Persons with disabilities, especially those with brain lesions (such as children with cerebral palsy) often face complex communication needs as they are unable to speak or have limited verbal communication ability. These individuals benefit from Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, which are increasingly accessed through digital technologies and mobile applications. To introduce AAC technology to Vietnam, USAID's Advancing Medical Care and Rehabilitation Education project supported the translation and contextualization of two AAC apps, Talk Tablet VN and AlphaTopics. Talk Tablet VN is an application that allows the user to form sentences using symbols that are then read out loud by the tablet. AlphaTopics is an application used to facilitate communication for people who have difficulty enunciating. Both apps are scheduled to be available in Vietnamese for Android devices by this May.
So what? Through access to AAC systems and technologies, persons with complex communication needs now have opportunities to express themselves better, easier and faster than before. The possibility to communicate with their family, their friends and the community allows people with disabilities to increase their participation in society as well as their independence and autonomy.