Custom Boards App

Description and Purpose of Device:

Custom Boards is an app designed for use by individuals with communication issues, cognition problems, developmental or speech disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy who need symbols to communicate with others and learn.  This app also assists speech therapists, special education and teachers, and parents the ability to create boards and activities for the children they work with or parent.  Custom Boards app allows an iPad to become an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device by creating communication boards that can be printed or displayed on a mobile device.  The app can be very powerful and useful in special education settings of a classroom for those with special communication needs.

Device Usage and Features:

The Custom Boards app is preloaded with over 11,000 symbols from the Smarty Symbols library and the capability of adding your own photos for customization.  It has over 100 templates in three areas consisting of Communication Boards, Schedules, and Activities.  The Communication Boards can be designed into 2x2, 4x4, 16 Grid, 8 Grid, AMDi32 configurations.  The client uses the app by selecting a template, then adding the images they want, and can edit the text for each symbol.  When the board is complete, it can be printed using an AirPrint ready printer, saved on the iPad in a folder, emailed and completed templates can be saved to a computer as a PDF using iTunes for future use without having to recreate them.  The iPad needs to have the Apple iOS 4.0 or later to run Custom Boards App.

Manufacturer and Cost Information:

The Custom Boards app is designed by Smarty Ears, LLC at 1412 Buxton Drive, Desoto, Texas 75115 and can be reached at 940-230-0297.  The company was founded in 2009 by a Speech-Language Pathologist and was the first company to design apps geared toward speech therapy for mobile devices such as the Apple products and Android market.  Their goal is to create the best tools possible so that children with communication difficulties can become the best communicators.  Smarty Ears, LLC also states that this app is evidence based.  The app is available at iTunes in the App Store for $39.99.