Easy AACcess started when I noticed how AAC users had limited independence in how they navigated the internet. Many of my clients enjoyed spending their free time listening to music or watching videos on YouTube.
However, I saw how their navigation within the website was very restricted as it is full of distracting moving pictures, suggestions, sounds, and options across the page. Additionally, I saw how the buttons themselves were too small for people with limited motor skills, which makes their experience highly inconvenient and difficult.
I wanted to build a tool that was intuitive and easy to use, so I designed a board of buttons, similar to the ones AAC uses are already familiar with, that sits next to Youtube and puts them in control. It's free and easy to download, making it widely accessible to all who need it. -Asritha
Master's student in Speech and Language Pathology - United States
I am a first-year MS-SLP student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I work with AAC users and have always wondered if there was a way to give them more independence in their daily lives, no matter their abilities. I came up with the idea for Easy AACcess, designed how the board should look and work, and tested it with the needs of real users in mind.
Master's student in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Italy
I am a Biotechnologist with a growing interest in computational tools and digital health. I developed Easy AACcess, which allowed me to combine my interest in technology with the goal of making everyday life more accessible for everyone.
We would love to hear from speech and language therapists, special education teachers and researchers working on AAC and accessibility. If you have any suggestions or would like to collaborate, please get in touch.
Donations help us pay for the Apple developer fee and keep the extension free for everyone. Thank you!
Support the project on Ko-fiWe'd like to thank Alyson Eith, M.S., CCC-SLP for her feedback on our project, and Atlas Pilchen for the logo.
Easy AACcess is an independent project made by students in their own time. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or funded by any university, and it is not affiliated with Google or YouTube.
