De Leo, Gianluca

Leroy, Gondy

English

Scholarship@Claremont

Claremont CollegesScholarship @ ClaremontCGU Faculty Publications and Research CGU Faculty Scholarship1-1-2009The PixTalk Communication System aSmartphone Application and Companion Websitefor the Improvement of Communication Skills ofChildren with AutismGondy LeroyClaremont Graduate UniversityGianluca De LeoOld Dominion UniversityThis Poster is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusionin CGU Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contactscholarship@cuc.claremont.edu.Recommended CitationG. Leroy and G. De Leo, "The PixTalk Communication System a Smartphone Application and Companion Website for theImprovement of Communication Skills of Children with Autism", mHealth Summit, November 9-10, Washington, DC.The PixTalk Communication Systema Smartphone Application and Companion Website for the Improvement of Communication Skills of Children with AutismGondy Leroy, Claremont Graduate UniversityGianluca De Leo, Old Dominion UniversityFunded by:Microsoft ResearchAllergan FoundationAutism has increased in the U.S. at a staggering rate and is one of the most prevalent mental disorders, characterized by developmental disabilities, extreme withdrawal, lack of social behavior, severe language and attention deficits, and repetitive behaviors. Many children with autism are taught to communicate using pictures. Regrettably, current approaches for very young children are cumbersome (e.g., images on cardboard), stigmatizing, and do not provide usage data. We have developed PixTalk, an application for use on smartphones and PDAs, together with a companion website to track communication progress.PixTalk can be downloaded free of charge together with 400+ images free of copyright.Clinical evaluations are being conducted in North Carolina and Southern California.Personal images libraries can be created via the online community and then downloaded to the Smartphone.Usage data is logged and provides feedback to parents, teachers, and therapists on progress.Images can be personally selected to meet a specific child’s learning goals.SmartPhones or Pocket PCs can help children with autism communicate. They can browse and combine images for communication.CommunicationAutism.org provides an online community to support the use of the smartphone Pixtalk communication application and facilitate discussion among parents, teachers and therapists who support children with autism. An image library of 400+ images is provided, free of copyright.www.CommunicationAutism.orgPixTalkCommunication:View imagesCombine images on the sentence stripsShow sentence

The PixTalk Communication System a Smartphone Application and Companion Website for the Improvement of Communication Skills of Children with Autism

Keck Graduate Institute

Claremont Colleges
Scholarship @ Claremont
CGU Faculty Publications and Research CGU Faculty Scholarship
1-1-2009
The PixTalk Communication System a
Smartphone Application and Companion Website
for the Improvement of Communication Skills of
Children with Autism
Gondy Leroy
Claremont Graduate University
Gianluca De Leo
Old Dominion University
This Poster is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion
in CGU Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact
scholarship@cuc.claremont.edu.
Recommended Citation
G. Leroy and G. De Leo, "The PixTalk Communication System a Smartphone Application and Companion Website for the
Improvement of Communication Skills of Children with Autism", mHealth Summit, November 9-10, Washington, DC.
The PixTalk Communication System
a Smartphone Application and Companion Website 
for the Improvement of Communication Skills of Children with Autism
Gondy Leroy, Claremont Graduate University
Gianluca De Leo, Old Dominion University
Funded by:
Microsoft Research
Allergan Foundation
Autism has increased in the U.S. at a staggering rate and is one of the most prevalent mental disorders, 
characterized by developmental disabilities, extreme withdrawal, lack of social behavior, severe language and 
attention deficits, and repetitive behaviors. 
Many children with autism are taught to communicate using pictures. Regrettably, current approaches for very 
young children are cumbersome (e.g., images on cardboard), stigmatizing, and do not provide usage data. 
We have developed PixTalk, an application for use on smartphones and PDAs, together with a companion 
website to track communication progress.
PixTalk can be downloaded free of charge together with 400+ images free of copyright.
Clinical evaluations are being conducted in North Carolina and Southern California.
Personal images libraries can be 
created via the online 
community and then 
downloaded to the Smartphone.
Usage data is logged and 
provides feedback to 
parents, teachers, and 
therapists on progress.
Images can be personally 
selected to meet a specific 
child’s learning goals.
SmartPhones or Pocket PCs can help 
children with autism communicate. They 
can browse and combine images for 
communication.
CommunicationAutism.org provides an online community to 
support the use of the smartphone Pixtalk communication 
application and facilitate discussion among parents, teachers and 
therapists who support children with autism. 
An image library of 400+ 
images is provided, free of 
copyright.
www.CommunicationAutism.org
PixTalk
Communication:
View 
images
Combine 
images on 
the sentence 
strips
Show 
sentence


https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1220&amp;context=cgu_fac_pub

The PixTalk Communication System a Smartphone Application and Companion Website for the Improvement of Communication Skills of Children with Autism

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Keck Graduate Institute