Why would MyTalk make their software available at no cost to every support professional in the world?

Because our goal is to change someone's world, and you have the power to do it.

As a support professional entitled to no cost access to MyTalk, please take a few minutes to read and understand the steps. The MyTalkTool Set (MyTalkTools 'Mobile' and MyTalkTools 'Workspace') can be the right solution for many people, situations and circumstances. MyTalk's web based board building tool called 'Workspace' also known as 'Workspace Family' is provided to individuals in the support community for evaluations and demonstration use.  We believe that individuals in the professional support community need to know and understand software 'applications' to make educated and appropriate evaluations and recommendations.  And we recognize that it is not reasonable to expect you to buy every piece of software that appears in the market place.  We think that with very little time and energy learning how to use MyTalk you will see value. The progression for end users would be an evaluation and demonstration with your user name, then creation of their user name in MyTalkTools Mobile Lite and the potential to eventually move to the paid version with engagement and based on end-user capabilities.  Some end users will always be fine with Lite.    

MyTalk Tools 'Mobile' is available on the App Store, but start with MyTalk Mobile Lite:

The full-featured version of MyTalkTools 'Mobile' is $99.99 on the App Store.  Our MyTalkTools 'Mobile Lite' version remains free to everyone. We suggest everyone, including professional users start with 'Mobile Lite'.   The combination of free 'Mobile Lite' and our gift of 'Workspace Family' to professionals (details below) turns the combination into a highly functional tool set at no cost.  We hope you will eventually purchase 'Mobile' and 'Workspace Pro' as many professionals have done. But we also have professionals world-wide still using the free tool set while they and their end-users work with paid versions of Mobile, and Workspace Family funded by families, schools and other funding sources. 

'MyTalkTools Mobile Lite' is a free download from the App Store and contains much of the functionality of 'MyTalkTools Mobile', but is limited to 20 cells (aka bricks, buttons). This cell limitation applies when creating boards (programming) on the hand-held device using 'Mobile Lite' authoring capabilities. Please read through this entire document to learn how to work around the cell limitation.

Text to Speech: Acapela voices optional 'In App' purchase of 'Advanced Text To Speech'.

• The paid version, 'MyTalkTools Mobile' allows the option to upgrade to Acapela voices, resident on the device. 
• Professionals using Lite can use recorded human voice until the time they upgrade to the Mobile paid version.  In recent years we have added many free voices in several languages.  With that TTS capability you can provide gender correct TTS, even with Lite.
• Mobile Lite will not offer the In App purchase of Acapela voices.

MyTalkTools 'Workspace Family' a web based board building tool at no cost:
To cancel the cell count limitation of 'Mobile Lite', you and other Support Professionals are granted no-cost access to our web based board building tool called 'Workspace Family'.  With 'Workspace Family' you can build an unlimited number of boards, then sync all of your Workspace boards to 'Mobile Lite' on your iDevice, thereby overriding the 20 cell limit.  You will not be able to use the 'Add New Board', 'Add New Row' or 'Add New Column' features when programming in the 'Mobile Lite' app due to having exceeded the 20 cell max on Mobile Lite. But you can always go back to Workspace Family to add boards, rows, or columns. Some professionals add blank cells and boards in Workspace Family to have them available for editing in Mobile Lite. 

Workspace Family Accounts-Additional information?
Workspace is our optional web based board building tool with incredible power and functionality.  Workspace gives you drag and drop board building, access to any content on your computer, storage devices, and the web, plus the convenience of full size keyboards and computer screens, Workspace enables remote board building, keeping the device in the hands of the end user.  Syncing to Workspace also assures backup for all of the communication boards, eliminating the risk of losing your work.  

Workspace Family accounts are the companion tool to MyTalkTools Mobile Lite that we provide to Support Professionals for personal use at no cost enabling quality demonstrations to patients, students, clients and family members.  Develop individualized content for your end user families to experience before they buy, making informed decisions based on end user engagement and reducing the likelihood of abandonment.

Where does MyTalk fit when compared with other software? 

You will find that we serve a very different audience the Proloquo2Go.  MyTalk and P2G  were introduced in 2009 and have withstood the test of time. All of the others come and go. We tend not to compare ourselves with short term solutions.   

Sometimes we serve the same audience as P2G, not as an AAC device, but using MyTalk's other capabilities including digital recorded human voice and video capabilities for articulation and other modeling activities. We think their software is great, we applaud their accomplishments, and we wish them continued success because they, along with MyTalk, are serving many in our community.  We serve a very large portion of the community that don't do well with P2G and there is very little overlap, in our view. 

Is MyTalk a multi lingual or international solution?

MyTalk is also an international solution with recorded voice making MyTalk a solution in any language.

Our Mobile programming commands come in 9 languages based on the language set in your ios settings.  All translations of the 'Authoring' commands within MyTalkTools Mobile have been donated by our clients as a way for them to share MyTalk with others in their communities.  We are thankful to those clients and always encourage additional participation to keep the MyTalk Mobile commands current in those languages as we make enhancements to MyTalk.  Go to our support site and submit a ticket if you would like to help update our translations. We appreciate your support. 

We have also added basic TTS in many languages to MyTalkTools Mobile over the years. 

Workspace can be used in most languages based on your computers' home language settings. 

MyTalk is much more than an AAC solution. When you get to know our product you will begin understand it's value in curriculum delivery, whole school inclusion, speech modeling including video for homework carryover activities and much more.  Don't be limited in your thinking about MyTalk.  We are much more than AAC.

Under what conditions does MyTalk LLC grant free access to Workspace Family for Support Community professionals?  

We are happy to provide our solution to you, as described, at no cost for you to learn and demonstrate.  Our simple conditions are:

1. Experiment and get familiar with MyTalkTools Mobile.  Use all of the the 'Author' commands within Mobile at least once. 

2. On your Mobile device go to Settings / MyTalk to review and experiment with our settings.  Our app serves end users with very modest capabilities to those who are high functioning and want phrase bars with the ability to add typed content to the phrase bar.  We also support switch and scan for those with motor challenges.  Settings change everything so please experiment. 

3. Personalize demonstrations with End User Personal content: We encourage professionals to demonstrate to end users by including end user personal content. Human voice and personal content encourages engagement. With engagement, transfer personalized content to the end user's purchased version of MyTalk Mobile using Sync from Sample, (see video Sync Overwrite From Sample) or any of our easy sharing functions. Once transferred, clear the end user's personal content from your account in preparation for the next demonstration.

4. As you become comfortable with MyTalk we are hopeful that you will transition end users to the paid version. 

• With end user engagement, MyTalk becomes a solution for an end user, 
• At that point they should be transitioned to their own user name and the paid version using whatever funding solution is available.
• Alternatively, your school, SLP private practice (any institution you work for) can purchase Workspace Pro for use with multiple end users.  You would keep your free personal version of Workspace Family. 
• Institutions do not qualify for the free Workspace Family account.  No Cost access to 'Workspace Family' is granted to individuals personally and the content they develop belongs to them personally, not their place of employment. At the point Workspace Professional (or Family) is purchased for the professional by the institution, software and content ownership transfers to the institution. The professional can share their portfolio of work, providing a win/win for institution and professional.  

5. Replace Free Workspace Family with Institution purchased Workspace Professional: Once an institution (employing or associated with the Support Professional) recognizes the value of MyTalk as a viable solution within their institution, they should purchase the MyTalk Family version for 'end users', where appropriate, and MyTalk Professional version for their staff. 

6. Mobile Software purchases for each device: Individuals and families with personal iTunes accounts can share software.  Review App Store rules.  In accordance with Apple's rules for non-personal use, MyTalk Mobile software should be purchased for each individual i-Device, in institutional use.  MyTalkTools does participate in the volume purchase program for education offering a 50% discount for purchases of 20.

Account Ownership:  

The Workspace Family account provided at no cost to individual Support Professionals follows the individual if they change employment or institutional association.  Workspace Family or Workspace Professional accounts funded by an institution, stay with the institution, including content.

To get your free access to Workspace Family

• Go to mytalktools.com
• Click Support / Go to our support Site
• Submit a request and tell us how you support the special needs community (ie Special ed teacher, Para, SLP, OT, PT, etc.)