 2012, the app was recognized by tech expert, Emmy winning tv personality and writer,
Katie Linendoll. She dedicated a blog post to Proloquo2Go where she highlighted the significant

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impact this app has had on children in the United States with Autism. She explained the impact
of this app and its ability of giving kids a voice (Linendoll, 2012). In addition to Katie Linendoll,
Proloquo2Go has received praiseworthy comments from educators, therapist, and professionals
all around the world. Daniel Baldwin is a Program Specialist for the Murrieta Valley Unified
School District and he has provided the following statement about Proloquo2go:
Proloquo2Go is a dynamic application used to support students with limited or nonverbal language. It is used in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District across multiple
educational settings to include general education, resource specialist, and mild, moderate
and severe special day classrooms. School personnel can easily manipulate the
application in order to customize it for each students needs. Individual students can have
custom home pages, individual icons, and preferred voice options, tone and pitch. The
use of Proloquo2Go has also been found to decrease inappropriate types of behavior and
increase the general use of positive replacement behaviors. Overall it is a highly
recommend application to support students needs (D. Baldwin, personal communication,
May 20, 2015).
AssistiveWare has provided excellent videos highlighting children who use Proloquo2Go
and how it has made an impact on their life. One child AssistiveWare highlighted is a ten-yearold boy named Nick who was diagnosed with Autism. According to AssistiveWare (2011),
Nicks progress in speech had been extremely slow and after many attempts using various communication methods and programs he was introduced to Proloquo2Go. He immediately responded to the system and noticed the reinforcements taking place when using the program. He now

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initiates communication and is able to relay his needs and wants to others. The video can be located at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xuUWxIY7SM.
Being a future general education teacher I have learned the importance of being knowledgable about all of your students. I have been a special education aide for seven years and each
year has been in a general education classroom. I have seen first-hand the importance of general
education teachers being knowledgable about special education programs. This program has
proven to be a fantastic resource for students in all educational settings. It gives them the freedom to express their needs, wants and desires. In addition, it allows students to be unique individuals and thrive in all educational settings.

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References

AssistiveWare. (2014). A voice for those who cannot speak. http://www.assistiveware.com/prod

uct/proloquo2go
AssistiveWare. (2012). Proloquo2go is a winner!. http://www.assistiveware.com/proloquo2gowinner
AssistiveWare. (2012). Tell us, we want to know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xu
UWxIY7SM
Linendoll, K. (2012). Apps for autism spotlight on proloquo2go. http://www.katielinendoll.com/
apps-for-autism-spotlight-on-proloquo2go
Wynsum Arts (2013). Every app has a story. http://www.everyapphasastory.com/2012/04/everyapp-has-a-story-proloquo2go/