Comprehensive guide to Pictalk Buddy: your digital companion for robust communication, adapted agenda, interactive sequences, and visual notebooks, with pictograms and images
What is Pictalk Buddy?
Pictalk Buddy is an application that serves as a digital companion with a robust communication module, an adapted agenda, sequences, and a life notebook for people experiencing cognitive disabilities or neurodevelopmental disorders that cause increased anxiety and reduced autonomy throughout the day. Examples include autism, ASD, DYS, and trisomy 21.
We drew inspiration from communication binders and weekly planners in paper form often found on refrigerators, as well as more traditional agenda applications. The app also offers sequences (or procedures) and notebooks.
Pictalk Buddy provides voice output via a speech synthesis voice and includes a pictogram search engine from ARASAAC, Sclera, Mulberry, ParlerPictos, and OpenMoji. You can also import images from your photo library. Pictalk Buddy has a notification system to support autonomy.
Installation
The app is available on Android and on iOS. You can also access the app directly from your web browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.) at this address: https://buddy.pictalk.org/
You do not need to create an account to start using Buddy. Once installed, the app works offline to view events.
How to use it?
Five tabs, five modules focused on different needs...
Pictalk Buddy combines everything a person with an NDD needs daily in a single application.
|
The Robust AAC module |
The Adapted Agenda module |
The Interactive Sequences module |
The Visual Notebooks module |
Your profile, your settings |
The Robust Augmentative and Alternative Communication Module
The Robust AAC module of Pictalk Buddy enables non-verbal individuals or those with expression difficulties to build sentences, access their vocabulary, and be heard with a natural voice and a tool designed for daily use.
The Agenda module
The Agenda module offers a clear and intuitive visualization of daily or weekly events through customizable pictograms and images. Designed to promote your autonomy, this module also provides advanced features like event repetition, integration of detailed sequences, and speech output of content.
The Sequences module
This module allows you to create step-by-step interactive sequences useful for guiding daily activities such as brushing teeth or job-related tasks like maintaining landscaping equipment.
The Notebook module
Visual notebooks let you keep track of daily moments: activities, outings, highlights; using photos, videos, pictograms, and text. This module is especially useful for individuals who struggle to verbally recount their day: by flipping through the notebook together, they can show, comment, and share. It is a good entry point to language.
Settings
Pictalk Buddy is highly customizable to accommodate a wide range of users.
The Robust Communication (AAC) Module
Understanding the interface
The module is organized around a customizable grid of pictograms. The grid layout supports muscle memory: each pictogram always occupies the same place, allowing faster navigation over time.
Extensive and progressive default vocabularies are integrated, built around the most frequent everyday words. They are adaptable for each profile and age and come from the Open AAC database.
List of available vocabularies. Sorted by type (motor planning, pragmatic approach, categorical organization)
At the top left, a small arrow lets you access your vocabulary list. You can have multiple vocabularies according to situations, for example a quick mode with essentials and a full mode for more elaborate communication. Each vocabulary can be configured independently: language, display type, color coding.
Access to vocabulary menu
Vocabulary settings
At the top right, the three dots provide access to display and edit options:
- Word search with guidance
- Print an assistive communication board directly from the app
- Enable edit mode to modify the grid
- Change layout: grid (customizable number of rows and columns), fixed (same number of columns), or automatic (adapts to device)