In some situations an alphasmart has the edge over a laptop, in that it has a sensible keyboard, lasts forever on a set of batteries and doesn’t have to boot up.

My PDA is useless in comparison.

Why can’t they come up with something that you can type into with a bluetooth keyboard such as you can get for texting on some phones these days?

Speech synthesis is a lot less technical than what they put in mobile phones these days.

Larry

opportunities;

… (x) assistance to develop and maintain social networks and

relationships;

(xi) assistance to participate in job search, employment, training,

work experience and volunteering;

(xii) assistance to participate in inclusive play, recreational, sporting,

religious or cultural activities;

(xviii) the provision of, or assistance in obtaining, consumer

communications apparatus and services such as a mobile or fixed-

line telephone, a computer, a digital television receiver, a digital

radio receiver, a broadband service or digital television service and

any assistive equipment required in connection with this
(a) practical assistance and support for that person including, but not

limited to—

(i) the provision of communication aids and equipment;

(ii) the provision of other forms of assistive equipment and

technology for daily living;

(iii) the provision of one-to-one support for communication, access

to information and mobility;

That said, while I understand some people might think this is a good idea, and it might be for some people, I really, really, really advise people to go after the device/technique/technology that will *best* suit their communication needs. If this is part of it, great! If not, go after what you *really* need. That’s the reason JTalk (some speech software I wrote) has a license agreement which specifically excludes use where communication is actually important – sure people are free to violate that license, and I won’t come after them (I will come after the first school or state that gives people JTalk instead of what they need though, which is the reason for that clause) – after all, I don’t want to limit people’s communication options either! But I didn’t want it to be used instead of what would work well because of the cost.

Yes, certainly, there are realities involved that sometimes complicate things and less than perfect systems are sometimes forced on people. But we really, really need to be fighting those problems as a community. A part time AAC user should have access to the best equipment, even when it is expensive. Everyone should have a backup means of communication, even if it is expensive. Etc. These are human rights.